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The Morning Fast Break (Nov. 15, 2016): Villanova defeats Purdue, a Creighton-Wisconsin preview, and the Big East remains undefeated

A busy Monday gives credence to a busy Tuesday!

By Christopher Novak@ChrisMNovak Nov 15, 2016, 8:10am EST

What an eventful night that was huh?

Back at it again tonight. While the 24-hour tip-off marathon goes on, some quality Big East-Big Ten matchups are going down on FS1. Might wanna check ‘em out too!

The quick ‘n dirty on the Bison (Anonymous Eagle)

Marquette outscored Howard 47-26 after the break on Monday night on their way to an 81-49 victory over the Bison. Jajuan Johnson was the major figure in the second half outburst, scoring 11 of his tied-for-the-team-high 14 points after intermission on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.

No rebuffs for Xavier (Banners on the Parkway)

After an unimpressive showing against Lehigh on Friday, Xavier was back in action against Buffalo tonight. The results was the same - this time the win was by 33 instead of 3 - but the performance was 100% more convincing. Xavier came out on a 10-0 run and really never looked back. Buffalo got the game within a dozen briefly a couple of times, but Xavier more or less cruised the whole way for a heartening runaway victory.

Sleepin’ with Testudo (Casual Hoya)

Maryland’s very young this season, and a year after starting five guys with NBA potential, Trimble is the only player the team can count on playing at that level every night. That said, the Terps have a number of guys who could have big nights on any given day. Kevin Huerter is a freshman who can score often from deep. Dion Wiley is expected to be a large contributor a season after tearing his meniscus. He was supposed to start over Rasheed Sulaimon last year. The answer to this question is basically ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. We’ll probably be just as surprised as you are.

Friars off on the right foot (Friar Basketball)

When Emmitt Holt committed to Providence last April he chose the Friars, in part, because he thought he could contribute immediately to a program in need of frontcourt help. It certainly didn’t take long for Holt to make an impact. The 6’7 junior dominated Vermont in Providence’s surprisingly breezy 80-58 season-opening victory on Monday night, scoring 22 points on 8-12 shooting from the field and 5-6 at the free throw line.

Another win for the Johnnies (Rumble in the Garden)

St. John’s struggles last year seem to be in the rear-view mirror following two convincing wins. Coming off a sound victory against Bethune-Cookman, St. John’s played host to a sneaky Binghamton team. Throughout the first-half, Binghamton had numerous open looks from behind the arc. The Bearcats inability to cash in from deep held them back in the first-half, only converting 5 of 16 three-point field goal attempts during the first 20 minutes. Binghamton was getting these good looks mainly because St. John’s was giving up the perimeter, focusing their attention to protecting the paint.

‘Nova survives at Purdue (VU Hoops)

In a tough Top-15 match-up, the Wildcats escaped an electric Mackey Center in West Lafayette, Indiana with a 79-76 victory over Purdue. It wasn't pretty but it counts. Heading into the game, the question was whether Villanova could be effective against Purdue’s redwoods. Villanova was relentless in the first half, eschewing their traditional bombs-away approach for one set on getting Purdue into foul trouble early. Isaac Haas, 7’2, picked up three quick fouls and rode the pine for most of the first half.

Primed for the Badgers (White & Blue Review)

We’ll find out very quickly how good the 2016-17 Creighton Bluejays are, because Tuesday night in the season’s second game they welcome ninth-ranked Wisconsin to the CenturyLink Center for one of the marquee matchups of the second annual Gavitt Tipoff Games. It’s an extremely stiff test this early in the season, but one that will pay huge dividends should the Bluejays pull off a win — or prove educational should they fall in defeat.