Men’s Top 25 roundup: No. 1 Villanova hangs on against DePaul
Josh Hart scored 25 points and Jalen Brunson added 13 as No. 1 Villanova barely held off DePaul, 68-65 on Wednesday night in Villanova, Pennsylvania, the Wildcats’ 19th straight win.
The Wildcats (13-0, 1-0 Big East) looked rather pedestrian playing for the first time in a week. But thanks to Hart, considered among the favorites for national player of the year, they survived.
A 14-6 Villanova run gave the Wildcats a 51-39 lead with 16:41 to go. But the Blue Demons responded with a 14-0 run to get back in the game and take a 53-51 lead.
Hart scored 10 points in the final 3:06, including a dagger 3-pointer from the top of the key with 9.5 seconds left that gave Villanova a 66-62 lead.
Billy Garrett Jr. missed a clean look for a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Tre’Darius McCallum had 19 points for the Blue Demons (7-7, 0-1).
(21) Oregon 89, (2) UCLA 87: Dillon Brooks hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to give the Ducks (12-2, 1-0 Pac-12) the win over the Bruins (13-1, 0-1) in the Pac-12 opener for both teams in Eugene, Oregon.
Brooks, who finished with 23 points and nine rebounds, grabbed Bryce Alford’s missed free throw with 8.9 seconds to go, dribbled to the right wing and pulled up for the game-winning shot.
Payton Pritchard added 15 points and nine assists for the Ducks, who won their 10th consecutive game and pushed the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 34 games. Pritchard’s 3-pointer pulled Oregon within one with 12.9 seconds left.
Thomas Welch had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bruins, and Alford had 20 points. Lonzo Ball added 14 points and TJ Leaf had 13.
UCLA was trying to match their best start to a season in 10 years.
(12) Virginia 61, (6) Louisville 53: Devon Hall scored 10 points and Kyle Guy added a key jumper with 2:02 remaining as the Cavaliers (11-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) withstood a late rally to beat the Cardinals (11-2, 0-1) in the ACC opener for both schools in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Cavaliers seemed headed to another lopsided win over Louisville before the Cardinals rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit to get within 57-48 with 3:51 left. Guy’s basket regained momentum for Virginia, which got two free throws from Mamadi Diakite with 28 seconds left to seal its fourth straight win overall and fourth in five games against Louisville. He had nine points.
Quentin Snider, Deng Adel and Tony Hicks had eight points each for Louisville, which had won six straight.
(9) North Carolina 102, Monmouth 74: Justin Jackson scored 28 points to lead the Tar Heels (12-2) over the Hawks (10-3) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Kennedy Meeks added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Isaiah Hicks finished with 15 points to help the Tar Heels win their second straight.
Micah Seaborn scored 19 points and Je’Lon Hornbeak added 17 before fouling out for Monmouth, which had its program-record nine-game winning streak snapped.
(10) Creighton 89, Seton Hall 75: Maurice Watson had 21 points and 10 assists and four other Creighton players scored in double figures as the Bluejays (13-0, 1-0 Big East) opened conference play with a win over the Pirates (10-3, 0-1).
Khyri Thomas and Justin Patton had 17 points apiece, Marcus Foster added 15 and Cole Huff had 13 for the Bluejays, who are off to their best start since the 1942-43 team opened 16-0. They will meet top-ranked Villanova in Omaha on Saturday in a matchup of unbeatens.
Khadeen Carrington led the Pirates with 27 points and Desi Rodriguez, who came into the game 6 of 29 from 3-point range, made a career-high five 3s while scoring 24 points.
(15) Purdue 89, Iowa 67: Freshman guard Carsen Edwards scored 19 points and Dakota Mathias added 17 for the Boilermakers (12-2, 1-0 Big Ten) to beat the Hawkeyes (8-6, 0-1) in the conference opener for both teams in West Lafayette, Indiana.
It was the seventh consecutive victory for the Boilermakers, who also got 16 points from Isaac Haas, 15 from Vince Edwards and 11 points and 10 rebounds from Caleb Swanigan, who recorded his fifth consecutive double-double.
