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Road Teams Go 4-0 in BIG EAST Play on Wednesday


MBB Minute: All four road teams were victorious in BIG EAST play on Wednesday night.  In Storrs, Creighton poured in 91 points in a win over No. 5/5 UConn, while No. 17/16 St. John's pulled away from Marquette in the second half.  Head coach Thad Matta earned his 500th career victory as Butler downed Georgetown, while DePaul won its sixth BIG EAST game of the season, getting past Seton Hall.

Wednesday, Feb. 18

Creighton 91, UConn 84 - Box Score 
  • Three Bluejays - Josh Dix (21), Nik Graves (18), and Fedor Zugic (14) - tallied season-highs in the scoring column as Creighton downed No. 5/5 UConn at Gampel Pavilion
  • The game was a back-and-forth high-scoring affair, as both teams connected on better than 50% from the floor through the opening 20 minutes. There were seven lead changes and 11 ties in the first half. 
  • Creighton led by six (40-34) with 3:10 left but the Huskies outscored the Jays 11-5 to close the half, tying the game at 45-45 at the break.
  • UConn began the second half on a 10-3 run, paced by five points apiece from Braylon Mullins and Silas Demary Jr, taking a 55-48 lead.
  • The Bluejays surged, tying the game at 63-63 with 11:05 left and outscoring the Huskies 22-10 over the next 10-plus minutes to lead by as many as 12.
  • Blake Harper came off the bench for Creighton to tally 12 points in eight minutes.  Jasen Green corralled a team-high 11 boards.
  • For UConn, Mullins led all scorers with 25 points, knocking down six 3-pointers.  Demary finished with 17 points and nine assists, while Tarris Reed Jr. tallied a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards.


Of Note
  • It marked the 11th consecutive season that Creighton has earned a victory over a top 10 ranked opponent
  • The Bluejays are 4-2 in their last six games against top five teams
  • Braylon Mullins tallied his second game with at least six 3-pointers, becoming the first BIG EAST freshman since Providence's A.J. Reeves (2018-19) to do so.


St. John's 76, Marquette 70 - Box Score 
  • The No. 17/16 Red Storm won their 12th straight game, matching the program's longest such streak since the 2018-19 campaign.
  • Bryce Hopkins led the Johnnies with 23 points and 10 boards - his first double-double of the season and the 17th of his career
  • After a back-and-forth start, SJU used an 11-2 run to take a 22-13 lead midway through the first half
  • The Red Storm would lead by as many as 11 and held a 44-35 advantage at halftime.
  • Marquette would surge to start the second half, tallying the first 11 points to take a 46-44 lead.
  • Nigel James Jr. put the Golden Eagles ahead by six (56-50) with 11:55 to play, before Hopkins scored 10 points amidst a 14-3 run to put the Johnnies ahead for good.
  • A traditional three-point by James would get Marquette as close as three (73-70) with 21 ticks left.
  • MU's James would lead all scorers with 25 points to go with four boards and three assists.  Royce Parham had 13 points for the Golden Eagles, while Ben Gold collected 10 rebounds. 
  • Oziyah Sellers scored 12 points for St. John's, while Zuby Ejiofor finished with 10 points, six boards, and three blocks.


Of Note
  • The win was also SJU's 11th consecutive road victory, dating back to Feb. 19, 2025.  The Johnnies are 8-0 on the road this season - its best start away from home since the 1928-29 season
  • Zuby Ejiofor has tallied double digits in the scoring column in 15 of his last 16 appearances
  • Marquette's Nigel James Jr. is the first BIG EAST freshman in 10 years to log four games with at least 25 points in league play.  Henry Ellenson - also of Marquette - did so in 2015-16.


Butler 93, Georgetown 89 - Box Score 
  • Head coach Thad Matta recorded his 500th career victory as the Bulldogs reached the 90-point mark for the second time in league play.
  • The Bulldogs started hot, making 11 of their first 13 field goal attempts en route to shooting 70% from the floor over the first 20 minutes of play.
  • A pair of free throws from Michael Ajayi gave Butler its largest lead of the first half - 13 points - at 47-34.  The Bulldogs led 54-45 at the break.
  • In the second half, Butler extended its lead to as many as 15 points, going ahead 74-59 after a Yame Butler layup with 12:15 to play.
  • Georgetown carved away at the deficit the rest of the way, using a 11-4 run late to get within three with 43 ticks to play.
  • The Hoyas' Caleb Williams made it a two-point game with five seconds to go, drilling a 3-pointer to make it 91-89.
  • Finley Bizjack led Butler with 19 points to go along with four rebounds and six assists. The Bulldogs got 16 points apiece from Michael Ajayi (eight rebounds) and Jamie Kaiser Jr.
  • For Georgetown, Williams scored a team-high 16 points (3-5 3FG), while KJ Lewis added 15 points.  


Of Note:
  • Matta has captured 85 wins in two stints as head coach of Butler.  He won 337 games in 13 seasons at Ohio State and 78 in three seasons while at Xavier.
  • All eight Butler players who saw action tallied at least six points.
  • Georgetown registered 19 assists - the most by the Hoyas in BIG EAST play this season.


DePaul 69, Seton Hall 57 - Box Score 
  • NJ Benson led DePaul with 21 points to go with eight rebounds, helping DePaul tally their first BIG EAST road win of the season and sixth overall conference victory
  • The six BIG EAST wins are the most for the Blue Demons since the 2021-22 season. 
  • Seton Hall led by six early on (13-7) before DePaul tallied six straight to tie it up with 12:37 left.
  • It was back and forth the rest of the half, with four ties and three lead changes.  SHU scored the last seven points of the half, leading 35-33 at the break.
  • In the second half, the Pirates led by as many as six (44-38) with 15:50 to play before a 13-2 run by the Blue Demons put them ahead 51-46 with 9:38 left.
  • SHU would counter with six unanswered, taking a 52-51 lead with five and a half to play, but DePaul closed it out, finishing the game on an 18-5 run. 
  • CJ Gunn came off the bench to deliver 18 points, seven boards, and three steals for DePaul.  Layden Blocker (12) and Brandon Maclin (10) also hit double-digits in the scoring column.
  • For the Pirates, Budd Clark had 19 points and five assists while AJ Staton-McCray scored 13 points and Tajuan Simpkins had 12.


Of Note
  • Over his last two games, NJ Benson has connected on 18-of-20 shots from the floor, averaging 22.0 points per game.
  • DePaul is 4-0 on the season - and 8-1 all-time under Chris Holtmann - when holding an opponent under 60 points
  • Seton Hall has held 21 of its 27 opponents this season to less than 70 points.


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Looking Ahead: The BIG EAST is off on Thursday and Friday before a full five-game slate on Saturday, with 10 teams in action beginning at noon ET. 

Saturday, Feb. 21

FOX
Creighton at St. John's - Noon ET
Alex Faust (pxp); Donny Marshall (analyst)

TNT & truTV; HBO Max
Xavier at Butler - 1:30 p.m. ET
JB Long (pxp); Robbie Hummel (analyst); Jared Greenberg (reporter)

UConn at Villanova - 5:30 p.m. ET
Spero Dedes (pxp); Grant Hill (analyst); Andy Katz (reporter)

FS1
Georgetown at Seton Hall - 6 p.m. ET
Noah Reed (pxp); Jim Spanarkel (analyst)

Providence at DePaul - 8 p.m. ET
Cooper Boardman (pxp); Dickey Simpkins (analyst)