MBB Minute – St. John’s Beats Creighton; Xavier Edges Georgetown
Sunday’s game between St. John’s and Creighton showed that a pregame glance at the standings and team statistics is not necessarily a predictor of the outcome. The Johnnies, who entered the game 307th nationally in 3-point shooting made 14 of their 22 tries from beyond the arc and beat the No. 10 ranked Bluejays 91-71. It was the first St. John’s win over a top-10 opponent at Carnesecca Arena since Dec. 9, 1975.
Greg Williams, Jr., who had not scored more than 11 points in his collegiate career, made seven 3-pointers to finish with 21 points for St. John’s (15-14, 4-12 BIG EAST). Creighton (22-7, 11-5), which went into game ninth nationally in 3-point shooting made only 4-of-27. Damien Jefferson had 20 points and eight rebounds. The Bluejays’ loss gave Seton Hall a share of the regular-season title.
Georgetown rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half against Xavier, but the Musketeers’ Naji Marshall swished a 3-pointer at the top of the key with four seconds left to give Xavier a 66-63 win. The Musketeers (19-10, 8-8) got double-double performances from Marshall (20 pts., 10 rebs.) and Tyrique Jones (18 pts., 13 rebs.). Georgetown (15-14, 5-11) was led by Jahvon Blair’s 18 points and Jagan Mosely’s 11 points and seven assists.
Home teams have won 10 of the last 13 contests and are 47-33 (.588) in league games going into Tuesday.
In Monday’s NET rankings released by the NCAA, all 10 schools are ranked among the top 81 schools with five in the top 25 – Seton Hall (12), Creighton (13), Villanova (17), Butler (20) and Marquette (25). Then, it is Xavier (43), Providence (44), Georgetown (60), St. John’s (64) and DePaul (81).
BIG EAST action resumes on Tuesday with Marquette visiting DePaul. FS1 will televise at 8 p.m. ET. Marquette won the first meeting 76-72 on Feb. 1.