In a BIG EAST season that has seen road teams enjoy unusual success, Villanova and Providence nailed down home wins on Wednesday.

The Wildcats rode a brilliant performance by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to a 96-64 victory against Marquette. Providence ended a three-game losing streak with a 70-59 win over Connecticut in the first meeting between the two teams in eight years.

Robinson-Earl scored 27 points, making 10-of-11 shots from the field, which included hitting all five 3-point attempts.  He pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and made three steals.  Villanova (13-2, 8-1 BIG EAST) scored 56 points in the second half and shot 63 percent from the field for the game.  Marquette (9-11, 5-9 BIG EAST) got a collegiate-high 28 points from Dawson Garcia, who shot 9-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the foul line.

Providence was backed by its two anchors, David Duke and Nate Watson, who both contributed 17 points, six rebounds and two assists against UConn.  A 3-pointer by Duke early in the second half, gave the Friars (10-10, 6-8 BIG EAST) the lead for good.  RJ Cole came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points for the Huskies (8-5, 5-5 BIG EAST).  Tyrese Martin added 13 points and nine rebounds.   

A look ahead to Saturday shows a battle between Villanova and Creighton, ranked fifth and 19th in this week’s AP poll, in Omaha on FOX at 5 p.m. ET.  Last season, the road team won both meetings.

The BIG EAST Saturday starts on FOX at noon with UConn playing at Xavier.  Georgetown hosts Butler on CBS Sports Network at 1:30 p.m. and Providence visits DePaul at 8 p.m. on FS1.

Going into Saturday, home teams hold a 33-31 edge in BIG EAST play.