MBB Minute: Seton Hall won at Kansas State and St. John's held off Ole Miss at Madison Square Garden on Saturday as seven BIG EAST teams were in action. Providence began the day with a win over Rhode Island, while Villanova beat Penn for the Big Five Classic title in Philadelphia. DePaul used a strong second half to win at home over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
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Providence 90, Rhode Island 71 -
Box Score
The freshman duo of Stefan Vaaks and Jamier Jones scored 18 points apiece in Providence's win over Rhode Island. The Friars trailed 14-2 to open the game before Vaaks connected on four consecutive 3-pointers to knot the game at 14-14. Providence led 41-37 at the break and outscored the Rams by 15 in the second half en route to shooting 57.4% (31-54) from the floor. Vaaks made six 3-pointers while Jones was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor.
Seton Hall 78, Kansas State 67 -
Box Score
Four players reached double-digits in the scoring column, led by 16 points apiece from AJ Staton-McCray and Elijah Fisher as Seton Hall used stifling defense to down K-State in the Little Apple. The Pirates' 8-0 run late in the first half gave them the lead for good. K-State got within eight late but could get no closer as SHU would lead by as many as 17 (71-54) in the second half. SHU logged 10 steals and forced 16 Wildcat turnovers.
St. John's 63, Ole Miss 58 -
Box Score
Zuby Ejiofor posted 15 points, nine rebounds, eight blocks, and three steals and the Red Storm's pressure forced 20 Ole Miss turnovers in the win. Ejiofor's eight blocks were the most by a BIG EAST player this year and the most by a SJU player since 2018. The Red Storm led by as many as 15 in the first half (33-18) but Ole Miss got it within three - 56-53 - with under a minute to play. Dylan Darling drilled five free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Villanova 90, Penn 63 -
Box Score
Bryce Lindsay scored 18 second half points, leading four Villanova players in double figures as the Wildcats won its 30th Philadelphia Big Five title and their first Big Five Classic crown. Tied at 27-27 in the first half, Nova's 17-2 run broke the game open. The Wildcats made 15 3-pointers and had 20 assists (33 FG) in their seventh straight win. Devin Askew added 17 points, Matt Hodge had 12, and Duke Brennan posted a double-double (15 points/10 rebounds).
DePaul 76, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 72 -
Box Score
Four Blue Demons reached double figures led by NJ Benson's career-high 26 points. He added nine rebounds and two assists in the win. Arkansas-Pine Bluff would lead by nine at the break (37-28), but DePaul responded with a strong second half led by freshman Kruz McClure's 17 points - all over the final 20 minutes of play. Layden Blocker and CJ Gunn had 12 points apiece.
Boise State 77,
Butler 68 -
Box Score
Butler saw its four-game win streak snapped as the Bulldogs were outrebounded for the first time this season. Butler held a 42-35 edge in the second half before a 15-2 Boise run put the Broncos ahead the rest of the way. Michael Ajayi led the Bulldogs with 16 points and eight boards, while Drayton Jones added 12 points and four blocked shots.
Wisconsin 96,
Marquette 76 -
Box Score
Adrien Stevens earned his first start and scored a team-high 15 points for the Golden Eagles. Marquette trailed 43-31 at the break and connected on nearly 53% from the floor in the second half (18-34). Chase Ross finished with 12 points, Nigel James Jr. had 11 and Royce Parham 10 in the loss for MU.
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Sunday's slate features a pair of evening BIG EAST road contests -
Georgetown travels to No. 16/17 North Carolina and
Creighton heads to Nebraska. Both games tip at 5 p.m. ET.
ESPN
Georgetown at North Carolina - 5 p.m. ET
Kevin Brown (pxp); Cory Alexander (analyst)
FS1
Creighton at Nebraska - 5 p.m. ET
Connor Onion (pxp); Nick Bahe (analyst)