NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The “down the stretch” portion of the regular season is here. Tuesday night was a great example with two of the four games going into double overtime.
No. 24 Providence stayed unbeaten at home (14-0) this season with a 94-86 double-overtime decision over No. 18 Creighton at the AMP. The Friars got 65 points from the trio of Devin Carter (25), Bryce Hopkins (20) and Noah Locke (20). Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard was the game’s top rebounder with 10 boards and scored a team-high 21 points. The Friars and Bluejays are tied for third place in the standings with 11-4 records. PC is 19-7 overall. Creighton is 17-9.
The other double-overtime contest had St. John’s (16-11, 6-10 BE) rallying from a 13-point deficit with less than seven minutes in regulation and outlasting DePaul 92-83. Dylan Addae-Wusu scored a career-high 24 points, including a 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left to force overtime. Joel Soriano posted his 21st double-double with 21 points and 16 boards. For DePaul (9-17, 3-12 BE), Javon Johnson had six 3-pointers and 26 points.
Seton Hall held Georgetown to 36.5 percent shooting from the field and helped force 16 turnovers in a 76-68 victory. Al-Amir Dawes scored a game-high 20 points for the Pirates (16-11, 9-7 BE). Tyrese Samuel added 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Hoyas (6-21, 1-15) cut a 15-point deficit to four in the final minutes but could not complete the comeback. Primo Spears netted a team-high 16 points.
Villanova put the defensive clamps on visiting Butler in a 62-50 win. The Wildcats (13-13, 7-8 BE) held the Bulldogs (13-14, 5-11 BE) to a .377 percentage from the floor. VU’s Justin Moore had a team-high 15 points and Caleb Daniels added 13. Butler’s Jayden Taylor continued his strong play with a game-high 20 points.
The lone game on Wednesday figures to be a must-see matchup with No. 11 Marquette hosting No. 16 Xavier on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. ET. The Golden Eagles (20-6, 12-3 BE) have a half-game lead over the Musketeers (19-6, 11-3 BE). Xavier won the first meeting 80-76 on Jan. 15 at Cintas Center.