PROVIDENCE – In Monday’s release of the Associated Press and USA Today Polls, Providence moved up to ninth/eighth place, respectively. Villanova is 11th in both polls, while UConn moved up to No. 18/19. Marquette is receiving votes in both polls. Creighton and Seton Hall have votes in USA Today.
On Sunday, UConn held its third-place standing with an 86-77 road win over Georgetown. The Huskies (21-7, 12-5 BE) shot 11-of-20 from beyond the arc and were led by R.J. Cole’s 18 point-effort. Dante Harris scored a game-high 23 points for Georgetown (6-22, 0-17 BE).
In Sunday’s night game, DePaul outlasted St. John’s in an offensive battle, 99-94. Javon Freeman-Liberty (39 points) and David Jones (24 points and 10 rebounds) combined for 63 points, 18 rebounds, nine steals and seven assists in the victory for DePaul (14-14, 5-13 BE). Julian Champagnie led St. John’s (15-13, 7-10 BE) with 26 points, while Aaron Wheeler added 20.
The final week of the regular season begins Tuesday night at the Finneran Pavilion, when Villanova (21-7, 14-4 BE) hosts Providence (24-3, 14-2 BE) in a top-15 showdown at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. On Saturday, Providence topped Creighton to secure its first BIG EAST regular season title and the overall No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Villanova returns to the court for the first time in a week, while looking to claim the regular season series over Providence, previously beating the Friars 89-84 on Feb. 15.