Four of the five BIG EAST games on Saturday were played in front of sellout crowds. When the arenas emptied, Villanova and Xavier had maintained their top spots in the standings, Seton Hall moved into third place, a Butler player had a triple-double and Creighton got 28-points from a reserve.
Villanova jumped to a quick 10-0 start at Providence and led by 17 early in the second half. VU then staved off a late rally to win 72-60 before a jam-packed Dunkin' Donuts Center house of 12,883.
Darryl Reynolds, starting for a concussed Daniel Ochefu, scored a career-high 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.