WBB Notes - 1.18.18
Streaks On The Line
RV/RV Marquette, NR/RV DePaul and St. John’s will look to defend their league-best winning streaks on the road this weekend. The Golden Eagles sit at 7-0 in BIG EAST play, their finest start to conference action in program history, and will begin at Georgetown on Friday at 7 p.m. MU follows with a nationally televised tilt at RV/RV Villanova on Sunday, with tipoff on FS1 slated for noon ET. The Blue Demons have won four in a row and are second in the standings behind Marquette at 6-1. DePaul, which has won seven of its last eight by an average margin of 21.4 points, visits the Wildcats Friday and the Hoyas on Sunday, with the Georgetown tilt airing on CBS Sports at 2 p.m. After starting BIG EAST play 0-3, St. John’s has righted the ship and has won five straight to land third in the standings, thanks to the stingiest defense in the conference. The Red Storm are holding league opponents to just 60.9 points per game and .392 shooting. St. John’s visits longtime rival Seton Hall on Sunday at 1 p.m. Marquette-Georgetown, DePaul-Villanova and St. John’s-Seton Hall are three of the six games that will stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network this weekend, along Creighton at Butler and Providence at Xavier on Friday, and the Friars at the Bulldogs on Sunday.
RPI Report
As of Tuesday, the BIG EAST had four teams in the top 30 of the NCAA RPI, one of just four leagues in Division I to have that many or more in the top 30 along with the ACC, Pac-12 and SEC. DePaul (27) and Marquette (18) are both showing their best RPIs of the season, while St. John’s (29) and Seton Hall (94) continued to improve. Villanova (13) and Creighton (55) were also among the BIG EAST leaders in the national ranking.
Last Night In #BIGEASTwbb: Penn 79, RV/RV Villanova 77
A game separated by single digits from start to finish which featured nine ties, including 77-77 with five seconds left, ended in favor of the visiting Quakers thanks to a buzzer beater by Anna Ross. The Wildcats trailed by eight with 4:23 left before an 8-0 run knotted the game with 2:22 to go. Penn responded again, but hot three-point shooting by the Wildcats kept things knotted late. Alex Louin drained a triple with 5 ticks left before Penn hit the game winner in the final possession. Villanova hit 12 threes on the night, its most since knocking down 15 against then-No. 11 Duke on Nov. 19, but 13 turnovers resulted in 13 Quaker points. Louin and Mary Gedaka finished with team highs of 19 points, with Louin adding six dimes and seven rebounds, and Gedaka notching her second double-double with 10 boards.
Full Recap
Weekly Schedule
Friday
Creighton at Butler, 7 p.m.*^
Marquette at Georgetown, 7 p.m.*^
DePaul at Villanova, 7 p.m.*^
Providence at Xavier, 7 p.m.*^
Sunday
Marquette at Villanova, Noon*#
Providence at Butler, 1 p.m.*^
St. John’s at Seton Hall, 1 p.m.*^
DePaul at Georgetown, 2 p.m.*&
*BIG EAST Contest
^BEDN
#FS1
&CBS Sports
All Times Eastern