CINCINNATI – Xavier and Georgetown extended their winning streaks with victories on Wednesday. The No. 22 Musketeers have a six-game streak after powering past Morehead State 86-63 at Cintas Center. Georgetown has won three in a row after handling Howard 85-73 at Capital One Arena.
For Xavier (10-1), Jerome Hunter paced four players in double figures with 15 points. The Musketeers took control early and used an 18-0 run to lead 47-19 at halftime. Zach Freemantle started for the first time this year after suffering a leg injury in the preseason. The Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team pick had nine points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.
Georgetown (6-4) got an offensive lift from freshman Tyler Beard and Malcolm Wilson against Howard. Beard, who had seen only limited action this season, scored 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Wilson added 13 points and eight rebounds in only 25 minutes of playing time.
Going into the weekend, with still a few non-league games to play, BIG EAST teams have an overall record of 91-24 (.791).
Conference play also starts this weekend. The league opener is Villanova (7-3) at Creighton (8-3) on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
The No. 9 Wildcats have won or shared seven of the last eight regular-season league titles. Villanova is 5-3 against the Bluejays at the CHI Health Center. Villanova’s Jay Wright and Creighton’s Greg McDermott have been the coaches for all eight matchups. Each team won the meeting on its home court last season. For the Bluejays this year, Ryan Hawkins has scored 25 points in both of Creighton’s games against ranked opponents.