Big Ten scoring leader Peter Jok of Iowa, who came in averaging 22.6 points, was held to 13 on 4-of-15 shooting, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range. Mathias was the primary defender on Jok.
It was Purdue coach Matt Painter’s 250th victory at his alma mater. Painter is in his 12th season with the Boilermakers.
Nebraska 87, (16) Indiana 83: Glynn Watson Jr. scored 26 points and Tai Webster had 21 to lead the Cornhuskers (7-6, 1-0 Big Ten) to an stunning win over the Hoosiers (10-3, 0-1) in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Cornhuskers snapped Indiana’s 26-game home winning streak by finishing with their highest point total of the season in the Big Ten opener for both.
Indiana’s last loss at Assembly Hall was to Michigan State on March 7, 2015.
Robert Johnson finished with 19 points and Thomas Bryant had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hoosiers.
(17) Xavier 82, Providence 56: Trevon Bluiett scored 22 points and the Muskateers (11-2, 1-0 Big East) took control at the outset to beat the Friars (10-4, 0-1) in the conference opener in Cincinnati.
Xavier surged ahead by as many as 30 points, with Bluiett leading the way. He had nine rebounds to go with his eighth 20-point game of the season. Edmond Sumner added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Isaiah Jackson had 17 points for the Friars in their most lopsided loss of the season.
(20) Florida State 88, Wake Forest 72: Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 23 points apiece as the Seminoles (12-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened ACC play in Tallahassee, Florida with a victory over the Demon Deacons (9-3, 0-1).
Florida State trailed most of the game and was down 66-61 before it went on a run of 17 straight points over a 4:02 span. The Seminoles made seven straight shots from the field during the run while the Demon Deacons committed four turnovers.
Jonathan Isaac added 13 points and CJ Walker had 12 for Florida State, which has won nine straight for the first time since 2003-04 and is off to its best start since going 16-1 in 1988-89.
Keyshawn Woods and Bryant Crawford led the Demon Deacons with 16 each.
(22) Southern Cal 70, Oregon State 63: Chimezie Metu had 19 points and eight rebounds and the Trojans (14-0, 1-0 Pac-12) stayed undefeated as they beat the Beavers (4-10, 0-1) in the Pac-12 opener for both teams in Corvallis, Oregon.
Jordan McLaughlin added 10 points, eight rebounds and four steals and Jonah Mathews had 10 points for the Trojans.
Stephen Thompson Jr. scored a career-high 24 points and Drew Eubanks had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Beavers.
Southern Cal went on a 13-0 run about midway through the first half to take a 24-9 lead. Oregon State was held scoreless for nearly 5 minutes during the surge. The Trojans led 34-17 at halftime.
Southern California led by double digits most of the second half, but Oregon State was able to cut the deficit to six points in the final minute on a layup by Eubanks.
(23) Cincinnati 56, Temple 50: Gary Clark scored 11 points, including two important free throws with 14.9 seconds left, for the Bearcats (11-2, 1-0 American Athletic Conference), who won their fourth in a row in a win over the Owls (9-5, 0-1) in the AAC opener for both teams.
Jacob Evans III also scored 11 points for the Bearcats, who shot 32.8 percent (19 for 58) from the field and 27.8 percent (5 for 18) from 3-point range.
Daniel Dingle scored 15 points to lead Temple. Alani Moore II and Shizz Alston Jr. added 10 points apiece from the Owls, who also struggled from the field.
(24) Notre Dame 63, Saint Peter’s 55: V.J. Beachem scored 18 points to help the Fighting Irish (11-2) beat the Peacocks (5-7) and close out their non-conference schedule in South Bend, Indiana.
Steve Vasturia added 11 points for the Irish, who were outscored in the second half for the fifth straight game.
The Irish finished 22 points below their average of 85.3, but held the Peacocks to 35.7 percent shooting from the field.
Bonzie Colson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for Notre Dame.
Nick Griffin led Saint Peters with 16 points.