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Xavier Tops Providence in O.T.

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CINCINNATI – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – In a battle of ranked teams on Wednesday, No. 16 Xavier and No. 17 Providence went into overtime before the Musketeers prevailed. No. 14 Marquette, Seton Hall and Creighton also picked up victories.

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Xavier edged Providence 85-83 at Cintas Center. It was the fourth win over a ranked opponent for the Musketeers (18-5, 10-2 BIG EAST). Jack Nunge produced his seventh double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Guards Souley Boum and Colby Jones each scored 20 points. Noah Locke made 6-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with 22 points for the Friars (17-6, 9-3 BE). Jared Bynum’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer rattled out.

Marquette remained in a tie with Xavier atop the league standings with a 73-64 victory over Villanova. The Golden Eagles (18-5, 10-2) trailed 62-61 with five minutes left before outscoring the Wildcats (10-12, 4-7 BE) 12-2 to close the game. Marquette’s Tyler Kolek posted 20 points and six assists. Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels each scored 14 points for Villanova.

Seton Hall earned its fourth BIG EAST road win with an 84-72 victory over St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena. The Pirates (14-9, 7-5 BE) recovered from a 13-point deficit in the first half to win their sixth game in their last seven. Al-Amir Dawes scored a game-high 21 points and Kadary Richmond filled his stat line with 15 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. AJ Storr continued his recent strong play with 15 points for the Red Storm (14-9, 4-8 BE).

Georgetown held Creighton to its lowest scoring total in BIG EAST play, but the Bluejays still recorded a 63-53 victory, their fifth straight win. Ryan Kalkbrenner led the Bluejays (14-8, 8-3 BE) with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Baylor Scheierman added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Qudus Wahab had 14 points, seven boards and three steals for the Hoyas (6-17, 1-1 BE).

BIG EAST play returns on Saturday with four games.

Friars Clinch Big East Season Title

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News release) – Providence defeated Creighton 72-51 Saturday to capture its first BIG EAST regular-season championship.  The Friars (24-3, 14-2 BIG EAST) held a comfortable lead throughout most of the game and cruised to the finish line. A.J. Reeves made 7-of-10 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 23 points. The Bluejays (19-9, 11-6 BE) had their six-game winning streak come to an end. Ryan Kalkbrenner had 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Marquette solidified its fifth-place standing with a 64-56 win over visiting Butler at a sold-out Fiserv Forum. The Golden Eagles (18-10, 10-7 BE) trailed most of the game, but overcame the Bulldogs (13-17, 6-13 BE) in the final five minutes. Darryl Morsell led Marquette with 16 points. Justin Lewis scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Butler’s Bryce Nze notched his second straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Seton Hall is 6-2 in February after winning 82-66 at Xavier. Jared Rhoden poured in a career-high 30 points and grabbed six rebounds. Tray Jackson was 6-of-6 from the floor, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range, for 17 points. The Pirates (18-9, 9-8 BE) had 17 points off turnovers to only four for the Musketeers (17-11, 7-10 BE). Xavier’s Colby Jones shined with 20 points, 10 boards and four assists.

Today’s schedule has two games. Connecticut plays at Georgetown at noon ET on CBS. The Huskies beat the Hoyas 96-73 on Jan. 25. They are 11-5 in the league standings and alone in third place after Creighton’s loss. Also, St. John’s plays at DePaul at 5 p.m. on FS1. The Johnnies won the first meeting 89-84 on Jan. 5. They are 7-9 in league play and in seventh place, a half-game ahead of Xavier. The Blue Demons are coming off a 68-65 victory at Georgetown.

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.