The last game of Friday night, and one of just two with a late tip, was every bit the dandy you could expect it to be. It was two solid Big East teams, one of who had fallen on hard times of late with three straight losses and the other of who had won three in a row. It featured two of the best guards in the conference, both destined to go down as great college players.
And regulation wasn’t enough after a close game throughout. When Butler finally knocked off Marquette 89-85 in overtime, fans had been treated to a fine basketball game.
The two star guards? Neither shot exceedingly well, but they were big reasons the game got that far. Markus Howard had 26 points for Marquette, albeit on 8-27 shooting including 4-18 from long range. His opposite number, Kamar Baldwin, scored 31 points on 10-25 shooting, but he really came alive when it counted. He scored 29 of those points after intermission and 19 in the final eight minutes, including overtime.
Down the stretch, including overtime, you could sense how big each possession was, and each team hit big shots and made big plays. Butler simply made more of them, first to rally and then to take care of business in the extra session. They did so while short-handed, as Aaron Thompson saw his streak of 84 straight starts come to an end as he sat with a left wrist injury and Christian David is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee on Tuesday.
The Big East has little separation from top to bottom; the current standings, with Seton Hall at 7-0 and Villanova at 5-1 before every other team has at least three losses, are a bit deceiving in that regard. The Pirates and Wildcats have been masterful at winning close games; they haven’t been blowing teams out to stand head and shoulders above everyone else. Friday night’s game at Hinkle Fieldhouse fit right in with how the conference is in 2019-20, and was the best game on a light night of action.
Side Dishes
The other game that tipped later in the evening had first place in the Horizon League on the line, but Wright State left no doubt about who belongs in that spot as they blew out Northern Kentucky 95-63. The host Raiders were on fire all night long, shooting 61 percent from the field including 12-22 from long range, while also out-rebounding the Norse 43-28. The Raiders are now two games up in the loss column on everyone else in the league.
Earlier in the evening, Purdue bounced back from two straight losses to beat Wisconsin 70-51 in West Lafayette in a game that wasn’t even that close. It was one more example of how little separation there is in the Big Ten, as Purdue had lost three of four while Wisconsin came in having won three of four.
Other results of note: Yale swept their back-to-back weekend games with Brown, beating the Bears 73-62 in Providence behind 24 points from Paul Atkinson; two teams emerged on top of the MAAC after a busy night, as Quinnipiac handled Fairfield 81-67 and Monmouth beat Niagara 82-71 to settle in at 5-2 in MAAC play.
Kentucky‘s depth is taking a hit as forward Kahlil Whitney is transferring after a diminished role. The freshman, who came in highly regarded as a McDonald’s All-American, started the first seven games for the Wildcats, but he had played just four minutes in the past two games.
Tonight’s Menu
As usual, it’s a busy day of action, this time highlighted by the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
- The Big 12/SEC Challenge gets going right away with Missouri at West Virginia and Iowa State at Auburn (noon), then it continues with Oklahoma hosting Mississippi State and LSU visiting a Texas team that desperately needs a win (2 p.m.) before the afternoon portion wraps up with Oklahoma State at Texas A&M, TCU at Arkansas and Kansas hosting Tennessee (4 p.m.) In the evening, Texas Tech hosts Kentucky and Alabama hosts Kansas State (6 p.m.), then the day closes with Florida hosting Baylor (8 p.m.)
- The ACC slate starts with an old Big East battle as Syracuse hosts Pittsburgh and one with two teams who desperately need a win as North Carolina hosts Miami (noon), then Louisville hosts Clemson (2 p.m.) In the evening, Florida State hosts Notre Dame (8 p.m.)
- In the American Athletic Conference, Memphis tries to bounce back from getting blown out as they host SMU (4 p.m.)
- In the Atlantic 10, Rhode Island visits St. Bonaventure (3 p.m.) and Dayton visits Richmond (6 p.m.)
- The Big East slate starts with Providence hosting Villanova (1 p.m.), then DePaul hosts St. John’s in a game of two teams that really need a win (2 p.m.)
- Big Ten action gets going with Michigan hosting Illinois (noon)
- The top two teams in the MEAC clash as South Carolina State heads to Norfolk State (6:30 p.m.)
- In the Ohio Valley Conference, Belmont completes a tough couple of days as they lost at Murray State on Thursday night and have to go to undefeated Austin Peay today (4:30 p.m.)
- Pac-12 action includes USC at Oregon State (5 p.m.), Washington traveling to Colorado (9 p.m.) and arch rivals meeting as Arizona State hosts Arizona (9:30 p.m.)
- A rivalry game in the Sun Belt also has implications in the standings, as Georgia Southern hosts Georgia State (5 p.m.)
- In the West Coast Conference, San Francisco hosts BYU (5 p.m.)
