MBB Minute: Each of the three home teams were victorious in BIG EAST action on Wednesday.  St. John's led wire-to-wire against Butler, Seton Hall used a strong start to the second half to pull away from Xavier, and Georgetown never trailed versus DePaul.

Wednesday, Jan. 28

St. John's 92, Butler 70 - Box Score 
Ian Jackson led four St. John's players with 18 points as the Red Storm extended their win streak to seven after a win over Butler at Madison Square Garden.  The Johnnies never trailed, jumping out to a 12-2 lead in the opening five minutes of action.  The Bulldogs cut the deficit to five (28-23) with 4:28 left in the half but SJU closed on a 15-6 push, taking a 43-29 lead at the break.  After a Finley Bizjack jumper got Butler within nine (47-38), St. John's used an extended 21-10 run to push its lead to 20, and would lead by as many as 29 points late in the ballgame.  Zuby Ejiofor added 15 points, six boards, five assists, and three blocks for the Red Storm, while Dillon Mitchell tallied his third double-double in the last four games, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds to go with four assists and three blocked shots.  For Butler, Michael Ajayi posted his BIG EAST-best 14th double-double, with 19 points and 11 rebounds.  Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Evan Haywood added 12 points apiece.

Of Note

• St. John's scored 26 of its first 28 points in the paint before connecting on 3-pointers on five consecutive possessions to close the opening half.
• Over his last four games, SJU's Dillon Mitchell has averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
• Butler committed a season-low six turnovers on the night. 

Seton Hall 86, Xavier 68 - Box Score 
Tajuan Simpkins (27 points) and Budd Clark (24) each tallied season-highs in the scoring column to lead Seton Hall past Xavier.  Simpkins connected on 5-of-8 from the perimeter, while Clark added seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Pirates.  The Musketeers started the game strong, scoring the first six points en route to posting a 13-2 lead less than five minutes in.  The Musketeers - who led by as many as 13 - took an 11-point lead into the locker room at the half after a Tre Carroll 3-pointer made it 41-30.  The Pirates came out firing in the second half, scoring the first 14 points to kickstart a 28-9 run through the first 9:30 of play.  A Simpkins 3-pointer for SHU put them up 11 (74-63) with 5:00 to play before five straight by the Musketeers got them within six with 4:11 to go.  The Pirates closed the game with 12 unanswered points.  Jacob Dar and AJ Staton-McCray added 10 points apiece for SHU.  Carroll would finish with 22 for the Musketeers - all in the first half - while Jovan Milicevic had 16.

Of Note:

• Seton Hall registered a season-high 14 steals on the night.  The Pirates entered the game ranked 18th nationally, averaging 9.5 swipes per game.
• The comeback win was Seton Hall's fourth when trailing by double-digits in the second half.
• Over his last four games, X's Tre Carroll has scored 111 points - good for an average of 27.8 points per game.
• It is the most points scored over a four-game span by a Xavier player in the last 20 years and the most by a BIG EAST player in a four-game span since Villanova's Eric Dixon tallied 113 points over a four-game stretch last season (Feb. 21-March 4, 2025).

Georgetown 70, DePaul 61 - Box Score 
Malik Mack led four Hoyas in double figures with 16 points as the Hoyas never trailed in a win over DePaul.  Mack was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line while dishing out seven assists.  Georgetown led 14-7 at the 13:05 mark before a 9-2 DePaul push, capped by a Brandon Maclin layup, tied it at 16-16 with 7:53 remaining in the half.  But the Hoyas would close the period on an 18-8 push, taking a 34-24 lead into the break. After the Blue Demons scored the first eight points of the second half, getting within two (34-32), a 12-4 run capped by a Kayvaun Mulready 3-pointer pushed the Georgetown lead back to 10.  The Hoyas would lead by as many as 13 in the second frame, but DePaul kept it close throughout getting within five with a minute to play.  The Hoyas' center tandem of Vince Iwuchukwu and Julius Halaifonua each tallied 11 points, while Caleb Willams added 10.  For DePaul, Brandon Maclin led all scorers with 19, while Layden Blocker and RJ Smith added 13 points apiece.

Of Note

• GU's Malik Mack becomes the fourth BIG EAST player this season to be perfect from the free throw line in a game, with at least 10 attempts.  Teammate KJ Lewis was also 10-for-10 from the charity stripe on Dec. 31 against St. John's.
• DePaul's Brandon Maclin has scored in double figures in seven straight games - all off the bench.  
• His seven double-digit scoring games as a reserve is tied for fourth-most in the BIG EAST, behind Seton Hall's Tajuan Simpkins (13) and Xavier's Roddie Anderson III (9) and Butler's Evan Haywood (9).

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Looking Ahead: There are no scheduled games in the BIG EAST on Thursday.  On Friday night, Providence travels to Villanova to begin a five-game stretch over the weekend.  Four games are set for Saturday, beginning with a trio of early afternoon tips - Marquette at Seton Hall (Peacock/NBCSN) and Georgetown at Butler (TNT/HBO Max) and noon ET and DePaul at Xavier (FS1) at 1 p.m. ET. Saturday's action concludes with UConn visiting Creighton at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. 

Friday, Jan. 30

FS1
Providence at Villanova - 7 p.m. ET
Alex Faust (pxp); Jim Spanarkel (analyst)


Saturday, Jan. 31

Peacock; NBC Sports Network
Marquette at Seton Hall - Noon ET
John Fanta (pxp); Jordan Cornette (analyst)

TNT; HBO Max
Georgetown at Butler - Noon ET
Brian Anderson (pxp); Grant Hill (analyst); Andy Katz (reporter)

FS1
DePaul at Xavier - 1 p.m. ET
Jack Kizer (pxp); Nick Bahe (analyst)

FOX
UConn at Creighton - 8 p.m. ET
Tim Brando (pxp); Donny Marshall (analyst)