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NCAA Basketball

Xavier, Marquette Win at Home

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Xavier rallied in the second half to beat Creighton and Marquette slipped past Seton Hall in a back-and-forth affair in Saturday afternoon BIG EAST action.

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The 17th-ranked Musketeers (13-3, 3-2 BIG EAST) recovered from a 34-29 halftime deficit to beat the Bluejays (10-5, 2-2 BE) 80-73. The usual balanced Xavier scoring attack had six players reach double figures. Colby Jones scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Alex O’Connell was tops for the Bluejays with 22 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Ryan Hawkins contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds.

A free throw by Greg Elliott with 1.8 seconds left gave Marquette a 73-72 win against No. 20 Seton Hall in a game where neither team led by more than five points in the second half. Darryl Morsell scored a career-high 26 points for the Golden Eagles (12-6, 4-3 BE). Justin Lewis added 18 points. Bryce Aiken scored 28 points for the Pirates (11-5, 2-4 BE). Alexis Yetna posted 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Ike Obiagu grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked seven shots.

Sunday’s slate shows two games. At noon ET on FS1, No. 14 Villanova hosts Butler at Wells Fargo Center. The first-place Wildcats (12-4, 5-1) are on a five-game winning streak. They will be playing only their sixth home game of the season. The Bulldogs (9-6, 2-2 BE), who are coming off Thursday’s 72-58 win at Georgetown, are the only team to have five wins against Villanova since the beginning of the 2016-17 season.

Today, St. John’s hosts Georgetown at Madison Square Garden at 4:30 p.m. on FOX. The Johnnies (9-5, 1-2 BE) lead the BIG EAST in scoring with an 82.1 average. The Hoyas are averaging 74.5. Both teams are giving up 74.4. St. John’s Julian Champagnie leads the league with a 21.2 scoring mark. Georgetown’s Aminu Mohammed is the BIG EAST’s top freshman scorer (13.8) and rebounder (8.3).

Big East: DePaul Defeats Seton Hall

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CHICAGO – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – DePaul recorded its first BIG EAST win of the season on Thursday, while Butler nailed a win at Georgetown to start a three-game road trip.

The Blue Demons got a scare in the final minute, but never trailed in a 96-92 win against the 20th-ranked Pirates. Transfer Jalen Terry, in only his third start, scored a career-high 28 points. David Jones added 24 points and eight rebounds. Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 12 points before leaving with an injury in the second half.

Jared Rhoden led Seton Hall (11-4, 2-3 BE) with 25 points and seven rebounds. Bryce Aiken added 22 points. The Pirates trailed by 11 points with one minute to play before cutting the deficit to two in the final seconds.

Butler used an 18-4 run to start the second half en route to a 72-58 victory at Georgetown. The Bulldogs (9-6, 2-2 BE) were led by Jair Bolden’s 23 points. Bryce Nze helped with 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Butler plays Villanova at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

The Hoyas (6-7, 0-2 BE), who were led by Tyler Beard’s 15 points and five assists, were without regulars Donald Carey and Dante Harris along with coach Patrick Ewing.

Both games on Saturday tip at noon ET. FOX will telecast Creighton at No. 17 Xavier. Both teams lost to Villanova in their last games. The Bluejays (10-4, 2-1 BE) lost 75-41 on the road on Jan. 5. The Musketeers (12-3, 2-2 BE) dropped a 64-60 home decision on Wednesday. Both teams feature balanced scoring attacks with four players averaging in double figures.

Seton Hall will look to bounce back when it plays at Marquette on FS1. The Golden Eagles (11-6, 3-3 BE) have won three in a row after Tuesday’s 87-76 win against DePaul. Seton Hall has taken the last six meetings between the two teams.

Marquette Stays Hot in Big East

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MILWAUKEE – In the BIG EAST’s All-Access Game on FOX Sports, Marquette defeated DePaul 87-76 at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday. The game featured DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield and Marquette head coach Shaka Smart wearing live microphones throughout the commercial-free telecast.

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The Golden Eagles (11-6, 3-3 BIG EAST) pulled away midway in the second half from the Blue Demons (9-6, 0-5 BE).  Marquette’s Greg Elliott came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points. Darryl Morsell added 16 points. Both players shot 7-of-11 from the field.

