After dropping their respective league openers, Villanova and Connecticut evened their BIG EAST records on Tuesday.
 
Villanova, ranked 23^rd in this week’s Associated Press poll, recovered from an eight-point deficit at halftime to record a 71-58 win against No. 18 Xavier. UConn grabbed the lead midway through the first half and went on to win 78-70 at Marquette.
 
The Wildcats (8-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) started the second half with a 12-3 run and used a late 10-spurt in its win against the Musketeers (11-2, 1-1 BE). Justin Moore led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points. Caleb Daniels added 16. Xavier’s Dwon Odom scored a team-high 13 points.
 
UConn (10-3, 1-1 BE) got some offensive punch from Tyrese Martin and R.J. Cole at Marquette. Martin netted a career-high 25 points and reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Cole scored 20 points while eclipsing the 2,000-point mark. The Huskies welcomed back Adama Sanogo, who had missed four games due to injury. Justin Lewis led Marquette (8-5, 0-2 BE) with 20 points and seven rebounds.
 
The lone game left on the BIG EAST schedule before the Christmas holiday is Butler playing St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The teams split their two meetings last season with St. John’s winning 69-57 at home.