MBB Minute – Providence powered its way to a road victory and DePaul prevailed at home in Thursday’s BIG EAST action.
 
Providence used a very strong first half to beat Butler 72-52 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Friars (11-3, 3-0 BIG EAST) used an early 25-3 run to streak to a 46-18 lead at halftime. Devin Carter led PC with game highs of 21 points and four steals. Ed Croswell helped with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Butler (8-6, 0-3) got 12 points each from Jalen Thomas and Manny Bates.
 
In a match of two teams vying for their first league win, DePaul (7-7, 1-2) prevailed 83-76 over Georgetown (5-9, 0-3) at Wintrust Arena. With Georgetown up 61-58 with 9:42 to play, DePaul went on a 12-2 run to grab the win. Umoja Gibson scored a career-high 31 points with five assists and only one turnover in 38 minutes. He was 10-for-10 from the foul line. Javan Johnson added 21 points. Three Hoyas had career highs in different categories – Brandon Murray (29 pts,), Qudus Wahab (16 rebs.) and Primo Spears (11 assts.).
 
The Saturday schedule includes the BIG EAST’s two ranked teams, Connecticut and Xavier, meeting at noon ET on FOX. The second-ranked Huskies (14-0, 3-0) had won every game by double digits until Wednesday’s 74-66 victory over Villanova. Xavier (11-3, 3-0) has a seven-game winning streak after defeating St. John’s 84-79, also on Wednesday.
 
Also at noon, St. John’s (11-3, 1-2) makes the short trip to Prudential Center to battle Seton Hall (7-7, 0-3) on FS1. The road team won both meetings last year. The Johnnies beat the Pirates 84-63 in a re-scheduled game that was played at Walsh Gym on the Seton Hall campus just two days after the Pirates won 66-60 at MSG.
 
Marquette (10-4, 2-1) plays Villanova (7-6, 1-1) at Finneran Pavilion at 2 p.m. on FS1. The Golden Eagles have won seven of their last nine games with both losses coming in overtime. The Wildcats had a five-game win streak end with Wednesday’s loss at UConn.