MBB Minute – In the first conference action since Dec. 23, Marquette hosted Creighton Saturday afternoon in a top-25 matchup, and the Golden Eagles used a second half surge to claim victory. Also on Saturday, St. John’s topped Hofstra and DePaul bested Chicago State.
 
Falling behind by 11 early in the game, No. 10 Marquette (11-3, 2-1 BIG EAST) found its footing to pull within two at the half, 30-28. Marquette, which shot just 15.0 percent (3-of-20) from 3-point range in the first half, hit 54.5 percent (6-of-11) in the second for the 72-67 win. The Golden Eagles were led by 15 points apiece from guards Tyler Kolek and Sean Jones and pushed their BIG EAST Conference home winning streak to 20 games to tie a league record. Baylor Scheierman scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to pace No. 22 Creighton (9-4, 0-2 BE).
 
In its final regular season non-conference matchup, St. John’s (9-4, 1-1 BE) outlasted Hofstra, 84-79. Daniss Jenkins put the Red Storm on his back and nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists without committing a turnover. Fellow starters Jordan Dingle, Joel Soriano and RJ Luis Jr. recorded double figures to help St. John's improve to 6-1 at home this season.
 
DePaul (3-9, 0-1 BE) closed out 2023 and its non-conference slate with a 70-58 win over Chicago State. Four Blue Demons scored in the double digits with Elijah Fisher leading the pack with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists. K.T. Raimey notched a career-high 15 points in addition to five rebounds and two assists. Midway through the first half, Raimey led DePaul to a 9-0 run on three-consecutive three-pointers for a 21-17 lead. After taking the lead, DePaul would not trail again, holding a double-digit lead through most of the game.
 
BIG EAST men’s basketball will return in 2024 following a three-day hiatus, with a trio of conference games scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 2.