| Villanova and Darrun Hilliard got past Purdue on Thursday night in the Garden. (US Presswire) |
Big East scoreboard for Nov. 15
St. John's 64, College of Charleston 53: The Johnnies (2-0) jumped out to an early 22-11 lead and never let the host Cougars (1-1) get back within less than eight points the rest of the way. D'Angelo Harrison led all scorers with 21 points, while JaKarr Sampson added eight points and 10 boards. Nori Johnson led CofC with 11 points. St. John's moves on to face the winner of Auburn-Murray State Friday night.
No. 2 Louisville 80, Samford 54: This one wasn't nearly as close as the score indicates, and the score wasn't very close. The Cardinals (2-0) had no trouble with an over-matched Samford (1-2) team that managed just 13 first-half points. Russ Smith led the Cards with 18 points, while Chane Behanan (12 points, 18 rebounds) and Gorgui Dieng (10 points, 13 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles. Tim Williams had 18 points for the Bulldogs.
Massachusetts 77, Providence 75: After a second-half comeback gave the short-handed Friars (2-1) a late lead, UMass (2-0) again found a way to come out with a victory. Sampson Carter's 3-pointer with time expiring gave the Minutemen a last-second win over Harvard Tuesday, and Terrell Vinson's tip of a Chaz Williams missed runner gave UMass another thrilling victory. Bryce Cotton led all scorers with 23 points, and Kadeem Batts added 19 for a team desparately missing star guard Vincent Council.http://www.cbssports.com/tools/sfc
Gardner-Webb 71, DePaul 59: The Bulldogs (2-2) dominated from the start, and the Blue Demons (1-1) never really threatened, losing at home. It is evident that DePaul will have trouble putting points on the board if Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young aren't scoring at will. Melvin was the team's leading scorer with 18 points, while Young added 10. Max Landis led Gardner-Webb with 20 points.
Villanova 89, Purdue 81 (OT): The Boilermakers (1-2) exploded in the second half and appeared to put the game away, but the explosion soon evolved into a meltdown. A late Villanova (3-0) rally -- fueled by a questionable flagrant foul call against Purdue's D.J. Byrd -- gave the Wildcats life, and they took advantage, sending the game to overtime. Nova's James Bell took over in the extra frame, draining two deep threes to bury Purdue. The Wildcats' Darrun Hilliard led all scorers with 22 points.
Star of the night: St. John's G Harrison. For the second consecutive game, Harrison led the Red Storm in scoring. He finished with 21 points Thursday night, including seven quick points to boost the St. John's lead to 22-11 early. The Johnnies never looked back.
Inside the box score -- 4 numbers worth a second look
13 -- Louisville sophomore forward Chane Behanan had a nice game on the glass Thursday, racking up 13 rebounds -- in the first half. Behanan finished with 18 boards, a career high.
8 turnovers, 2 assists -- DePaul's two best players -- guards Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young -- combined for just two assists against eight turnovers in Thursday's loss to Gardner-Webb. That can't happen ever, but especially with a team that struggles to score as much as the Blue Demons.
0-9 -- More from DePaul's loss: In the first half, the Blue Demons were 0-9 from beyond the arc, and an equally unimpressive 2-6 from the free throw line.
17 -- Villanova knocked down 17 consecutuve free throws beginning late in the second half and extending through overtime. The Wildcats got some fortunate calls, but they converted when given the opportunity.
Thursday's quote of the day: Louisville coach Rick Pitino, on Smith: "We got wide open shots, with the exception of Russ taking challenged shots there at the end so he could call daddy and let him know he scored 30.”
Nov. 16 games
St. John's vs. Murray State in Charleston, S.C., 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
Wake Forest vs. No. 23 Connecticut in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Rutgers at Princeton, 7 p.m. ET
Villanova vs. Alabama in New York, N.Y., 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Providence vs. Penn State in Puerto Rico, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
Maryland-Eastern Shore at South Florida , 7:30 p.m. ET
No. 20 Notre Dame vs. St. Joseph's in Brooklyn, N.Y., 9:30 p.m. ET (Tru TV)
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Big East, follow bloggers Evan Hilbert and Matt Rybaltowski @CBSBigEast.