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Full Saturday of Action in the BIG EAST

St. John's, Butler, Seton Hall Earn Home Wins; UConn, Providence win on the Road


MBB Minute: It was a full five-game slate in the BIG EAST on Saturday.  No. 17/16 St. John's extended the nation's third-longest win streak to 13 games at home over Creighton.  Butler held off a second half surge at home against Xavier.  UConn was strong on both ends of the floor in a win at Villanova.  Seton Hall engineered its eighth comeback win of the season, holding off Georgetown.  Providence closed out Saturday's action with a win at DePaul.

Saturday, Feb. 21

St. John's 81, Creighton 52 - Box Score 
  • No. 17/16 St. John's pushed its win streak to 13 games; the longest for the team since the 1984-85 season
  • Dylan Darling led four Johnnies in double figures with 17 points (5-7 FG)
  • It was all St. John's on the day, scoring the first eight points of the game en route to a 13-2 lead and building a 22-10 advantage less than nine minutes in.
  • Creighton got within seven (34-27) with 4:22 left before SJU scored eight unanswered to close the half leading 42-27
  • A 33-10 run in favor of SJU enveloped more than 14 minutes of the second half, as nine different Red Storm players scored during the span 
  • Bryce Hopkins tallied his second straight double-double for St. John's, finishing with 15 points and 10 boards.  Zuby Ejiofor had 15 points, while Dillon Mitchell logged 10 rebounds and seven assists.
  • For Creighton, Fedor Zugic led the way with nine points.  Josh Dix had eight, Blake Harper seven, and Jasen Green grabbed seven boards.


Of Note:
  • The 29-point margin of victory was the largest in conference play for St. John's since Feb. 18, 2022 (34-Butler)
  • St. John's has won six straight at Madison Square Garden and is 20-2 at MSG over the last two seasons
  • Creighton's Nik Graves reached the 300 career assist mark in the first half


Butler 80, Xavier 75 - Box Score 
  • The Bulldogs held off a strong second half by the Musketeers at home.
  • Leading by as many as 21 points in the first half, Butler saw its lead dwindle to two points (77-75) late after a layup by Xavier's Jovan Milicevic.
  • Michael Ajayi's 13 points led Butler in the first half, as the team connected on nearly 54% from the floor and led 47-28 at intermission.
  • Xavier began to chip away at the deficit, getting within single digits midway through the second half.
  • A layup by X's All Wright made it 75-73 with 2:39.  The Musketeers would also get within two with 1:55 to go.
  • Butler went the final 6:05 of regulation without a field goal, but Finley Bizjack made 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to seal the win
  • Tre Carroll led Xavier with 24 points, while Malik Messina-Moore added 20.
  • Ajayi tallied 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Butler, while Yohan Traore added 21 points off the bench (5-5 FG; 11-13 FT) and Bizjack had 18.


Of Note:
  • Both teams combined to commit only 13 turnovers, six by Butler and seven for Xavier
  • Tre Carroll logged his fifth conference game with at least 24 points, tying him with Butler's Finley Bizjack for the most this season


UConn 73, Villanova 63 - Box Score 
  • The No. 5/5 Huskies were strong on both ends of the court, connecting on nearly 55% from the floor while holding the Wildcats to just over 40% from the floor.
  • One of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, Villanova tied its season-low for trifectas in BIG EAST play (6).
  • Six UConn players scored at least eight points, led by 12 from Alex Karaban
  • Nova led early, as Tyler Perkins scored the team's first eight points.
  • From there, it was back-and-forth between the two teams, featuring eight lead changes and six ties.
  • UConn would outscore Nova 7-2 over the final four and a half minutes and led 34-32 at the break.
  • The Huskies began the second half on a 13-2 run, including a stretch of 10 straight points.
  • Another 9-2 surge midway through the period gave UConn its biggest lead - 67-46 - after a Tarris Reed Jr. jumper with 4:52 to play.
  • For UConn, Reed had 11 points (5-5 FG), while Braylon Mullins added 10. 
  • Villanova was led by Tyler Perkins, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds.  Freshmen Matthew Hodge (13) and Acaden Lewis (11) also reached double figures.


Of Note:
  • UConn held a 22-8 advantage in bench scoring, improving to 11-0 when tallying 20 or more points by reserves
  • With the win, UConn moves to 9-1 in true road games in 2025-26 and is 26-8 on the road since the 2023-24 season. 
  • Nova newcomer Matthew Hodge is ranked 13th nationally among all power conference freshmen in 3-point percentage, at 36.7% (min. 40 3FGM).


Seton Hall 51, Georgetown 47 - Box Score 
  • Freshman Najai Hines recorded a double-double as Seton Hall engineered another comeback victory.
  • Hines finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while tallying two steals and five blocks in 24 minutes.
  • The Pirates put forth a strong defensive effort in the win, holding Georgetown to under 30% shooting from the floor.
  • Seton Hall trailed by as many as seven in the second half before chipping away at the Hoya lead.
  • Two free throws by Hines with less than six minutes to play gave SHU the lead for good.
  • Georgetown opened the game with a pair of 3-pointers, but it was a low scoring first half the rest of the way.
  • SHU led 16-11 with 6:49 left before the Hoyas closed out the period on a 16-4 run, building as much as a 10-point lead before taking a 27-20 lead into the break.
  • KJ Lewis was the lone Hoya in double digits, with 10 points.


Of Note:
  • It was Seton Hall's eighth win when trailing at the half; the most by any power conference team
  • The Pirates were 0-for-18 from beyond the arc, marking the most 3FG attempts without a make by a winning team since Nov. 6, 2018 (South Carolina vs. USC Upstate).
  • Georgetown's KJ Lewis tallied two steals. His 4.3 steal percentage (per KenPom) ranks 25th nationally. 


Providence 71, DePaul 68 - Box Score 
  • Jaylin Sellers' 21 led four Friars in double figures in a road win at DePaul
  • A 14-2 run midway through the second half helped Providence reverse a six-point deficit into a six-point lead
  • The run was capped by two free throws from Stefan Vaaks, making it 57-51 with 9:42 to play.
  • DePaul got within one - 69-68 - late but could get no closer.
  • The Friars jumped out to an early lead to start the game and led throughout much of the first half.
  • A late 11-4 surge got the Blue Demons within one, but Providence would take a 38-35 lead into intermission.
  • Jason Edwards tallied 17 points and six assists off the bench for Providence, while the freshman duo of Vaaks (14) and Jamier Jones (11) combined for 25.
  • NJ Benson led DePaul with a double-double, scoring 19 points to go with 10 rebounds.  Brandon Maclin finished with 14 points, while CJ Gunn added 13 and RJ Smith 10.


Of Note:
  • The Friars' Jaylin Sellers logged his ninth 20-point performance of the season
  • It was Providence's second true road win of the season - both have come in BIG EAST play (Jan. 3 at St. John's)
  • Over his last three games, DePaul's NJ Benson is averaging 21.0 points and 9.3 rebounds, while shooting 86.2% (25-29) from the floor


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This Week in the BIG EAST Podcast:  Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley, Xavier's Tre Carroll, and former St. John's standout and BIG EAST television analyst Tarik Turner are the guests on the eighth 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.