HARTFORD – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Connecticut, Creighton, Seton Hall and Providence notched double-digit wins while Georgetown and DePaul suffered close losses on a 4-2 Saturday for BIG EAST teams.
No. 6 Connecticut got out of the gate quickly and rolled over Stonehill 107-67 at XL Center. All five starters reached double figures led by Tristen Newton’s 22 points. He also had seven rebounds, four assists and five steals. Freshman Stephon Castle added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
No. 8 Creighton opened the second half with a 26-5 run and knocked off North Dakota State 89-60. Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 11 of the Bluejays’ first 16 points in the second half. Trey Alexander scored a game-high 21 points and posted seven rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Seton Hall rolled over Fairleigh Dickinson 85-55 at Walsh Gymnasium. Kadary Richmond had his second straight quality stat line. He contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Grad transfer Jaden Bediako registered his fifth career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Providence was challenged by Milwaukee, picked second in the Horizon League, but nailed down a 79-69 victory. The Friars led 39-26 at intermission and were able to maintain a double-figure edge the rest of the way. Jayden Pierre scored a game-high 16 points. Transfer Josh Oduro added 13 points and 12 boards.
Georgetown led the entire second half but got caught in the final minute in its 68-67 loss to Holy Cross. The Hoyas led 57-46 with 8:35 remaining. Newcomer guards Jayden Epps and Rowan Brumbaugh led GU with 22 and 17 points, respectively.
DePaul fell behind 33-11 in the first half against Long Beach State, before a big second-half rally fell short in a 77-73 defeat. Transfer guard Elijah Fisher scored 20 of his team-high 25 points after the break.
The BIG EAST schedule continues tomorrow with the start of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. St. John’s hosts Michigan at Madison Square Garden at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by Xavier at Purdue at 8:30 p.m. Both games will be televised on FS1. Also, Villanova visits Penn on ESPN+ and Butler hosts East Tennessee State on CBS Sports Network. Both games tip at 7 p.m.