Recapping a Full Saturday of BIG EAST Play; UConn, Villanova, St. John's, Xavier, and Seton Hall all victorious - Big East Conference Skip To Main Content

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Recapping a Full Saturday of BIG EAST Play; UConn, Villanova, St. John's, Xavier, and Seton Hall all victorious


MBB Minute: Saturday featured five BIG EAST games with 10 teams in action on TNT & truTV and FS1.  No. 4/4 UConn won its 12th straight game, downing DePaul in Hartford, while Villanova’s clutch play down the stretch led to its third BIG EAST road win at Marquette.  St. John’s used the long-ball to earn a win in Omaha and Seton Hall proved to be tough in crunch time at Georgetown.  Xavier scored a season-high 97 points in BIG EAST play in a win over Providence.

Saturday, Jan. 10

UConn 72, DePaul 60 - Box Score 
The Huskies won their 12th consecutive game, earning a wire-to-wire win at home over DePaul. Braylon Mullins led UConn with a full stat line - 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks.  UConn jumped out to a 10-3 lead, building a double-digit lead midway through the period.  DePaul would get within four - 25-21 - with a little over minutes left in the period but UConn used a 12-6 run to close the half, taking a 37-27 halftime lead.  In the second half, UConn continued to push the pace, building as much as a 23-point advantage.  DePaul closed on an 11-1 run over the final five minutes of the contest.  Alex Karaban had 15 points while Silas Demary Jr. added 14 points and four assists for the Huskies.  Layden Blocker led the Blue Demons with 16 points and five boards, while Brandon Maclin (12 points) and C.J. Gunn (11) also finished in double figures.

Of Note
  • For the fourth time in program history and first since 2001-02, UConn has opened BIG EAST play 6-0.
  • UConn's Alex Karaban became one of 13 active players with 250 career 3-pointers

Villanova 76, Marquette 73 - Box Score 
The Wildcats held off a late Marquette surge to earn their third BIG EAST road win in as many tries.  Acaden Lewis led Villanova with 20 points and eight assists.  It was a strong offensive first half for both teams, as Nova started hot and built a 44-38 lead at the break after making 62% of its attempts through the first 20 minutes.  Eight of Marquette's 14 first half field goals were from beyond the arc.  The two teams traded runs to start the second half and, after two Lewis free throws with 9:03 to play, Villanova built its largest lead - 64-55 - with 9:03 to go.  The Golden Eagles scored six straight and would cut it to one - 72-71 - after a Nigel James Jr. layup with 3:08 left.  Down one (74-73) with 1:28 to go, Marquette had three looks to tie down the stretch but came up just short.  Matt Hodge had 15 points, making four 3-pointers, while Devin Askew added 13 and Duke Brennan 12 for the Wildcats.  For the Golden Eagles, James Jr. had a career night with 31 points to go along with six assists and three steals.  Royce Parham added 17 points for MU.

Of Note
  • Nigel James Jr. became the first true freshman for Marquette to score 30 or more points since the 2016-17 season, when former BIG EAST Player of the Year Markus Howard had 34 against Xavier on Feb. 18, 2017.
  • Villanova’s Acaden Lewis registered his third game with at least eight assists; he is one of five freshmen nationally to have eight or more dimes in at least three games


St. John's 90, Creighton 73 - Box Score 
A 22-4 St. John's run midway through the first half broke the game open for good in Omaha.  Six Red Storm players tallied double figures, led by a career-high 17 points for Lefteris Liotopoulos.  He connected on 6-of-10 shots, including five 3-pointers.  SJU scored the first seven points of the game but Creighton responded with a 12-4 run en route to building a 23-18 lead with just under 11 minutes left in the period.  It was all St. John's from that point, scoring the next seven en route to leading 52-34 at the break.  SJU built as much as a 26-point advantage in the second half, after a Bryce Hopkins jumper with 5:46 left.  St. John's connected on 12-of-23 from the perimeter - moving to 9-0 when connecting on at least eight 3-pointers.  Creighton was 10-of-26 from beyond the arc - the fourth time with double-digit trifectas in BIG EAST play.  Isaac Traudt had 14 points for the Bluejays, while Blake Harper added 12.

Of Note
  • The win marked the third Quad 1 victory of the season for St. John's; the Red Storm are one of three BIG EAST teams and 21 programs nationally with at least three Q1 wins
  • Creighton's Nik Graves moved over 250 assists for his career


Seton Hall 76, Georgetown 67 - Box Score
Seton Hall engineered another comeback from a second half double-digit deficit to move to 4-1 in BIG EAST play.  Budd Clark scored a season-high 22 points while Tajuan Simpkins came off the bench to score 17 - 15 in the second half -  for the Pirates in the win.  Both teams traded blows to start the first half, before a 12-5 Georgetown run midway through the period gave it a 25-18 lead with 3:34 left.  The Pirates closed on a 9-3 push to tie the game at 29-29.  Out of the break, Georgetown opened the second frame on a 18-7 run, as a Malik Mack 3-pointer gave the Hoyas an 11-point lead (47-36) with 14:15 to play.  Seton Hall tallied the next eight points and battled back to take a 52-51 lead with 8:55 to play.  The Hoyas would hold a 57-54 lead with 7:24 to go before 13 straight for SHU gave it a 10-point lead, putting the game away.  

Of Note
  • It was Seton Hall's third consecutive second half double-digit comeback win
  • SHU has held 14 of 16 opponents under 70 points this season - including 10 under 65 points


Xavier 97, Providence 84 - Box Score 
Five Musketeers reached double figures - led by a season-high 23 from Malik Messina-Moore - in Xavier's home win over Providence.  The senior guard made five 3-pointers and reached the 1,000-point mark for his career in the win.  After the Friars tallied the first two points of the game, Xavier caught fire and used a 17-5 push to build a double-digit first half lead (17-7) at the 14:39 mark.  Paced by six 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, the Musketeers extended their lead to as many as 12 and held a 44-35 lead at the break.  Both teams flowed offensively in the second half, with Xavier shooting nearly 58% and Providence connecting on nearly 53% from the floor.  A Messina-Moore 3-pointer with five minutes remaining gave X its largest lead of the game - 89-68.  The Friars continued to fight, closing the game on a 14-6 push.  Jovan Milicevic had 22 points and eight rebounds, while Tre Carroll added 18 points, six boards, and four assists for X.  Filip Borovicanin finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.  For the Friars, Stefan Vaaks led the way with a season-high 21 points, while Jason Edwards tallied 16 points.

Of Note
  • Xavier tied its season-low for turnovers, committing only four.  Combined with its 23 assists, the Musketeers rank fifth nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.91:1).
  • Providence’s Stefan Vaaks has reached double figures in all 16 games for the Friars


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Looking Ahead: The BIG EAST is off on Sunday, Jan. 11 and returns to action with four games on Tuesday, Jan. 13: Villanova at Providence, Marquette at St. John's, Connecticut at Seton Hall, and Georgetown at Creighton.
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This Week in the BIG EAST Podcast:  Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway, UConn standout Alex Karaban, and NBC Sports broadcaster John Fanta are the guests on the second episode of This Week in the BIG EAST.  Now in its 12th season, This Week In The BIG EAST (#TWITBE) is distributed by Westwood One radio and is available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.