Xavier 70, St. John's 60 - The Musketeers opened up the second half with a 13-0 run to give them a 40-29 lead with 15 minutes left in the game. The Red Storm were able to cut the lead to as little as four at two different points in the game, but never any closer. Justin Martin had seven straight points and nine overall as part of Xavier's 2nd half run, and finished with 15 to lead his team. D`Angelo Harrison had a game high 21 to lead St. John's. You can dig deeper into this game with Rumble in the Garden and Banners on the Parkway.
Seton Hall 81, Providence 80 (2OT) - Seton Hall threw away a 12 point second half lead, but Providence turned the ball over twice in the last eight seconds of the second overtime period and the Pirates prevailed to take a early share of the lead in the Big East. Sterling Gibbs made four free throws - his only four attempts of the game - in the final nine seconds to take the game for SHU. Brian Oliver led Seton Hall with 18 points, while Bryce Cotton had a game high 25 points as he played the full 50 minutes for PC. South Orange Juice is your place for more info.
Georgetown 61, DePaul 54 - This game did not start out fun to watch. Both teams didn't break into double digits until DePaul's Billy Garrett Jr. hit a three pointer with 8:50 left in the first half to make it 13-11 in favor of Georgetown. That bucket was part of an 8-0 DePaul run that took nearly four full minutes, but it ended with the Blue Demons taking a 20-13 lead. The Hoyas closed the game on a 14-2 run that gave them the lead, and DePaul would never lead again. Markel Starks led all players with 21 points. Go read Casual Hoya for more on this one.
#11 Villanova 76, Butler 73 (OT) - Now, this game, this was fun. The largest lead taken by either team was nine, when JayVaughn Pinkston drained a bucket to give the Wildcats the advantage with 17:20 remaining in regulation. But Butler would quickly jump back in the game, courtesy of three made three pointers from Erik Fromm, Kellen Dunham, and Elijah Brown. The only field goal made by either team in the final 3:20 of regulation was an off balance long two pointer from Dunham that knotted things at 66 with 25 seconds to go, and when Pinkston couldn't convert in the lane at the buzzer, an extra five minutes were needed. Dunham scored all seven of the Bulldogs' points in the extra period, but the Wildcats had already scored the first five points of extra time by the time Dunham got on the board, and VU held on for the win. Pinkston and Dunham both had a game high 22 points. VU Hoops can give you more details.