DePaul’s Javon Freeman-Liberty, the BIG EAST’s top scorer with a 21.7 average, had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Yor Anei contributed 16 points and 11 boards. Seton Hall is the next opponent for both teams. DePaul hosts the Pirates on Thursday and Marquette plays the Pirates at home on Saturday.

Wednesday’s two games are an FS1 doubleheader. At 6:30 p.m. ET, Villanova plays at Xavier. It will be the fourth contest this season between ranked BIG EAST teams. The Wildcats (11-4, 4-1 BE) are ranked 14th by AP and the Musketeers (12-2, 2-1 BE) are 17th. The two teams met on Dec. 21 at Villanova with the Wildcats recovering from an eight-point halftime deficit to win 71-58.

At 8:30 p.m., UConn hosts St. John’s at Gampel Pavilion. The Johnnies (9-4, 1-1 BE) beat the Huskies (10-4, 1-2 BE) in last season’s only meeting, also at Gampel, 70-64. St. John’s Julian Champagnie ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 20.7 average and Posh Alexander is first in steals with a 2.4 mark. The Huskies will be playing its first game at Gampel since Dec. 4. R.J. Cole leads the team in scoring and ranks fifth in the BIG EAST with a 16.2 average. The game also will be carried on Westwood One radio.

Big East Weekly Honors | Jan 10

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Villanova guard Justin Moore has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week and Marquette guard Kam Jones has been chosen BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. Both players helped their respective teams to 2-0 weeks.

BIG EAST Player of the Week

Justin Moore, Villanova, G, Jr. – Moore averaged 21.5 points in victories against Creighton and at DePaul. In a 75-41 win over the Bluejays, Moore had prime defensive responsibilities in helping to hold Creighton to the lowest scoring total in a league game in seven seasons. He also scored a game-high 22 points. In a 79-64 victory at DePaul, the junior guard posted a team-high 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 15.7 average.

BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

Kam Jones, Marquette, G, Fr. – Jones helped the Golden Eagles in an 88-56 win over Providence with a collegiate-high 14 points. In a 2-0 week, which included a 92-64 triumph at Georgetown, the freshman shot 52.8 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from 3-point range.

BIG EAST Honor Roll

Justin Lewis, Marquette, F, So. – Averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week. Had a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Providence (88-56).

Nate Watson, Providence, C, Gr. – Had 22 points and 11 boards in a win over St. John’s (83-73) and averaged 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week.

Julian Champagnie, St. John’s, F, Jr. – Averaged 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week. Posted 34 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots in a win over DePaul (89-84).

Bryce Aiken, Seton Hall, G, Gr. – Averaged 17.0 points and 7.0 assists in a 2-0 week. Posted 22 points, including seven points in overtime, in a win over UConn (90-87). Had 12 points and seven assists in a victory at Butler (71-56).

Adam Kunkel, Xavier G, Sr. – Came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points in a win at Butler (87-72). Shot 8-of-12 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

Cooley Earns 300th Win for Friars

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PROVIDENCE – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – On a three-game Saturday, Seton Hall won a fierce battle in overtime against Connecticut. Providence gave coach Ed Cooley his 300th career victory with a win against St. John’s. Villanova used a strong second half to win at DePaul.

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At Prudential Center, Seton Hall (11-3, 2-2 BE) and UConn (10-4, 1-2 BE) battled for 45 minutes before the Pirates prevailed 90-87. Pirate guard Kadary Richmond, who had a 6.9 scoring average, tallied a game-high 27 points. He scored 17 straight points in the second half and made the deciding basket with 31 seconds left in the extra stanza. Fellow guard Bryce Aiken had seven of his 22 points in overtime. UConn’s Adama Sanogo was a force with 18 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Providence (14-2, 4-1 BE) trailed St. John’s (9-4, 1-1 BE) by seven points early in the second half before recovering to post an 83-73 victory at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Nate Watson led the Friar surge by scoring 18 of his game-high 22 points after the break. Jared Bynum added 18 points. Justin Minaya had 14 points and helped limit St. John’s Julian Champagnie to 11 points. St. John’s Dylan Addae-Wusu posted his second straight career scoring high with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. PC is 10-0 at home this season.

