NEW YORK - Providence put up 92 points and Creighton only got 51, but both came away with Thursday victories and improved to 2-0.

The Friars outscored Sacred Heart 49-28 in the second half of a 92-64 win. Nate Watson posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and guard Alyn Breed added 15 points off the bench. The Friars are off until Monday when they play at Wisconsin in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.

In some games, Creighton has 51 points by halftime, but the Bluejays turned to some shutdown defense in their 51-44 win over Kennesaw State. Creighton held their opponent to only 26.2 percent shooting from the field. The Bluejays used a 10-0 run in the second half to provide a little breathing room down the stretch. Alex O’Connell scored 13 points, which was a game high.

A four-game Friday slate includes a battle of top five teams. No. 4 Villanova visits No. 2 UCLA at 11:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Wildcats will be playing in Pauley Pavilion for the first time since Jan. 13, 2001. The first meeting between the two teams was the 1971 NCAA Final, won by UCLA 68-62.

Butler hosts Central Arkansas on FS2 at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs will turn around quickly and host Troy on Saturday. Butler is 60-1 at home over its last 61 non-conference home games.

Also at 6:30, Xavier hosts Kent State on FS1. The Muskeeters are without the injured Zach Freemantle, but beat Niagara 63-60 on Tuesday. It’s the season opener for Kent State. Xavier has won 20 of its last 21 games against teams from the MAC.

Marquette is also focused on a 2-0 start with a game against New Hampshire at 8:30 on FS2. In his MU debut on Tuesday, transfer Darryl Morsell tallied 21 points in an 88-77 win over SIU-Edwardsville.

BIG EAST teams own a 12-0 record going into Friday’s action.