STORRS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – While BIG EAST road wins are usually hard to come by, this past Tuesday night had all three teams in road jerseys going home with victories.
Butler rolled to an 84-54 triumph over Seton Hall at Prudential Center. Six Bulldogs (10-13, 3-9 BIG EAST) scored between 10 and 14 points while the team shot 57.9 percent from the field. Butler led 48-20 at halftime. Pierre Brooks scored 14 points with Boden Kapke and Patrick McCaffery each added 13 points. Kapke also had 11 rebounds, which was his first career double-double. The Pirates (6-17, 1-11) were led by Prince Aligbe’s 17 points and six rebounds.
Creighton ended a three-game losing streak at Providence and extended this season’s winning streak to eight games with an 80-69 victory. The Bluejays (17-6, 10-2) rode Ryan Kalkbrenner’s 35 points and 12 rebounds. His scoring total was the second highest of his career. Steven Ashworth added 23 points, six rebounds and six assists as CU moved into second place. Corey Floyd Jr. posted 16 points and 10 boards for the Friars (11-12, 5-7).
Villanova used a strong defensive effort in its 59-49 win at DePaul. The Wildcats (13-10, 6-6) led 29-26 at halftime and maintained the advantage over the Blue Demons (11-13, 2-11) in the second half. Villanova limited DePaul to 30.8 percent shooting from the field. While Eric Dixon was held to 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting, Jordan Longino stepped with a game-high 17 points. David Thomas came off the bench to score 16 points for the Blue Demons.
BIG EAST play continues Friday with a ranked vs. ranked matchup. No. 12 St. John’s meets No. 19 UConn at Gampel Pavilion at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. The Johnnies (20-3, 11-1) are in first place in the league standings and have compiled a nine-game winning streak. The Huskies (16-6, 8-3) are 3-0 this season against ranked teams, including last Saturday’s 77-69 win over then-No. 9 Marquette.