Thursday In #BIGEASTwbb
Fifth-ranked Connecticut won its sixth-straight game, defeating Xavier 73-37 in Cincinnati on Thursday night. The Huskies led just 4-2 at the first media timeout before sprinting to a 19-5 lead after the first quarter. UConn (13-2, 6-0 BIG EAST) shot .463 from the field while holding the Musketeers to a .215 clip to pull away. Dorka Juhasz led the Huskies with 18 points and 17 rebounds, while Aubrey Griffin added a game-high 19 points. Taylor Smith led Xavier (7-8, 0-6) with 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers.
Recap | Box Score
 
Up Next
A five-game Sunday in BIG EAST women’s basketball awaits, which includes a nationally televised tilt between Marquette and No. 25/24 Creighton. The Golden Eagles and Bluejays tip off at 4 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. DePaul travels No. 5/5 UConn at 1:30 p.m. in a game airing on SNY, while the day’s other three games will stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloHoops. For more on each matchup, see below.
 
Seton Hall at Providence (1 p.m., BEDN): Both are coming off top-25 upset victories with the Pirates dealing No. 24 St. John’s it’s first loss of the season and the Friars winning at No. 25 Creighton for their first ranked win since 2013. Grace Efosa erupted for a career-high 27 points for PC in that game, while the Friars boast one of the most well-rounded players in the conference in Janai Crooms. Crooms leads Providence with 12.7 points per game, but is also tops in rebounding (7.4), assists (4.1) and steals (0.9). Lauren Park-Lane leads The Hall, averaging 20.6 points and 6.3 assists per game, both of which rank in the top 20 nationally. She has three 30-point games to her credit this season and tallied a 15-point, 11-assist double-double in the win over the Red Storm.
DePaul at UConn (1:30 p.m., SNY): Following Thursday’s win at Xavier, UConn has won six-straight games, matching its longest winning streak of the season despite being without a number of key pieces. Dorka Juhasz and Aaliyah Edwards have been a 1-2 punch inside, with Juhasz tallying 18 points and 17 boards at Xavier, and Edwards going for 23 points and 20 rebounds at Creighton last week. DePaul boasts the nation’s No. 4 scorer and No. 5 rebounder in Aneesah Morrow, but it’s the development of the pieces around Morrow that could also be worrisome for the Huskies, particularly in Darrione Rogers and Kendall Holmes. Rogers has the lone triple-double in the BIG EAST this season while Rogers and Holmes both rank among the top three-point shooters in the league.  
Xavier at St. John’s (2 p.m., BEDN): Both squads will look to bounce back after midweek losses, which included the first of the season for the now 13-1 Red Storm. St. John’s still boasts the league’s top scoring defense, holding opponents to just 54.6 points per game. Transfer Jayla Everett has made an instant impact on the Red Storm and ranks eighth in the BIG EAST with 16.6 points per game. Xavier is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the conference, making over 36-percent of its attempts from deep. Mackayla Scarlett makes on average nearly two triples per game and leads the Musketeers in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
Butler at Villanova (2 p.m., BEDN): The Bulldogs have faced two of the hottest teams in the BIG EAST in their last two outings in UConn and Seton Hall, and get a third, winners of four straight Villanova, on Sunday. They have the tall task of trying to contain the nation’s top scorer in Maddy Siegrist (28.1 ppg) and will look to leading scorer Rachel McLimore to keep pace. McLimore has scored in double figures in three of the last four games, including 20 points in a win at Xavier last week. Siegrist continues her climb up the BIG EAST historical charts every game, passing Rebecca Lobo on Wednesday night for seventh all-time in scoring with 1,243 points over 54 career conference games. Villanova has won four straight against Butler, after the Bulldogs won four straight between 2018-2020.
Marquette at Creighton (4 p.m., CBSSN): The Golden Eagles are coming off a win at rival DePaul on Wednesday night while the Bluejays were stunned at home by Providence in a four-point setback. Both veteran-led teams have noteworthy resumes and have been ranked or receiving votes in the national polls throughout the season. They have the third- and fourth-best NETs in the BIG EAST, both landing in the top 40 with top-30 strength of schedules. Jordan King and Chloe Marotta have been dual threat for the Golden Eagles, while Creighton’s Morgan Maly and Lauren Jensen both rank in the top 10 in scoring in the BIG EAST.
 
Upcoming Schedule
Sunday – Jan. 8
SETON HALL at PROVIDENCE, 1 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
DePAUL at 5/5 UCONN, 1:30 p.m. Stats  SNY
XAVIER at 24/23 ST. JOHN’S, 2 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
BUTLER at RV/RV VILLANOVA, 2 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
MARQUETTE at 25/24 CREIGHTON, 4 p.m. Stats CBSSN
Wednesday – Jan. 11
XAVIER at PROVIDENCE, 11 a.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
BUTLER at GEORGETOWN, 7 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
VILLANOVA at DePAUL, 8 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
UCONN at ST. JOHN’S, 8 p.m. Stats SNY
SETON HALL at CREIGHTON, 9 p.m. Stats FS1
BIG EAST GAME IN CAPS
All times Eastern