MBB Minute: UConn got 24 points from Solo Ball, pulling away from Butler in the second half to improve to 8-1 in true road games.  Budd Clark poured in a season-high 31 points as Seton Hall downed Providence at home.  DePaul's Brandon Maclin hit the go-ahead layup with seven seconds remaining to propel the Blue Demons to its first win over Creighton since 2015.

Wednesday, Feb. 11

UConn 80, Butler 70 - Box Score 

• Solo Ball led all scorers with 24 points, connecting on six of No. 6/5 UConn's 13 3-pointers.  Braylon Mullins (15 points) added three trifectas on the night.
• Both teams traded baskets over the first 10 minutes, as the game saw three lead changes and three ties.
• A 13-2 Butler push gave it a six-point lead (24-18) with 9:51 to go in the half, but UConn would settle in with a 22-9 extended run - capped by a Ball 3-pointer - to go up five (40-35).  The Huskies led 41-38 at the break.
• A 7-0 run early in the second half gave UConn a two-possession lead (51-43) with 15:50 to play and a 10-0 push, capped by a Silas Demary Jr. 3-pointer with 4:32 to play, marked the first double-digit lead of the game.
• Demary Jr. (11 points; 10 assists) and Tarris Reed Jr. (16 points; 10 boards) each logged a double-double for UConn.
• For Butler, Drayton Jones scored 15 points on a perfect shooting night (6-6 FG; 3-3 FT). Yohan Traore tallied 14 points and five boards, while Evan Haywood added 12 points.

Of Note:

• UConn's Silas Demary Jr. registered his third points/assists double-double of the season.  He is one of 13 power conference players - and the only BIG EAST player - with at least three in 2025-26
• UConn is 4-0 all-time when Solo Ball scores 24 points or more.
• Yohan Traore (14) and Jamie Kaiser Jr. (10) helped Butler hold a 26-8 advantage in bench scoring on the night

Seton Hall 87, Providence 80 - Box Score

• Budd Clark poured in a season-high 31 points to go with eight assists and five steals.  He made 11-of-16 shots from the floor (1-2 3FG) and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
• Seton Hall used a 21-11 push over an eight-minute span in the second half - including six points from Clark and nine from Tajuan Simpkins - to flip a six-point deficit into a five-point lead. 
• A traditional three-point play from Clark with 2:03 to play gave the Pirates their largest lead of the night - nine points (81-72)
• The Friars started strong, leading 11-4 less than four minutes into the contest.  They would not trail in the first half.
• Providence made nine 3-pointers through the first 20:00 and held a 43-39 advantage at intermission.
• Seton Hall got 18 points from AJ Staton-McCray and 13 off the bench from Simpkins
• Providence was led by Jaylin Sellers' 23 points and 20 from Stefan Vaaks. Jason Edwards added 11 off the bench.

Of Note:

• Dating back to the 1996-97 season, SHU’s Budd Clark is the first BIG EAST player to tally a stat line of 31 points, eight assists, and five steals in a regulation game.  Syracuse's Jonny Flynn had 34 points, 11 assists, and six steals in the epic six-overtime game against UConn in the 2009 BIG EAST Tournament.
• Seton Hall registered 11 steals for the game - the Pirates are 8-1 when logging at least 11 swipes
• Over his last three games, Providence's Jaylin Sellers is averaging nearly 27.0 points per game while connecting on 61.5% (24-39) of his shot attempts, including 14-of-24 from beyond the arc (58.3%)

DePaul 72, Creighton 71 - Box Score

• Brandon Maclin's layup with seven seconds left propelled DePaul to its fifth BIG EAST win of the season
• Maclin earned his first start in BIG EAST play, finishing with 17 points, five assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
• DePaul led by as many as eight (18-10) at the 13-minute mark.
• Creighton connected on five 3-pointers over the next six and a half minutes, taking a 28-26 lead with 6:40 left in the opening frame.  There were seven lead changes and three ties in the first half.
• CJ Gunn connected on a 3-pointer as the half ended, cutting the Creighton lead to 42-40 at the break.
• The second half proved to be another back-and-forth affair - with five lead changes and three ties.
• A Josh Dix 3-pointer with less than six minutes to play put Creighton up six - 65-59 - but DePaul would respond with a 9-4 push, capped by a Layden Blocker 3-pointer that made it a one-point game (69-68) with 4:05 left.
• DePaul scored the final four points of the game over the last 1:07, including Maclin's go-ahead layup. 
• DePaul was led by a double-double from NJ Benson, who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.  The senior forward made 10-of-11 shots from the floor in 32 minutes of action. 
• Layden Blocker contributed 11 points and four assists off the bench.  
• For Creighton, Austin Swartz led three Bluejays in double-digits, with 15 points.  Josh Dix and Jasen Green tallied 13 points apiece.  Nik Graves finished with eight assists.

Of Note

• NJ Benson's 90.9 field goal percentage is the highest on record for DePaul, dating back to 1996-97, when attempting 10 or more field goals.
• The win was DePaul's first over Creighton since 2015, snapping a 23-game losing streak against the Bluejays.
• It marked the first time since 2018 that Creighton had played in consecutive one-point games.

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Looking Ahead: The BIG EAST is off on Thursday and Friday and returns with a four-game slate on Valentine's Day, beginning at 1 p.m. as No. 17/17 St. John's visits Providence.  Saturday's action continues with Villanova at Creighton (FOX), Marquette visiting Xavier (TNT & truTV; HBO Max), and finishing off with Georgetown heading to UConn (Peacock; NBCSN).

Saturday, Feb. 14

truTV; HBO Max
St. John's at Providence - 1 p.m. ET
Brian Anderson (pxp); Grant Hill (analyst); Andy Katz (reporter)

FOX
Villanova at Creighton - 2:30 p.m.
Kevin Kugler (pxp); Nick Bahe (analyst)

TNT & truTV; HBO Max
Marquette at Xavier - 3 p.m. ET
Spero Dedes (pxp); Robbie Hummel (analyst); Jared Greenberg (reporter)

Peacock; NBC Sports Network
Georgetown at UConn - 8 p.m. ET
John Fanta (pxp); Donny Marshall (analyst)