Providence's Luwane Pipkins scored 27 points in Saturday's win at Villanova.
MBB Minute -- Friars, Pirates Grab Road Wins; Bulldogs Protect Home Court
As the regular season gets closer to conclusion, the standings and subsequent BIG EAST Tournament seeding become clearer. On Saturday, Providence kept its late surge going, Seton Hall gave itself a little breathing room at the top and Butler got back going in the right direction.
Providence won its fourth game in a row, taking a 58-54 decision over No. 12 Villanova at Wells Fargo Center. The Friars improved their fourth-place standing to 10-6 in the BIG EAST and 17-12 overall and ended the Wildcats’ five-game winning streak. Luwane Pipkins continued his recent productive run with a game-high 27 points, 12 more than any player on either team. He shot 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the foul line. Collin Gillespie scored a team-high 13 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Villanova (22-7, 11-5).
According ESPN Stats and Info, Providence is the fifth team ever to secure five wins over ranked opponents in a single calendar month during the regular season.
In a battle of the BIG EAST’s top scorers, Marquette’s Markus Howard led everyone with 37 points, while Seton Hall’s Myles Powell netted 28 points. But No. 13 Seton Hall (21-7, 13-3) won the game 88-79 in Howard’s last game at Fiserv Forum. The Pirates’ Sandro Mamukelashvili added a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds. Seton Hall is 7-1 on the road in league play. Marquette (18-10, 8-8) won the rebounding battle 42-29.
With a week off, Butler rested and responded with a 60-42 victory over visiting DePaul, ending a three-game losing streak. Sean McDermott and Justin Tucker scored 13 points each for the Bulldogs (20-9, 8-8), who reached 20 wins for the 20th time in the last 24 seasons. The 42 points by DePaul was the fewest allowed by a Butler team as a member of the BIG EAST. No player reached double figures for the Blue Demons (14-15, 2-14) who were without injured Paul Reed.
On Sunday, Creighton (22-6, 11-4) meets St. John’s (14-14, 3-12) at Carnesecca Arena at noon ET on FS1. The Bluejays’ five-game winning streak began with a 94-82 victory over the Johnnies on Feb. 8. At 2 p.m. on CBS, Georgetown (15-13, 5-10) hosts Xavier (18-10, 7-8). The Musketeers were 5-2 in February. In the first meeting between the two teams, Xavier won 66-57 on Jan. 22.
Home teams have won nine of the last 11 contests and are 46-32 (.590) in league games going into Sunday.