Former Providence head coach Ed Cooley made his return to the Amica Mutual Pavilion, a building he called home for 12 years. It was a battle between two of the top scorers in the Big East as Georgetown’s Jayden Epps faced Providence guard Devin Carter.
No. 1 UConn dominated in its only game of the week, destroying Xavier by over 40 points in front of the 2004 national championship team.
Overall, there is a lot to unfold in this week’s edition of Big East Baller Update.
Player of the Week: Devin Carter, G, Providence (21.5 PPG, 5 RPG, 4 APG, 3 SPG in two games)
The Big East announced Creighton guard Trey Alexander as the Big East Player of the Week in Monday’s press release. However, that was not the case in my eyes. Carter showed how crucial he is to the Friars on Saturday, scoring 29 points in the win over Georgetown, including 11 points in the final two minutes to pull away.
Freshman of the Week: Stephon Castle, G, UConn (vs. Xavier: 12 pts 5 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl)
Castle is racking up Big East Freshman of the Week honors this season, as he contributed to UConn’s dominant win over Xavier, being one of the many Huskies in double figures.
Top Games
Providence stuns Pirates in Newark, 67-63
No. 18 Creighton and Providence have handed Seton Hall back-to-back losses at home after the Pirates began Big East play with a 3-0 record against Big East opponents at the Prudential Center. Senior guard Ticket Gaines led the way for the Friars with 17 points, six assists, five 3-pointers, three steals and two blocks. Needless to say, the George Mason transfer was all over the court in Providence’s win on Wednesday night. Josh Oduro also helped the Friars, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. He has 12 second-half points and helped Providence go on a 14-2 run in the final 20 minutes. Al-Amir Dawes had 26 points and three steals, but that was not enough to hold off the Friars.
Providence gets revenge against Cooley’s Hoyas, 84-76
Saturday’s bout between Providence and Georgetown was highly anticipated, with most of the attention for college basketball focused on the atmosphere in Rhode Island’s capital. We talked about how incredible Carter was in the win, but the Friars would not have won without Oduro’s performance, scoring 22 points and leaving the floor to a standing ovation. Epps scored 26 for the Hoyas but did not make a 3-pointer until late in the game. Providence is currently on a three-game winning streak.
Davis leads Bulldogs to double-overtime victory over Villanova, 88-81
DJ Davis exploded coming out of halftime, scoring 28 points on 50% shooting, including five 3-pointers. Butler trailed by four following back-to-back layups from Villanova’s Hakim Hart and Tyler Burton with just under three minutes remaining in double overtime. Davis helped the Bulldogs burst out to an 8-0 run, but that ended with Eric Dixon drilling a 3-pointer with 23 seconds to go. Butler came out on top thanks to six free throws made at the end to seal a big win at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Upcoming Games (excluding two massive games for UConn this week. Keep an eye out for the previews this week!)
No. 9 Marquette at Villanova (7 p.m., FS1)
Villanova hasn’t had the year they anticipated, with an 11-9 record coming into a massive game against No. 9 Marquette. With a 6-3 record at home, it will be up to Eric Dixon, who scored 28 points against Butler, and the rebounding on the defensive end that helps the Wildcats in tonight’s game. Speaking of a 6-3 record, that is Marquette’s record against Big East opponents this season. The battle inside the paint between Dixon and Oso Ighodaro will be fun to watch tonight.
Butler at No. 13 Creighton (Friday, 9 p.m., FS1)
Creighton has been red-hot lately, winning four of its last five games. Butler is coming off a double-overtime victory over Villanova and is currently on a three-game winning streak. On Friday, these two teams will face off in Omaha for the first of two meetings between the two programs. Trey Alexander, who averaged 25 PPG performance this past week, looks to continue his All-Big East-caliber season as he leads the Bluejays against a guard-heavy Butler team.
Providence at Villanova (Sunday, 6 p.m., FS1)
Two teams in the middle of the pack in the Big East will face off against each other on Sunday night as Villanova looks to get out of its ice-cold four-game losing streak. They will have two chances to do that, but if the Wildcats fall to Marquette tonight, Sunday’s battle against the Friars becomes much more vital as Villanova looks to avoid sitting at 11-11 at the end of this week.
Jeff Goodman should never be given media access to a sporting event ever again. Embarrassment to the profession.
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