MBB Minute – On a Saturday filled with drama, two of the four BIG EAST games were decided by one point and another went into triple overtime.
 
No. 1 Connecticut edged Villanova 66-65 at Wells Fargo Center and took sole possession of first place in the standings. Tristen Newton scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half for the Huskies (17-2, 7-1 BIG EAST). UConn used a pair of 11-0 runs to establish a 29-24 halftime lead. The Wildcats (11-7, 4-3) tied the game five times in the second half, but could not take a lead. TJ Bamba and Justin Moore each scored 15 points for Nova. UConn is 18-3 all-time as a road No. 1 squad.
 
In a triple-OT thriller at Prudential Center, Creighton scored seven of the final 10 points in the third extra session to beat Seton Hall 87-84. The Bluejays (14-5, 5-3) were led by their usual trio of Ryan Kalkbrenner, who amassed 28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks. Baylor Scheierman had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Trey Alexander finished with 23 points, eight boards and seven assists. The Pirates (13-6, 6-2) got 21 points each from Dre Davis, Al-Amir Dawes and Kadary Richmond, who posted the first Seton Hall triple-double in a BIG EAST game. In addition to 21 points, he had 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
 
At Madison Square Garden, Marquette recovered from a double-digit deficit in the first half to lead by 12 in the second half, then hung on to edge St. John’s 73-72. The Golden Eagles (13-5, 4-3) rallied by shooting 18-of-24 from the floor in the second half. All five starters reached double figures led by Tyler Kolek’s second straight double-double (15 pts., 11 assists). St. John’s (12-7, 4-4) got a season-high 20 points from RJ Luis Jr. and a double-double from Chris Ledlum (13 pts., 11 rebs.).
 
Butler and DePaul played an even 10 minutes before the Bulldogs embarked on a 13-2 run and led 37-24 by halftime. The Blue Demons would not make a serious run at the lead in a 74-60 win for Butler (21-7, 3-5). Pierre Brooks II scored a game-high 20 points for BU. Posh Alexander and DJ Davis combined for 11 steals. Jalen Terry led DePaul (3-15, 0-7) with 15 points, all on 3-pointers.