Providence coach Ed Cooley and the Friars have won five of their last seven games.
MBB Minute -- Villanova, Providence Keep Winning Streaks Going; DePaul Ends a Losing Skid
Villanova and Providence kept winning streaks going with Saturday wins, while DePaul ended a losing streak.
Villanova, ranked 12th by AP, exerted what coach Jay Wright called maybe their best defensive effort of the year in a 64-55 road win at Xavier and a fourth win in a row. The Wildcats, 21-6 overall and 10-4 in the BIG EAST, held the Musketeers (17-10, 6-8) to their lowest point total of the season. Saddiq Bey scored a game-high 22 points for the Wildcats. Jermaine Samuels added 17 points and eight rebounds. Xavier’s Tyrique Jones scored all 17 of his points in the second half and grabbed 14 rebounds for his ninth straight double-double.
Providence got out of the gate quickly against No. 19 Marquette and never trailed in an 84-72 victory. The Friars have won three straight home games against ranked opponents. Luwane Pipkins scored 17 of his team-high 24 points while Providence (16-12, 9-6) built a 43-29 lead at the break. David Duke added 15 points. Markus Howard led the Golden Eagles (17-9, 7-7) with 38 points, four assists and three steals.
DePaul used a strong second half to beat visiting Georgetown 74-68 and end an eight-game losing streak. The game was tied 36-36 at halftime before the Blue Demons outshot the Hoyas 56.5 percent to 33.3 percent from the field in the second half. Charlie Moore led DePaul (14-13, 2-12) with 20 points and seven assists. Romeo Weems helped with 19 points and six rebounds. Terrell Allen led the Hoyas (15-12, 5-9) with 21 points. The Hoyas again were without injured guard Mac McClung, though Omer Yurtseven returned to the lineup.
BIG EAST action continues Sunday afternoon with Seton Hall hosting St. John’s at 2 p.m. ET on CBS and Butler traveling to Creighton at 4 p.m. on FS1.
St. John’s and Seton Hall will battle for the 103rd time. In the first matchup this season, Seton Hall rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to win 82-79 at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 18. Myles Powell scored a game-high 29 points. The Pirates have won five straight against the Johnnies (14-12, 3-10) at Prudential Center. All five remaining regular-season games for St. John’s are against teams currently ranked in the AP top 25.
By winning eight of its last nine games, Creighton (21-6, 10-4) has moved within one game of first-place Seton Hall. The Bluejays are 14-1 at home this season and have three of their four remaining regular-season games at the CHI Health Center. Butler (19-8, 7-7) beat Creighton 71-57 at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Jan. 4. The Bulldogs are looking to record their 20th 20-win season in the past 24 years.
Home teams are 39-31 (.557) in league games going into Sunday.