BIG EAST Notes - 11.21.17
Where They’re Headed: Thanksgiving Tournaments
Butler: Paradise Jam (Melbourne, Fla.) – No. 11/13 West Virginia (Thursday, Noon); NR/RV Virginia Tech (Friday, 6 p.m.); Drexel (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
Creighton: South Point Tournament (Las Vegas, Nev.) – NR/RV Washington (Friday, 1 p.m.); No. 5/4 UCLA (Saturday, 5:30 p.m.)
RV/21 DePaul: Play4Kay Showcase (Las Vegas, Nev.) – NR/RV Florida Gulf Coast (Thursday, 3:30 p.m.); No. 9/8 Ohio State or Memphis (Friday, TBD); TBD Saturday; other teams include No. 14/12 Stanford, Gonzaga, Belmont, Kent State
Georgetown: Challenge in Music City (Nashville, Tenn.) – Auburn (Friday, 8:30 p.m.); Chattanooga (Saturday, 8:30 p.m.); Northwestern (Sunday, 3 p.m.)
20/20 Marquette: Cancun Challenge (Cancun, Mexico) – No. 12/14 Tennessee (Thursday, 6:30 p.m.); Montana (Friday, 9 p.m.)
Providence: Savannah Invitational (Savannah, Ga.) – Savannah State (Tuesday, 7 p.m.); Wright State (Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.); Stetson (Thursday, 4:30 p.m.)
St. John’s: Gulf Coast Showcase (Estero, Fla.) – Western Michigan (Friday, 11 a.m.); No. 3/2 South Carolina or RV/RV Rutgers (Saturday, TBD); TBD Sunday – other teams include No. 6/6 Notre Dame, No. 17/16 USF
Seton Hall: SHU Thanksgiving Classic (South Orange, N.J.) – Rider (Saturday, Noon); East Carolina or Jacksonville State (Sunday, 2:30 p.m.)
RV/RV Villanova: Vermont Thanksgiving Tournament (Burlington, Vt.) – James Madison (Friday, 7 p.m.); American or Vermont (Saturday, TBD)
Xavier: at Minnesota (Wednesday, 9 p.m.)
All times Eastern
In The Polls
Following its win over then-No. 11/12 Duke on Sunday, Villanova made a giant leap towards cracking both top-25 polls. The Wildcats went from having no votes in the AP Top 25 to being the second team just outside the ranking, while going from one point in the
USA Today Coaches’ Poll to 31 points this week, fourth outside the top 25. Villanova is one of three unbeaten teams in the BIG EAST, along with fellow 3-0 squad Xavier and 2-0 St. John’s. Marquette posted a 1-1 opening week record and came in at No. 20/20 this week, remaining in the top 25 in both polls for a third straight week, while DePaul, which went 3-0 last week including a 110-108 overtime win over then-No. 21/21 Oklahoma, continued to receive votes in the AP Poll and fell one spot to No. 21 in the coaches’ poll.
Last Night In #BIGEASTwbb: 17/22 South Florida 71, Butler 55
The Bulldogs tasted defeat for the first time this season with a 71-55 setback at #17 USF. Three of the four quarters were close, but the Bulls managed to outscore BU 23-8 in the second frame to stay undefeated (4-0). Tori Schickel led Butler with 18 points and 15 rebounds to notch her second double-double of the season. Schickel and Whitney Jennings combined for all 17 first quarter points as BU and USF ended the opening 10 minutes of action knotted up at 17-17. Jennings ended the game with 18 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Full Recap