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Following another week of Big East women’s basketball action, No. 18 Marquette remains ranked after an 85-74 win last Sunday over Michigan. And on Thursday, they lost 87-82 to the No. 6 Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Golden Eagles were in strong position to win the game with Danielle King scoring 27 points to lead their scorers. But for Mississippi State, Anriel Howard scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to their hard-fought victory. Allazia Blockton added 17 points in the losing effort.
No. 20 DePaul won back-to-back games against the Temple Owls with a 102-88 defeat on Dec. 3 and the Northwestern Wildcats with a 76-60 win on Dec. 5.
All of the Big East’s teams remain above .500 except for the Georgetown Hoyas and the Creighton Bluejays, which is a little surprising because Creighton made the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season last year.
This season, the Bluejays are 4-4 after following up a three-game losing streak with wins over Nebraska, Omaha and Wichita State this past week. For a team that made the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, this isn’t an ideal start. But it is also important to note that the Bluejays still made the NCAA Tournament despite not winning 20 games last season, so it is still early to say whether this truly hurt their chances at an at-large tournament bid.
Big East games of the week
No. 18 Marquette Golden Eagles (5-2) at Northwestern Wildcats (5-2)
When: Sunday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. ET
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
How to watch: Big Ten Network
Notes: The Golden Eagles finish a three-game stretch with a road game against the Wildcats. Northwestern started their season on a strong note with a quality 84-58 win against Duke. However, they are also coming into this game after two consecutive losses to Pittsburgh in the ACC-Big Ten Women’s Challenge on Nov. 29 and DePaul on Dec. 5.
St. John’s Red Storm (6-2) vs. Florida State Seminoles (8-1)
When: Sunday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. ET
Where: Carnesecca Arena, Queens, NY
How to watch: ESPN3
Notes: The Red Storm is coming off a 64-59 loss to Wake Forest last Sunday and defeated Yale at home, 56-52 last Thursday. The Seminoles, on the other hand, get a chance to play against one of the Big East’s top-tier teams in recent years on the road. They narrowly defeated Mercer last Wednesday in a 57-56 thriller.