Villanova slips by Cincy
Pick. Pass. Layup. Villanova’s winning basket came just that easy.
Nothing else did.
Randy Foye had 25 points and Dante Cunningham scored off an inbounds play with 3.2 seconds left, leading No. 2 Villanova to its 11th straight win Thursday night, 74-72 over Cincinnati at Cincinnati.
The Wildcats matched the best start in school history and set a school record with their 11th straight Big East win.
They wasted a 12-point lead down the stretch before pulling out a win that kept them in control of the Big East.
“Teams play at another level against us, and we’re learning to handle that,” coach Jay Wright said.
They had to fight off the temptation to look past this one. The Wildcats go to Connecticut on Sunday for a rematch with the third-ranked Huskies, the team they beat on Feb. 13.
•George Washington will have to complete its bid for an undefeated Atlantic 10 season without Pops Mensah-Bonsu. The center for the No. 6 Colonials has a tear in the cartilage of his left knee and will miss the rest of the regular season and possibly the conference tournament.
Women
(3) LSU 86, Alabama 61: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Seimone Augustus scored 32 points and Sylvia Fowles had 28 points and 13 rebounds, clinching at least a share of the Southeastern Conference title for the Tigers… . (4) Maryland 89, Clemson 63: At College Park, Md., Crystal Langhorne scored 16 points to reach the 1,000 mark quicker than any player in Maryland history… . (5) Tennessee 81, Auburn 56: At Knoxville, Tenn., Tye’sha Fluker scored a career-high 22 points and Sidney Spencer added 18 for the Volunteers… . (6) Ohio State 67, (12) Purdue 58: At Columbus, Jessica Davenport scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half to lead the Buckeyes to their first outright Big Ten title in two decades… . (13) Georgia 86, Arkansas 80: At Fayetteville, Ark., Sherill Baker scored 28 points and Tasha Humphrey had 23 in the second half for the Bulldogs… . (14) Michigan State 68, Michigan 42: At Ann Arbor, Liz Shimek had 22 points, moving into second place on Michigan State’s career scoring mark, and the Spartans beat Michigan… . (20) Louisiana Tech 66, New Mexico State 53: At Ruston, La., Ty Moore had 15 points and 13 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season for the Lady Techsters… . (22) Minnesota 65, Indiana 58: At Minneapolis, Jamie Broback scored 20 points to help the Golden Gophers break a four-game losing streak and earn a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament… . (24) Vanderbilt 72, Kentucky 55: At Nashville, Tenn., Carla Thomas scored 17 points to lead the Commodores.