MBB Minute – Providence and Connecticut were road warriors in their BIG EAST openers on Saturday.
 
“A win on the road in the BIG EAST is like winning the lottery,” said coach Ed Cooley after his Friars (9-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) rallied in the second half to edge Seton Hall 71-67.
 
Bryce Hopkins led PC with 24 points and grabbed all 10 of his rebounds in the second half. Ed Croswell added 21 points and nine boards. The Friars limited the Pirates (7-5, 0-1) to 34.5 percent after halftime.  The Hall’s Kadary Richmond scored a career-high 28 points to go along with nine rebounds five assists and two steals. KC Ndefo added 11 points.
 
UConn held a 43-39 lead at Butler with 9:43 to play before the Huskies finished the game with a 25-7 run and a 68-46 win. Adama Sanogo was the leader, scoring 27 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Manny Bates led Butler (8-4, 0-1) with 16 points. UConn (12-0, 1-0) held the Bulldogs to a season-low 30 percent shooting from the field.
 
St. John’s (11-1) won the Orange Bowl Classic by knocking off Florida State 93-79. Joel Soriano was named the Most Valuable Player after scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for his 10^th double-double of the year. Dylan Addae-Wusu matched his career scoring high with 20 points.
 
Villanova trailed 35-32 at halftime, but ramped up defensively in the second half to win 71-64 at Saint Joseph’s. The Wildcats (6-5) held the Hawks to 34.4 percent shooting after the break. Brandon Slater led VU with 19 points and eight rebounds. Eric Dixon had 16 points and 12 boards. Chris Arcidiacono had 14 points, four assists and no turnovers in 35:18.
 
DePaul could not get untracked at Northwestern and lost 83-45. The Blue Demons (6-6) shot 30.8 percent from the field. Eral Penn and Philmon Gebrewhit had 11 points each.
 
BIG EAST action continues on Tuesday with three league games.