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UConn, Marquette Win at Home on Tuesday Night

MBB Minute: Both UConn and Marquette held serve at home on Tuesday night in the BIG EAST.  The Huskies held off Providence to sweep the season series, while the Golden Eagles earned a win to split their series with Creighton. 

Tuesday, Jan. 27

UConn 87, Providence 81 - Box Score 
No. 2/3 UConn's Tarris Reed Jr. and Eric Reibe combined for 33 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks, while  connecting on 14-of-15 field goals as the No. 2/3 Huskies earned a home win over Providence.  The win improved the Huskies' record to 20-1 and extended their win streak to 16 games - the third-longest streak in program history. The Friars jumped out to an early 13-8 lead before a 15-4 UConn run midway through the period made it a 10-point game.  Providence responded with nine straight to cut it to one (29-28) with 7:01 left, but UConn would hold on to lead 41-37 at the break. The Huskies never trailed in the second half, but the Friars kept challenging, getting as close as one (67-66) with 7:32 to play after a pair of free throws from Jamier Jones.  Solo Ball had 17 points and Silas Demary Jr. 15 points and six assists for UConn, while Malachi Smith added 12 points and seven assists and was 4-of-4 from 3-point land.  The Friars were led by 20 points from Jamier Jones and 18 from Jaylin Sellers.  Oswin Erhunmwunse tallied a double-double (14 points; 10 rebounds) and Stefan Vaaks added 12 points. 

Of Note:
  • UConn's 10-0 start to BIG EAST play is its best since opening 11-0 in 1998-99 and four shy of the 14-0 start in 1995-96. The 14-0 start is tied with St. John’s in 1984-85 as the best in conference history
  • The 10-0 league start is the best since 2018-19, when Villanova also started the year 10-0. Overall, it marks the sixth time in league history a team has started 10-0 and the fourth time for the Huskies.
  • UConn registered 23 assists on 29 field goals, with three Huskies tallying at least six helpers on the night - Alex Karaban (7), Malachi Smith (7), Silas Demary Jr. (6).
  • It marked the first time three UConn players had at least six assists in the same game since Feb. 10, 2024 at Georgetown (Tristan Newton, 9; Cam Spencer, 7; Donovan Clingan, 6)
  • The Friars' Stefan Vaaks (15.1) and Jamier Jones (12.8) are the fourth-highest freshman scoring duo (min. 10.0 ppg) in the country, averaging nearly 28 points per game.   They combined for 32 last night.


Marquette 86, Creighton 62 - Box Score 
Nigel James Jr. led all scorers with 21 points as Marquette cruised to home victory over Creighton.  The two teams traded baskets through the first 5:00 of play before Marquette rattled off nine straight to take a 19-9 lead with just under 12 minutes to play. Creighton got it within seven - 23-16 - at the 9:27 mark before the Golden Eagles erupted for 18 unanswered to close the half on a 29-7 run.  MU's lead grew to as many as 31 in the second half, but the Jays were able to close within 15 with three and half minutes left after an extended 28-13 push.  Royce Parham added 19 points (9-11 FG) and seven rebounds, while Adrian Stevens had 14 and Chase Ross 13 in the win for the Golden Eagles.  Austin Swartz led the Bluejays with 17 points and six assists, while Blake Harper scored 15.

Of Note
  • Marquette and Creighton split their season series, with each team winning on its respective home court.  The average margin of victory in the two games was 22.5 points.
  • With his sixth 20-point performance of the season, Marquette’s Nigel James Jr. improved his league-best scoring average in conference play to 19.7 points per game 
  • James Jr. is one of four freshmen nationally to lead his respective power conference in scoring (conference games only), joining national player of the year candidates AJ Dybantsa of BYU and Cameron Boozer of Duke and Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas
  • Creighton's Josh Dix had his streak of 32 straight games with a 3-pointer snapped after an 0-for-9 night from deep.  In 118 career games, Dix has 148 3-pointers.


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Today's Action: Wednesday night features a trio of BIG EAST contents, starting with Butler visiting No. 25/24 St. John's at 7 p.m. ET,  Xavier travels to Seton Hall for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip, followed by DePaul at Georgetown at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Wednesday, Jan. 28

Peacock; NBC Sports Network 
Butler at St. John's - 7 p.m. ET
Justin Kutcher (pxp); Tarik Turner (analyst)

Peacock
Xavier at Seton Hall - 7:30 p.m. ET
Ed Cohen (pxp); Jordan Cornette (analyst)

FS1
DePaul at Georgetown - 8:30 p.m.
Chris Vosters (pxp); Phil Martelli (analyst)

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BIG EAST Men's Basketball Public Availability Reports:  Beginning in 2025-26, the BIG EAST Conference will provide public reports on the availability of student-athletes in conference games in the sports of men's and women's basketball. 

Men's Basketball Availability Report

BIG EAST schools will be required to submit availability reports three hours before the scheduled tipoff time.  Under the reporting structure, players will be designated as "questionable" or "out."  Availability reports will be posted on the BIG EAST website throughout the 2025-26 season.