NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Four BIG EAST teams are in Monday’s Associated Press poll led by Villanova’s No. 9 ranking. Seton Hall moved up seven spots to No. 16. UConn is 20th and Xavier jumped back in at No. 22. Providence and Creighton were among other teams receiving votes.
In Sunday’s action, Seton Hall defeated Rutgers 77-63 to win the Garden State Hardwood Classic. Bryce Aiken came off the bench to score a game-high 22 points and was named the game MVP. Jared Rhoden added 16 points and nine rebounds. The Pirates (9-1) used a 13-0 run late in the first half to grab control of the contest.
St. John’s pushed its record to 8-2 after beating Colgate 82-64 at Carnesecca Arena. Julian Champagnie scored a team-high 19 points and connected on 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Posh Alexander added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Johnnies are 8-0 at Carnesecca this season.
Villanova (7-3) could never get going offensively and lost 57-36 at Baylor in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. The Bears moved into the No. 1 position in the national polls on Monday. Justin Moore was the only Wildcat in double figures, scoring 15 points. The 36 points were the fewest scored by the Wildcats in a game since Feb. 4, 1979, a 36-34 victory over Penn State.
BIG EAST conference play starts this weekend, but the schedule until then is light with many schools in final exams. Tuesday’s schedule shows two contests. Creighton (8-2) hosts Arizona State at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. The Bluejays are coming off an 83-71 neutral court win over then-No. 24 BYU. A win over UIC would give Creighton a 9-2 start (or better) after 11 games for the eighth time in the last 11 season.
DePaul plays at UIC at 8 p.m. The Blue Demons (8-1) last played on Friday, winning 62-55 at Louisville. Javon Freeman-Liberty and David Jones are ranked in the top five in the BIG EAST in scoring and rebounding. Freeman-Liberty is second in scoring (20.3) and third in rebounding (8.4). Jones is third in scoring (17.7) and fourth in rebounding (8.2).
Going into Tuesday, league teams own an overall record of 88-23 (.793).