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Last Week in the Big East
Monday, January 18
St. John’s 74, UConn 70
Tuesday, January 19
Butler 67, DePaul 53
Villanova 76, Seton Hall 74
Wednesday January 20
Providence 74, Creighton 70
Saturday, January 23
Creighton 74, UConn 66
Villanova 71, Providence 56
St. John’s 96, Utah Valley 78
DePaul 68, Marquette 61
Big East Player of the Week
Jermaine Samuels, Villanova, F, Sr.
Big East Freshman of the Week
Posh Alexander, St. John’s, G, Fr.
Big East Honor Roll
Jair Bolden, Butler, G, Gr.
Damien Jefferson, Creighton, F, Sr.
Charlie Moore, DePaul, G, Sr.
Nate Watson, Providence, F, Sr.
Julian Champagnie, St. John’s, G-F, So.
The Schedule
All times Eastern
Tuesday, January 26
Butler at UConn, 8:30 P.M, FS1
Wednesday, January 27
Marquette at Providence, 7:00 P.M, CBS Sports
St. John’s at DePaul, 9:00 P.M, FS1
Friday, January 29
Xavier at Butler, 6:30 P.M, FS1
Saturday, January 30
Providence at Georgetown, 12:00 P.M, FS1
Villanova at Seton Hall, 3:00 P.M, FOX
Creighton at DePaul, 8:00 P.M, CBS Sports
Sunday, January 31
UConn at St. John’s, 3:30 P.M, FOX
The week starts off with a matchup between UConn and Butler. The Huskies have dropped two straight, but they will have an opportunity to sweep the Bulldogs on Tuesday night.
Wednesday’s doubleheader opens with Providence returning home after four straight on the road. They’ll take on a Marquette team looking to bounce back from a home loss to DePaul. After that, St. John’s and Big East Freshman of the Week Posh Alexander travel to Chicago to face Dave Leitao’s Blue Demons. Fresh off their first win of Big East play, can DePaul string together back-to-back wins?
The lone game on Friday night features Xavier and Butler. The Musketeers are poised to return to action for the first time since January 10th due to COVID complications.
Saturday brings three games to the Big East schedule. Providence and Georgetown are up first. This is the first meeting between these two this season after their first game was postponed due to COVID issues at Georgetown. Next up, Villanova and Seton Hall square off again after a thrilling first matchup. The Pirates will be looking for revenge after a tough two-point loss at Villanova last week. Last up are Creighton and DePaul. This will be Creighton’s second in a row on the road and the second of a three-game homestand for DePaul.
St. John’s hosts UConn on Sunday to wrap up the week in the Big East. The Red Storm got the better of the Huskies last week to win their first game at UConn since 2001. Will they complete the sweep in the first year of the return of this classic rivalry?
Game of the Week
Saturday, January 30
Villanova at Seton Hall
This was an easy pick for game of the week. Villanova is the conference’s top dog, but they were a Hail Mary drop from Mamu from falling at home to Seton Hall last week. This presents a big opportunity for the Pirates to pick up a statement win for their resume. On the other hand, Villanova has yet to lose in conference play, and their offense shows no signs of slowing down. Providence held Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to under ten points on Saturday, and Jay Wright’s Wildcats still scored 47 in the second-half.
Until Villanova loses in Big East play, it’s hard to pick against them. Seton Hall has been inconsistent this year, and it’s tough to play the Wildcats close twice in the same season. I’m taking Jay Wright. Villanova 76, Seton Hall 62.
In the Rankings
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Creighton and UConn are the big losers in the AP this week. Creighton fell from 11 to 17 after losing at Butler and then at home to Providence. Meanwhile, UConn dropped games to St. John’s and Creighton and fell out of the top 25.
Stat of the Week
Per Sports Reference, Xavier’s Nate Johnson is fourth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage at 50.8%. Johnson is 32-63 this season from beyond the arc.