MBB Minute – In Wednesday action, Connecticut, playing its first game as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team since 2009, used a stifling defense to defeat No. 18 Creighton. Providence ended a four-game losing streak and hit the century mark in scoring in a road win at DePaul.
 
UConn (16-2, 6-1 BIG EAST) won its sixth straight game with a 62-48 victory over Creighton (13-5, 4-3) before the usual sellout at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies held the Bluejays to 34.6 percent shooting from the field. Tristen Newton contributed a game-high 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Donovan Clingan returned to the Husky lineup and played 15 minutes. Steven Ashworth had 14 points for Creighton. Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 11 points, eight boards and five blocked shots.
 
Providence (12-6, 3-4) built a 47-31 lead by halftime and enjoyed a 100-62 victory at DePaul (3-14, 0-6). Devin Carter continues to fill his stat line with impressive numbers. The junior guard posted 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Josh Oduro helped with 17 points and game-high nine rebounds. It was PC’s first time reaching the 100-point plateau in a league road league game since Feb. 29, 2004. Elijah Fisher led the Blue Demons with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor and five rebounds.
 
BIG EAST play continues on Friday when Xavier hosts Georgetown at 6:30 p.m. on FS1. The Musketeers (9-8, 3-3) are coming off an 85-71 home win against Butler on Tuesday. The Hoyas (8-9, 1-5) have been off since Sunday’s 80-67 loss at UConn. Georgetown’s Jayden Epps is second in the BIG EAST in scoring with an 18.0 average. Xavier’s Quincy Olivari is fourth at 17.6.