MBB Minute: No. 6/6 UConn took the regular season rematch against No. 15/15 St. John's in Hartford, while DePaul earned its first-ever BIG EAST series sweep of Creighton.  Villanova and Providence both used strong second half shooting from the outside to earn home wins on Wednesday night. 

Wednesday, Feb. 25
   
UConn 72, St. John's 40 - Box Score 

• Tarris Reed Jr. posted 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and six blocked shots as UConn earned a convincing win over St. John's. The loss snapped SJU's 13-game win streak.
• The Huskies dominated the second meeting between the two teams, which was the 152nd instance of two top 15 ranked BIG EAST teams meeting in the regular season
• After an Oziyah Sellers dunk got the Red Storm within two (13-11) with 13:36 to go in the first half, UConn rattled off 18 straight points to take a lead 31-11 with 6:37 left.
• In the second half, another extended run by UConn - a 16-0 push capped by a Solo Ball 3-pointer - pushed the lead to 30.
• St. John's went without a field goal for the final 17:28 of the game, missing 24 straight attempts from the floor.
• Alex Karaban (14) and Solo Ball (11) also reached double-digits in the scoring column for the Huskies.
• Joson Sanon finished with a team-high 10 points, while Bryce Hopkins added eight and Ruben Prey seven.

Of Note:

• UConn finished 2025-26 with an 8-0 record at PeoplesBank Arena, extending its win streak in Hartford to 27 games
• The last time a player accomplished Tarris Reed Jr.'s full stat line in a BIG EAST game was Feb. 1, 2003 by Georgetown's Michael Sweetney in a double OT loss at Notre Dame (38 points/15 rebounds/3 assists/6 blocks/2 steals) 
• St. John's tied its program-low for points in a BIG EAST contest, with 40.  On March 5, 2013, SJU scored 40 in a road loss to Notre Dame.

DePaul 72, Creighton 71 - Box Score 

• The Blue Demons used a late bucket from NJ Benson to earn a sweep of the regular season series against Creighton for the first time as members of the BIG EAST.
• DePaul connected on 10-of-20 from the perimeter, including six 3-pointers during the second half
• The Bluejays led for much of the first half, holding a 38-30 at the break.
• The Creighton lead expanded to 11 after a 3-pointer to start the second half, before the Blue Demons used a 26-15 push to tie it with just under eight minutes to play.
• CJ Gunn's 3-pointer with 2:45 to play tied the game at 66-66; there were five lead changes and two ties down the stretch
• Two free throws from CU's Nik Graves gave the Jays a 71-70 lead with under a minute to go before Benson converted the eventual gamewinner.
• Brandon Maclin led DePaul with a season-best 21 points - 19 coming in the second half - to go with four assists and three rebounds.
• Benson had 14 points and nine boards, while CJ Gunn added 11 points off the bench.
• Four players reached double figures for Creighton, led by 15 points by Josh Dix.  Nik Graves scored 14 and Fedor Zugic and Jasen Green had 13 apiece.

Of Note:

• DePaul has registered back-to-back road wins in BIG EAST play for the first time since the 2018-19 season
• Since Feb. 11, DePaul's NJ Benson is connecting on 84.2% of his field goal attempts (32-38) - the best shooting proficiency by any player nationally during the two-week span.
• Both matchups in the DePaul/Creighton regular season series finished with a 72-71 final score.

Villanova 82, Butler 71 - Box Score 

• A 12-3 Villanova push midway through the second half held off Butler.
• Devin Askew scored eight straight during the run, putting the Wildcats ahead, 67-57, with 6:02 to play.
• Askew tallied 16 points off the bench, connecting on four 3-pointers.
• Both teams traded buckets to start the game, swapping the lead five times through the first six and a half minutes of play
• After Butler cut it to three (27-24) at the 3:31 mark, the Wildcats closed the first half on a 15-3 run and led 42-28 at the break.
• In the second half, Butler used a 17-7 surge to get within one (55-54) with nine minutes left before the 12-3 run by the Wildcats extended their lead to multi-possessions.
• Acaden Lewis led Villanova, with a game-high 20 points to go with four assists.  Bryce Lindsay had 19 and Tyler Perkins 11.  Duke Brennan corralled 10 rebounds.
• Butler was led by 17 points and nine rebounds by Michael Ajayi.  Yohan Traore added 15 points off the bench, while Finley Bizjack (12), Jamie Kaiser Jr. (11), and Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor (10) also reached double figures.

Of Note:

• Villanova's Acaden Lewis set a new program record for assists by a freshman. He now has 146 helpers in 28 games.
• In the first half, the Wildcats' Tyler Perkins reached the 1,000 point mark for his career. He has tallied 610 points in two seasons for Nova.
• Butler got to the free throw line 27 times, making 22. Entering the game, the Dawgs were 17th nationally, averaging 25.8 FTA per game.

Providence 94, Xavier 84 - Box Score 

• Jaylin Sellers (27) and Jason Edwards (24) combine to score 51 points as Providence connected on 54.1% from the floor in the win
• The Friars led by as many as 23 points in the opening frame, after an Edwards 3-pointer made it 39-16 at the 6:10 mark.
• Xavier used an 18-8 push to close the half, cutting its deficit to 47-34 at the break.
• In the second half, both teams traded baskets before four straight Friar free throws made it 56-38 with just under 17 minutes left.
• Roddie Anderson III's 3-pointer with 8:05 to play cut it to single-digits for Xavier (75-67).
• The Musketeers got as close as seven (80-73) with 5:57 to go before Providence pushed its lead back to double digits the rest of the way
• For the Friars, Jamier Jones added 19 points and seven rebounds, while Oswin Erhunmwunse added a double-double (10 points/10 boards).
• Xavier was led by 27 points from Anderson, while Filip Borovicanin added 19 points and nine rebounds and Jovan Milicevic had 17 points and eight boards.

Of Note:

• With Jaylin Sellers scoring 27 and Jason Edwards 24, it marked the third time in BIG EAST play that two Providence players scored at least 24 points.
• Friar center Oswin Erhunmwunse has tallied 10 or more rebounds in nine of the last 11 games
• Xavier's Roddie Anderson III tallied his third game with at least 27 points.  Teammate Tre Carroll has five games of 27+ points this season.

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Looking Ahead:  The BIG EAST is off on Thursday and Friday and returns with five games this weekend.  On Saturday, a four-game slate begins at noon ET with Seton Hall traveling to UConn, followed by Georgetown visiting Xavier at 1:30 p.m. ET.  At 5:30 p.m. ET, Providence takes on Creighton in Omaha, followed by the final game of the day - Villanova at St. John's - at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.  On Sunday, DePaul heads to Marquette for a 4 p.m. ET tip.

Saturday, Feb. 28
   
FS1
Seton Hall at UConn - Noon ET
Dave Sims (pxp); Donny Marshall (analyst)

TNT & truTV; HBO Max
Georgetown at Xavier - 1:30 p.m ET
J.B. Long (pxp); Chris Spatola (analyst); Jared Greenberg (reporter)

Providence at Creighton - 5:30 p.m. ET
Brian Anderson (pxp); Grant Hill (analyst); Andy Katz (reporter)

FOX
Villanova at St. John’s - 8 p.m. ET
Gus Johnson (pxp); Jim Jackson (analyst); Allison Williams (reporter)

Sunday, March 1

FS1
DePaul at Marquette - 4 p.m. ET
Jack Kizer (pxp); Phil Martelli (analyst)