MBB Minute – Marquette and Seton Hall had different paths to road victories Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles built a big lead, lost it and then recovered while the Pirates were in control from the opening tip.
 
No. 9 Marquette beat Villanova 85-80 at Finneran Pavilion behind the production of Tyler Kolek. The senior poured in a career-high 32 points, dished nine assists, grabbed six rebounds and made three steals. In the first half, the Golden Eagles (16-5, 7-3 BIG EAST) built a 37-17 advantage before the Wildcats (11-10, 4-6) made a huge comeback to take a 51-47 lead. Kolek responded by making five 3-pointers over the next 2:54 to take back the lead. Eric Dixon and TJ Bamba each scored 24 points for Villanova.
 
Seton Hall registered its largest margin of victory in a BIG EAST regular season game with a 72-39 win at DePaul. The Pirates (14-8, 7-4) held the Blue Demons (3-18, 0-10) to 22 percent shooting from the floor. Dre Davis posted game highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Coleman added 15 points. Kadary Richmond returned from a two-game absence, playing 18 minutes. He scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds. Da’Sean Nelson had 11 points for DePaul.
 
The two games on Wednesday’s schedule are an FS1 doubleheader. At 6:30 p.m. ET, St. John’s plays Xavier at Cintas Center. The Red Storm (13-7, 5-4) won the first meeting 81-66 on Dec. 20 at Carnesecca Arena. They are aiming for their third season sweep of Xavier since the Musketeers joined the BIG EAST in 2013-14. Xavier (10-10, 5-5) has the toughest schedule in the nation according to the latest NCAA NET rankings.
 
At 8:30 p.m., No. 1 Connecticut hosts Providence at Gampel Pavilion. After losing their conference opener at Seton Hall, the Huskies (18-2, 8-1) have won eight straight, including Sunday’s 99-56 win against Xavier in Hartford. The Friars (14-6, 5-4), who have won three straight, have been led by Devin Carter, who has averaged 23.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals over his last six games.