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Ryan Nembhard led Creighton with 16 points.
Ryan Nembhard led Creighton with 16 points.

Men's Basketball

MBB Minute: Three-Way Tie For Second Place Remains After Saturday’s Play

MBB Minute – The three-way tie for second place did not change after all three teams – No. 16 Xavier, No. 18 Creighton and No. 20 Providence – recorded victories on Saturday. Also, No. 20 Connecticut defeated Seton Hall to move into fifth place ahead of the Pirates.
 
Xavier got the early jump on DePaul and won 82-68 at Cintas Center. All five Musketeers (20-7, 12-4 BIG EAST) reached double figures. Jack Nunge led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the season. Adam Kunkel added 16 points and eight assists. Xavier led 49-27 at halftime. The Blue Demons (13-15, 5-12 BE) got 17 points from Umoja Gibson via five 3-pointers.
 
Creighton led St. John’s 58-57 with 6:39 to play before an 11-0 spurt led the Bluejays (18-9, 12-4 BE) to a 77-67 win at Carnesecca Arena. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Arthur Kaluma helped down the stretch and Bluejays were 16-of-16 from the foul line. Ryan Nembhard led CU with 16 points. Joel Soriano led the Johnnies (16-12, 6-11 BE) with 15 points followed by David Jones’ 14.
 
Providence and visiting Villanova battled like they since the early years of the league. The Friars (20-7, 12-4 BE) led most of the way and pulled away in the final minute to score an 85-72 victory and end Villanova’s three-game winning streak. PC’s Ed Croswell was a force around the basket with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Bryce Hopkins contributed 19 points and 11 boards. The Wildcats (13-14, 7-9 BE) were led by Eric Dixon’s 18 points and eight rebounds.
 
At Gampel Pavilion, UConn rode a 14-0 run in the second half to earn a 64-55 win against Seton Hall. Jordan Hawkins paced the Huskies (20-7, 9-7 BE) with 20 points and Andre Jackson added 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Pirates (16-12, 9-8 BE), who lost Kadary Richmond to a back injury in the first half, got 16 points each from Tyrese Samuels and Al-Amir Dawes.
 
Georgetown (6-21, 1-15 BE) at Butler (13-14, 5-11 BE) is the only game on Sunday’s schedule. FS1 will televise the contest from Hinkle Fieldhouse at 3 p.m. ET. The Bulldogs won the first meeting 80-51 on Jan. 1. The Hoyas are 6-3 at Hinkle.