St. John's rallied back from a 14-point second-half deficit to stun No. 13 Villanova 71-65 on Sunday night. The Red Storm were down 48-34 with 12:30 left when they went on a 20-5 run to take their first lead of the game.
Eric Paschall scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and No. 13 Villanova rebounded from its first Big East loss by running away from Providence 85-67 on Wednesday night.
Rick Barnes' Tennessee Volunteers remain No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll.
The Markus Howard-led offense is still thrilling, but it's Marquette's defense that has this team thinking bigger.
Markus Howard scored 38 points and No. 10 Marquette hung on at the buzzer, edging No. 14 Villanova 66-65 Saturday and handing the Wildcats their first Big East Conference loss.
Villanova coach Jay Wright on Marquette's perimeter defense and why it was such a tough shooting day for his team. The Wildcats made their tough shots but missed their open ones in a 1-point loss.
Markus Howard has 19 of Marquette's 28 points so far, and has taken 15 of the team's 28 shots. Neither Hauser brother (Sam or Joey) has scored, and frustration is beginning to mount as Joey just took a 3-pointer from Racine and missed. Howard's teammates are contributing in other ways -- Ed Morrow provided a nice boost off the bench -- but eventually others need to score.
Villanova hit a 3-pointer 13 seconds into the game. Since then, the Wildcats have missed seven straight attempts from long range (Phil Booth is 0-for-3). Nova is having much better success trying to drive and likely will need to continue attacking as its perimeter shooting simply isn't there yet.
Freshman forward Saddiq Bey scored a career-high 17 points, senior guard Phil Booth hit key baskets down the stretch and No. 14 Villanova remained perfect in Big East play by beating Creighton 66-59 in overtime Wednesday night.
Collin Gillespie hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 30 points and Eric Paschall had 24 to keep No. 14 Villanova unbeaten in the Big East with a 77-65 victory over Georgetown on Sunday.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villanova | 11-2 | - | 20-6 |
| Marquette | 10-2 | 0.5 | 21-4 |
| St. John's | 7-6 | 4 | 19-7 |
| Seton Hall | 7-6 | 4 | 16-9 |
| Butler | 6-7 | 5 | 15-11 |
| Georgetown | 5-7 | 5.5 | 15-10 |
| DePaul | 5-8 | 6 | 13-11 |
| Xavier | 5-8 | 6 | 13-13 |
| Providence | 4-9 | 7 | 14-12 |
| Creighton | 4-9 | 7 | 13-13 |
| AP | COACHES |
|---|---|
| 17 | 16 |
| NAME | POS | STATUS | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Antoine | SG | Signed | 95 |
| Jeremiah Robinson-Earl | PF | Signed | 93 |
| Justin Moore | SG | Signed | 88 |
| Eric Dixon | PF | Signed | 85 |
| Final Fours | 5 |
| Tournament Record | 58-36 |
| Championship Seasons | 1985, 2016 |
| Tournament Appearances | 37 |