DePaul put together a 37-32 lead by halftime against Villanova before the Wildcats rebounded with a 79-64 victory at Wintrust Arena. Villanova (11-4, 4-1 BE) opened the second half with a 15-2 run to take control of the game. Collin Gillespie led the winners with 28 points. Justin Moore supported the effort with 21 points and seven rebounds. Javon Freeman-Liberty poured in a career-high 34 points for the Blue Demons (9-5, 0-4 BE). David Jones added 12 points.

BIG EAST action picks up again on Tuesday with DePaul at Marquette at 7 p.m. ET followed by Providence at Creighton at 9 p.m. Both games will be televised by FS1. The DePaul-Marquette game will be an All-Access Game with head coaches Tony Stubblefield and Shaka Smart wearing a live microphone throughout the telecast.

Marquette’s Second Straight Big “W”

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WASHINGTON DC – (Staff report from Official News Release) – Marquette pulled away to win at Georgetown and Xavier did the same at Butler in Friday night BIG EAST play. After winning 88-56 against Providence on Tuesday, Marquette beat Georgetown 92-64. No. 22 Xavier, playing its first game in 17 days, defeated Butler 87-72.

The Golden Eagles (10-6, 2-3 BIG EAST) used a 17-0 run early in the second half to break the game open against the Hoyas (6-6, 0-1 BE). Olivier-Maxence Prosper, whose previous career scoring high was 13 points, netted 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. Tyler Kolek, the BIG EAST’s assist leader, had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and seven assists. Marquette outshot Georgetown from the field 59.1 percent to 29.9 percent. Collin Holloway was the Hoya scoring leader with 17 points.

The Musketeers (12-2, 2-1 BE) established a 42-31 halftime lead at Hinkle Fieldhouse, then repelled Bulldog comeback attempts. Xavier’s Adam Kunkel came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points, one short of his career high. He shot 8-of-12 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Paul Scruggs contributed 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Xavier had a season-low six turnovers. Butler (8-6, 1-2 BE) was led by Aaron Thompson’s 20 points and Bryce Golden’s 19. Thompson went over the 500-assist mark for his career.

Saturday’s league schedule is all in the afternoon. Two games tip at noon ET. St. John’s plays at Providence on FS1. No. 24 Seton Hall hosts Connecticut at noon on FOX. The No. 19 Villanova at DePaul game has moved from FS1 to FOX at 2 p.m.

Big East, ‘Nova’s Jay Wright, Johnnies’ Lou Carnesecca Celebrate Milestones

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JAMAICA ESTATES, NY – (Staff report from Official News Release) – Villanova turned the tables on Creighton and gave coach Jay Wright a milestone victory, while St. John’s celebrated Lou Carnesecca’s 97th birthday with a win over DePaul.

Wright notched his 500th victory at Villanova when his team rolled past Creighton 75-41 in Finneran Paviliion. The Wildcats (10-4, 3-1 BIG EAST) had lost to the Bluejays (10-4, 2-1 BE) 79-59 on December 17. This time, Villanova held Creighton to 35.6 percent shooting from the field and allowed only 21 points in the final 27 minutes of the game. Justin Moore led the Wildcats with 22 points. Alex O’Connell had 13 points for Creighton.

On the night when legendary coach Lou Carnesecca turned 97, Julian Champagnie put on a sparkling performance to lead St. John’s (9-3, 1-0 BE) past DePaul 89-84. Champagnie scored a career-high 34 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked three shots. Dylan Addae-Wusu added a career-high 17 points, including a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute. Javon Freeman-Liberty had 24 points and seven boards for DePaul (9-4, 0-3 BE).

BIG EAST play resumes on Friday with two games between teams that met in the first round of last year’s BIG EAST Tournament. Marquette (9-6, 1-3 BE) plays at Georgetown (6-5, 0-0 BE) at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by No. 22 Xavier (11-2, 1-1 BE) at Butler (8-5, 1-1 BE) at 8:30 p.m. FS1 will carry both contests.

Last year, Marquette took the lone regular-season matchup against Georgetown before the Hoyas won 68-49 at the Big East tournament. Xavier won both regular-regular season games against Butler before the Bulldogs won 70-69 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

Big East and Big Tuesday Wins

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – In Tuesday’s BIG EAST action, Marquette and Seton Hall earned their first league victories. The stories of the game, however, were hardly alike.

