MBB Minute: Each of the three road teams in action on Wednesday night were victorious in BIG EAST play.  Creighton used a big second half to get past Butler, while Marquette led wire-to-wire in a win at Providence.  Villanova connected on nearly 65% of its shots over the final 20 minutes to get by DePaul in Chicago.

Wednesday, March 4

Creighton 76, Butler 59 - Box Score 

• Josh Dix scored a season-high 22 points and Nik Graves logged a double-double with 14 points and 13 assists to go with six steals in the regular season finale for the Bluejays
• Both teams traded baskets throughout the first half, with six lead changes and five ties.
• The Bulldogs led by as many as seven (28-21) with 3:47 left in the period before an 11-2 push by Creighton made it 32-30.
• Butler would score six unanswered to regain the lead at the break, at 36-32
• The Jays broke the game open with a 15-0 run to start the second half, eventually growing to a 23-point advantage with 2:12 to play.
• Jasen Green had 13 points, nine rebounds, and three assists for Creighton.  Austin Swartz added 12 points off the bench.
• Michael Ajayi led Butler, with 26 points, 13 boards, and three assists.  Finley Bizjack added 10 points.

Of Note:

• Creighton's Nik Graves' 13 assists were the most by a Bluejay in a BIG EAST game since 2017, and he became the first BIG EAST player in at least 30 years to have a game with 14 points, 13 assists and six steals.
• Butler's Michael Ajayi posted his 17th double-double of the season - he ranks nationally in the statistical category.

Marquette 78, Providence 56 - Box Score

• Adrien Stevens tallied a career-high 21 points and classmate Nigel James Jr. added 20 as Marquette earned a wire-to-wire win at Providence
• The Golden Eagles scored the first eight points of the game en route to building a 28-10 lead just 12 minutes into the game
• Paced by nine steals, Marquette held a 20-8 edge in points off turnovers in the first half and led 37-23 at the break.
• In the second half, a Chase Ross steal and layup built the largest lead of the night - 27 points - making it 58-31 times 10:38 to go.
• The Friars' Ryan Mela scored eight of the next 10 points for the Friars, including a fast break bucket with 4:31 left that cut it to 65-49.  Mela would finish with 17 points - 15 coming in the second frame.
• Jaylin Sellers led Providence with 18 points, connecting on 4-of-9 3-pointers.  Mela and Oswin Erhunmwunse each tallied eight rebounds.
• Five Marquette players had at least eight - Tre Norman and Royce Parham had nine apiece, while Ross added eight.

Of Note:

• The last time two Marquette freshmen scored at least 20 points in the same game came on Feb. 20, 2016, when Henry Ellenson scored 22 and Haanif Cheatham had 20 in a win at DePaul
• Since Jan. 19, Providence's Jaylin Sellers has led the BIG EAST in scoring at 22.1 points per game.

Villanova 76, DePaul 57 - Box Score 

• Tyler Perkins led four Wildcats in double figures with 20 points, while Duke Brennan tallied his 13th double-double of the season
• DePaul took advantage of a slow offensive start for Nova, jumping out to a 13-5 lead at the 11:16 mark.
• But the Wildcats began to settle down on both ends of the court, using an extended 19-8 push to take s 24-21 lead with less than two minutes to play in the first half.
• Nova would lead by two - 26-24 - at the break before finding its rhythm offensively in the second half.
• The Wildcats outscored the Blue Demons, 16-8, to start the final 20 minutes.  Nova connected on nearly 65% of their shots from the floor, scoring 50 points. 
• Devin Askew (14) and Malachi Palmer (10) scored all of their points in the second half for Villanova.
• Brandon Maclin led DePaul with 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while NJ Benson finished with 11 points.  CJ Gunn and Layden Blocker each chipped in with 10.

Of Note:

• The victory was Villanova's eighth BIG EAST road win - the most since the 2015-16 season
• marking the most road wins in conference play
• DePaul's Brandon Maclin and NJ Benson extended their double-digit scoring streaks to seven games.

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Looking Ahead:  The BIG EAST regular season comes to a close at the end of this week.  Friday night features one game, at No. 18/17 St. John's heads to Seton Hall.  Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. on FS1.  Saturday features three early afternoon tilts, beginning with Xavier at Villanova (TNT; HBO Max) and Butler at DePaul (FS1), both tipping off at noon ET.  UConn plays at Marquette at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX, while the regular season wraps at 8 p.m. ET as Providence heads to Georgetown.

Friday, March 6

FS1
St. John's at Seton Hall - 9 p.m. ET
Alex Faust (pxp); Nick Bahe (analyst)

Saturday, March 7

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

FS1
Butler at DePaul - Noon ET
Jason Ross Jr. (pxp); Jordan Taylor (analyst)

FOX
UConn at Marquette - 12:30 p.m. ET
Tim Brando (pxp); Donny Marshall (analyst)

truTV; HBO Max
Providence at Georgetown - 8 p.m. ET
J.B. Long (pxp); Chris Spatola (analyst); Jared Greenberg (reporter)