MBB Minute – For the first time since the 1991-92 season, St. John’s has won a share of the BIG EAST regular season title. Creighton, UConn, and Villanova also grabbed Wednesday victories.
A loaded Saturday slate includes four of five games on network television. A CBS doubleheader has UConn at Providence at noon ET followed by Seton Hall and St. John’s meeting at MSG at 2:15 p.m. FOX has Butler at Villanova at noon and Creighton at Xavier at 4:30 p.m. Marquette travels to Georgetown at 8 p.m. on Peacock.
After leading most of the way, St. John’s trailed 57-56 with 7:38 left before a short 8-2 run regained the edge. RJ Luis Jr. led the Johnnies (25-4, 16-2 BIG EAST) with a game-high 24 points. Butler (13-15, 6-11) was led by Jahmyl Telfort’s 13 points, which pushed him past the career 2,000-point plateau.
Creighton is the only team that has a chance to catch St. John’s. The Bluejays (20-8, 13-4) defeated DePaul 75-65. Ryan Kalkbrenner posted game highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds. Creighton registered its tenth straight 20-win season. The Blue Demons (11-18, 2-16) were led by Isaiah Rivera, who had 18 points and eight boards.
UConn took the lead late in the first half to take control of a 93-79 win over Georgetown at XL Center. The Huskies (19-9, 11-6) got 20-point efforts from Tarris Reed Jr. and Solo Ball. Reed Jr. also had 10 rebounds. Micah Peavy paced the Hoyas (16-12, 7-10) with 25 points, his sixth straight game of 20+ points.
Villanova rallied from a 16-point deficit to win 59-54 at Seton Hall. The Wildcats (17-12, 10-8) used a 22-2 spurt in the second half to wrestle control from the Pirates (7-21, 2-15). Eric Dixon scored 25 of his 32 points after the break. Wooga Poplar added 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Hall’s Dylan Addae-Wusu scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half.
| School | Conf | Cpct. | Overall | Pct. | Home | Away | Neutral | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John’s | 16-2 | .889 | 25-4 | .862 | 17-0 | 7-2 | 1-2 | W4 |
| Creighton | 13-4 | .765 | 20-8 | .714 | 14-2 | 5-4 | 1-2 | W2 |
| Marquette | 12-5 | .706 | 21-7 | .750 | 14-2 | 6-5 | 1-0 | W1 |
| UConn | 11-6 | .647 | 19-9 | .679 | 12-2 | 6-4 | 1-3 | W1 |
| Xavier | 10-7 | .588 | 18-10 | .643 | 13-2 | 4-7 | 1-1 | W4 |
| Villanova | 10-8 | .556 | 17-12 | .586 | 14-3 | 3-7 | 0-2 | W2 |
| Georgetown | 7-10 | .412 | 16-12 | .571 | 13-4 | 3-8 | 0-0 | L2 |
| Butler | 6-11 | .353 | 13-15 | .464 | 9-7 | 2-7 | 2-1 | L1 |
| Providence | 6-11 | .353 | 12-16 | .429 | 10-4 | 2-8 | 0-4 | L2 |
| Seton Hall | 2-15 | .118 | 7-21 | .250 | 5-10 | 0-9 | 2-2 | L3 |
| DePaul | 2-16 | .111 | 11-18 | .379 | 10-8 | 1-10 | 0-0 | L6 |
