Standings | Stats
 
MBB Minute – St. John’s, Marquette, Villanova and Creighton notched Saturday victories while Butler and Providence took losses in a 4-2 Saturday for BIG EAST teams.
 
Playing its first game since the death of legendary coach Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s defeated Kansas State 88-71 fittingly in Carnesecca Arena. Zuby Ejiofor posted career highs of 28 points and 13 rebounds.
 
In a battle of ranked teams, No. 5 Marquette rallied to knock off No. 11 Wisconsin 88-74 before a record crowd of 18,107 at Fiserv Forum. The Golden Eagles (9-1) outscored the Badgers 51-35 in the second half. Kam Jones led with 32 points, six assists and four steals.
 
Villanova has a three-game winning streak after a comfortable 94-65 victory against Temple in a Philadelphia Big Five Classic contest at Wells Fargo Center. The Wildcats (6-4) took control early and rode Eric Dixon’s game-high 24 points to the win.
 
Creighton used balanced scoring to beat UNLV 83-65. Jamiya Neal stepped up and nearly registered a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. The Bluejays (7-3) confirmed that Pop Isaacs will be out for the season due to hip surgery. 
 
Butler had its six-game winning streak end with a 79-51 loss at No. 17 Houston. The Bulldogs (7-2) fell to the vaunted Cougar defense, making only 28.3 percent from the field. Augusto Cassia and Patrick McCaffery had 11 points each for BU.
 
Providence led 35-28 at halftime, but the Friars (6-4) dropped a 69-63 decision at unbeaten Rhode Island. Bryce Hopkins and Bensley Joseph had 16 points each for PC.  
 
BIG EAST teams are 74-28 (.725) going into Sunday.
 
The Big 12-BIG EAST Battle concludes Sunday when Seton Hall hosts Oklahoma State at noon ET on FS1. At 5 p.m., UConn plays at Texas at 5 p.m. on ESPN.