Marquette set a school record for the largest margin of victory against a ranked team with its 88-56 win against 16th-ranked Providence. Seton Hall, after an 0-2 league start against ranked opponents, pulled away in the second half to win 71-56 at Butler.

The Marquette Golden Eagles (9-6, 1-3 BIG EAST) raced to a 20-6 lead, then used a 20-0 run to build a 42-22 lead by halftime. Justin Lewis finished with a career-high 23 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Oso Ighodaro continued his strong play off the bench with 16 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes. Al Durham scored a team-high 16 points for the Friars (13-2, 3-1 BE), who had their eight-game winning streak end.

The Seton Hall Pirates (10-3, 1-2 BE) welcomed back center Ike Obiagu, who missed the last three games. He had eight points, two rebounds and two blocked shots in 28 minutes. Jared Rhoden scored a team-high 17 points. The Hall held the edge in bench points (16-0), rebounds (36-25) and made 18-of-19 free throws. The Pirates’ bench has not been outscored this season. Bryce Golden led four Bulldogs (8-5, 1-1 BE) in double figures with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.

Wednesday’s schedule also shows two games. FS1 will telecast DePaul at St. John’s at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by Creighton at Villanova at 8:30 p.m.

The first game features a matchup of DePaul’s Javon Freeman-Liberty and St. John’s Julian Champagnie, who are both averaging a league-leading 20.3 points per game. Creighton and No. 19 Villanova already are meeting for the second time this season. The Bluejays beat the Wildcats 79-59 in Omaha on Dec. 17.

Providence, Butler Register Wins

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Providence and Butler both led most of the way in their BIG EAST contests on Wednesday, then held off late rallies to post home court victories. The No. 21 Friars (12-1, 2-0 Big East) defeated No. 15 Seton Hall (9-2, 0-1 Big East) 70-65 and the Bulldogs (8-4, 1-0 Big East) beat DePaul (9-2, 0-1 Big East) 63-59.

Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard called PC’s Noah Horchler the “difference maker” after Horchler posted game highs of 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. He also made 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Nate Watson and Jared Bynum each added 14 points. Watson became the 18th Friar to eclipse the career 1,500-point mark.

Providence used a 15-0 run late in the first half to gain some control of the game. The Pirates, who were without Ike Obiagu and Tyrese Samuel, cut a 13-point deficit in the second half to three points twice in the final minute. Alexis Yetna had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Jared Rhoden added 10 points and 10 boards. The Friars recorded their fifth Quad 1 victory, which leads the nation.

Butler led 60-50 before DePaul’s nine-point run made it 60-59 in the final seconds. Bulldog freshman Simas Lukosius made two free throws with three seconds left to seal the win. Lukosius scored a team-high 15 points. Fellow freshman Jayden Taylor and Chuck Harris each added 13 points. Aaron Thompson made seven steals, one short of the school record.

Brandon Johnson was tops for DePaul with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Javon Freeman-Liberty added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Blue Demons were without starter David Jones.

BIG EAST play continues New Year’s Day with three games. At noon ET, Creighton plays at Marquette on FS1. At 2 p.m., No. 22 Villanova visits No. 15 Seton Hall on CBS. At 3 p.m., DePaul hosts No. 21 Providence on FOX.

Big East Alters Forfeit Policy

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NEW YORK  – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The BIG EAST Conference modified its game cancellation policy for men’s and women’s basketball for the 2021-22 season. The adjustment was the result of the recent sudden and significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases nationally and within BIG EAST programs due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Under the modified policy, a conference game will be canceled in the event a school has fewer than seven scholarship players and one countable coach available for a game.  The BIG EAST conference office will attempt to reschedule any such game(s) in accordance with parameters approved by BIG EAST Directors of Athletics. In the event the rescheduling parameters cannot be fulfilled, the canceled game(s) will be designated as a no contest.

To date, four BIG EAST men’s conference games had been designated as forfeitures under the previous COVID-19 game cancellation policy. The forfeiture classification will be removed from these games, and efforts are now underway to reschedule them at a later date.  No women’s games to date have been designated as forfeitures.