WBB Notes - 12.17.21

A Sunday To See
This Sunday, eight BIG EAST teams return to the court with a schedule that includes three conference showdowns and a top-10 non-league battle. Marquette at Seton Hall tips off the day at noon ET in a game airing on FS1. Two more league tilts follow at 1 p.m., with RV/- DePaul traveling to St. John’s and Creighton visiting Providence. The 1 p.m. games will stream live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi available on FloSports. A pair of non-conference matchups follow, beginning at 2 p.m. on FloSports when Xavier hosts Southeast Missouri. The day wraps with a non-league top-10 showdown as No. 7/6 UConn takes on No. 6/4 Louisville in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase set for Mohegan Sun Arena at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. The last time the Huskies played at Mohegan Sun, they were cutting down the nets at the BIG EAST Tournament.
 
Inside The BIG EAST Showdowns
Marquette at Seton Hall (Noon, FS1) – The Golden Eagles (8-2) have won four straight and are 2-0 to open BIG EAST play thanks to impressive shooting (.447 on the year) and dominating rebounding (No. 7 nationally in margin).  Lauren Van Kleunen has been impressive during MU’s win streak and will be a challenge for the Pirates on Sunday. The veteran forward has averaged 17.5 points per game over her last four showings. The Hall (4-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) will look to steady the ship after splitting their last two non-league contests, which included a win at -/RV Princeton a week ago, and also eyes its first BIG EAST win. The Pirates have two of the top-five scorers in the BIG EAST in No. 3 Lauren Park-Lane (18.4 ppg) and No. 5 Andra Espinoza-Hunter (17.3 ppg).
RV/-DePaul at St. John’s (1 p.m., BEDN) – Winners of a BIG EAST-best six straight, the high-scoring Blue Demons (10-2, 2-0) will look to continue rolling when they visit Queens on Sunday. DePaul has scored 100+ in four of its last five outings and leads the nation with a 90.9 clip. Leading that charge is rookie sensation Aneesah Morrow, who is fourth in the league in scoring (17.8) and tops in rebounding (12.0). St. John’s boasts the BIG EAST’s No. 2 scorer in Leilani Correa. The Red Storm (5-5, 1-0) are also scoring at an impressive rate, listing second in the BIG EAST with a 74.5 average. Both teams are surrendering more than 70 points per game, so Sunday’s tilt has all the makings of an up-and-down track meet.
Creighton at Providence (1 p.m., BEDN) – The Bluejays (6-3, 2-0) are one of three BIG EAST teams who opened league play 2-0 and will look to remain unbeaten against Providence (6-5, 1-1) which split its opening weekend of conference games. The Friars won last season’s meeting in Omaha and have a new member in their lineup that could make it two in a row against the Bluejays. Transfer Janai Crooms is the lone player in the BIG EAST to rank in the top 10 in scoring (14.6), rebounding (10.1) and assists (4.6), as the junior guard inches closer and closer to that elusive triple-double. Veteran guard Tatum Rembao will look to contain Crooms, as Rembao is fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (5.3) and second in assist/turnover ratio (2.8). She had 15 points and six dimes on Thursday night against South Dakota.
 
Midweek Recaps
With final exams on the dockets, only five midweek games were played. BIG EAST teams went 3-2 in those contests, which included two wins for RV/- DePaul. The Blue Demons stretched their winning streak to a league-best six games and became the first BIG EAST squad to reach 10 wins on the season, as DePaul improved to 10-2 following high-scoring wins over Nicholls State (100-72) and Northern Illinois (103-71). Georgetown claimed its third straight win on Monday with a 59-53 victory over Coppin State, while Creighton dropped a tight one with South Dakota Thursday night (73-71) and Seton Hall was edged by -/RV UCF on Tuesday, 68-56.
 
Up Next
Following Sunday’s action, three games are set for Tuesday, Dec. 21. Villanova will visit La Salle at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN+), Creighton will travel to -/RV Arkansas at 2 p.m. (SECN+), and Seton Hall will host Wagner at 4:30 p.m. (FloSports).
 
Upcoming Schedule
Sunday
Marquette at Seton Hall, Noon FS1 Stats
RV/- DePaul at St. John’s, 1 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
Creighton at Providence, 1 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
Southeast Missouri at Xavier, 2 p.m. Stats FloSports
7/6 UConn vs. 6/4 Louisville (Mohegan Sun Arena), 3:30 p.m. ESPN
All times Eastern