MBB Minute – No. 1 Connecticut and Xavier won hard-fought games at home Wednesday as BIG EAST play reached the halfway point in the regular season. The results show the Huskies atop the league standings at 9-1 with Xavier, St. John’s, Providence and Butler locked in a four-way tie for fifth place at 5-5.
 
UConn freshman Stephon Castle scored a collegiate-high 20 points and led four Huskies (19-2, 9-1 BIG EAST) in double figures in a 74-65 victory over Providence at Gampel Pavilion. He is the fifth UConn player to score 20 or more points in a game this season. For the Friars (14-7, 5-5), Devin Carter and Josh Oduro each finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.
 
Xavier closed its game against St. John’s with a 13-2 run in an 88-77 victory at Cintas Center. The Musketeers (11-10, 5-5) got 65 points from their guard trio of Desmond Claude (23 points), Quincy Olivari (23) and Dayvion McKnight (19), who added six assists. The offensive support for the Red Storm (13-8, 5-5) came from Daniss Jenkins, who had 25 points, and Joel Soriano who excelled with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
 
The second half of the regular season begins Friday when No. 13 Creighton hosts Butler on FS1 at 9 p.m. ET. The Bluejays (16-5, 7-3) have won seven of their last eight games while the Bulldogs (14-7, 5-5) have won three straight. In this series, the home team has won 11 of the last 12 matchups not played on a neutral site. Creighton averages a 5.3 rebound edge against its opponents this season. Butler is 12-0 when winning the rebounding battle.