In brief: Wildcats handle Mountaineers
Men’s basketball: Scottie Reynolds scored 19 of his 21 points in the final 13 minutes and No. 4 Villanova held off No. 5 West Virginia 82-75 in Morgantown, W.Va.
The Wildcats (21-2, 10-1 Big East) shot 57 percent (29 of 51) from the field and outrebounded the Mountaineers 38-30. West Virginia (19-4, 8-3) didn’t help its cause at the free-throw line, finishing 18 of 32.
Corey Fisher added 17 points and Antonio Pena had 10 for Villanova.
•Top-ranked Kansas tackles Texas: Marcus Morris scored 18 points to lead No. 1 Kansas to an 80-68 victory over No. 14 Texas in Austin, Texas, and the Jayhawks easily handled an opponent that a few weeks ago was supposed to challenge them for the Big 12 title.
Kansas (23-1, 9-0) outmuscled and outhustled the Longhorns (19-5, 5-4) in just about every way, holding the top-scoring team in the Big 12 to 37 percent shooting and scoring 27 points off 17 turnovers.
•Former Big 12 commissioner joins Pac-10: Former Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg is joining the Pac-10 as deputy commissioner and chief operating officer.
Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott announced that Weiberg would start working for the conference April 12.
Weiberg was commissioner of the Big 12 from 1998-2007. Revenues in the conference doubled during his tenure. He had previously been a deputy commissioner in the Big Ten and worked at the Big Ten Network after his time with the Big 12. The Pac-10 is considering starting its own television network.
No. 5 Tennessee squeaks by Vandy
Women’s basketball: Kelley Cain scored a career-high 19 points, and fifth-ranked Tennessee (21-2, 9-1 SEC) rallied and beat Vanderbilt (17-7, 6-5) 69-60 in Nashville, Tenn., for the Lady Vols’ fifth straight victory.
Angie Bjorklund (University High), Alyssia Brewer and Glory Johnson all finished with 10 points for Tennessee.
Carter leads as Magic rally past Hornets
NBA: Vince Carter had a season-high 48 points, leading the Magic back from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat the New Orleans Hornets 123-117 in Orlando, Fla.
Carter was 19 for 27 shooting and had 34 points in the second half with some of the most sizzling moves since he joined the Magic, who have won nine of their last 11 games.
Dwight Howard added 25 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando.
•Hawks, Wizards reschedule: Last Saturday’s snowed-out game that was to feature the Atlanta Hawks at the Washington Wizards has been rescheduled for March 11.
•Can’t lead a Cav’s fan to water: Thirsty basketball fans cheering on the Cleveland Cavaliers will have to wait at a concession stand the next time they want a sip of water.
Citing concerns over swine flu, the team said that all drinking water fountains have been removed from Quicken Loans Arena to reduce the spread of bacteria and communicable diseases.
Fans who want a drink of water can now get a 9-ounce cup for free at the concession stand or pay $4 for bottled water.
•Kaman to replace Roy: Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman will replace the Trail Blazers’ Brandon Roy (hamstring) in this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.
Late Clowe goal lifts Sharks over Leafs
NHL: Ryane Clowe scored with less than seven minutes left in the third period, leading the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel scored for the Maple Leafs, who nearly tied it with a flourish in the final minute of regulation.
•Avalanche roll over Blues: Brandon Yip scored two goals, Chris Stewart had a goal and two assists and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 5-2 in Denver.
Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist, T.J. Galiardi also scored, and Craig Anderson made 32 saves for the Avalanche.
•Gainey steps down as Canadiens GM: The president of the Montreal Canadiens says Bob Gainey is stepping aside as general manager and being replaced by Pierre Gauthier.
Team president Pierre Boivin said that Gainey will remain with the team as a special counsel to Gauthier.
Brewers to erect statue of Selig
Baseball: The Brewers are erecting a statue of baseball commissioner Bud Selig outside Miller Park in Milwaukee and will unveil it on Aug. 24.
Selig headed a group that bought the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court in 1970, moved the franchise to Milwaukee and renamed it the Brewers. He became acting commissioner in 1992 and took the job full-time six years later, turning control of the team over to his daughter, Wendy Selig-Prieb. The Selig family sold the team to a group headed by Mark Attanasio in 2005.
•Yankees load up on outfielders: Marcus Thames agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Yankees, who also finalized a $1.1 million, one-year deal with Randy Winn to give themselves more left field options.
Thames would get a $900,000, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster and would have a chance to earn an additional $900,000 in performance bonuses.
NFL Network to televise arena games
Miscellany: Arena football’s new league has reached a one-year agreement with the NFL Network to broadcast a game of the week.
Spokesman Dennis Johnson confirmed that the network will show one of Arena Football One’s games each Friday night under the deal, which also has an option for a second year.
Fifteen teams from cities such as Spokane, Chicago, Dallas and Cleveland will play games from April to August.
•Women can sue UC Davis: A San Francisco appeals court said it appears that the University of California Davis violated federal law meant to promote gender equity in college athletics when it eliminated its women’s wrestling program.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit filed by three female wrestlers after the school essentially eliminated their sport by making them compete against males of the same weight after the 2000-2001 academic year.
The court turned aside the school’s argument that it had cut significantly from its men’s programs at the same time, ruling that the so-called Title IX law requires institutions receiving federal funding to show they are actively trying to expand women’s athletic opportunities.