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Marquette's Justin Lewis had 14 points and nine rebounds against Kansas State.
Mitchell Layton
Marquette's Justin Lewis had 14 points and nine rebounds against Kansas State.

Men's Basketball

MBB Minute – Marquette Takes BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle; Georgetown, Xavier Win at Home

On a 3-1 Wednesday for BIG EAST teams, Marquette posted a dramatic win in its BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle matchup at Kansas State. Georgetown and Xavier enjoyed comfortable victories at home. In the other BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle contest, Connecticut dropped a close decision on the road at West Virginia.

The 3-1 mark on Wednesday bumped the overall BIG EAST record to 77-21 (.786).
 
Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro blocked a shot on Kansas State’s final possession to preserve a 64-63 road win. Freshman Kam Jones scored a team-high 15 points, including a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left that gave the Golden Eagles (8-2) a 64-60 edge. Justin Lewis finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
 
Graduate transfer Kaiden Rice broke the Georgetown record for 3-pointers in a game by making 10-of-12 from beyond the arc in a 100-71 victory against UMBC. Rice finished with 34 points. The Hoyas (4-4) got double-doubles from Ryan Mutombo (15 pts., 11 rebs.) and Aminu Mohammed (13 pts., 10 rebs.). Dante Harris finished with 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
 
Zach Freemantle looks like he is ready to return to the starting lineup after posting 24 points in 20 minutes coming off the bench in Xavier’s 96-50 handling of Ball State. Freemantle has been recovering from a leg injury. He made 9-of-11 from the field, grabbed seven rebounds and dished four assists. The Musketeers (8-1) led 45-23 at halftime.
 
No. 15 UConn (8-2) had a 51-49 lead with 3:50 left at West Virginia, but the Huskies could not hang on in a 56-53 loss in Morgantown. Isaiah Whaley scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. R.J. Cole added 14 points. UConn made only 3-of-21 from 3-point range.
 
A two-game Thursday includes the continuation of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle when No. 23 Seton Hall hosts No. 7 Texas at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The Pirates (7-1) are off to their best start since 2017-18 when they began 9-1. Head coach Kevin Willard is one win away from tying P.J. Carlesimo (212 wins) for second place on the Seton Hall all-time victory list.

BIG EAST Shootaround will be on site from the Prudential Center on Thursday. Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. ET on the conference's Twitter and YouTube channels. 
 
Following Seton Hall-Texas on FS1, St. John’s hosts Monmouth at 8:30 p.m. Julian Champagnie leads the Johnnies (6-2) with a 21.0 scoring average that ranks second in the BIG EAST. The junior needs 20 points to reach 1,000 for his career. Monmouth (7-1) is on a seven-game winning streak.