Texas’ tough defense stifles Villanova

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and No. 8 Texas smothered No. 3 Villanova with its best defensive game of the year to pull out a 58-55 victory Saturday in Austin, Texas.

Texas has won six straight since consecutive blowout losses to No. 1 Duke and Tennessee, including two wins over Top 10 opponents. The Longhorns have done it with stifling defense that held all six opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.

Villanova (11-2) shot 27 percent, including 7 of 30 from 3-point range where the Wildcats have been so dangerous.

Aldridge scored eight points in the final 4 minutes, including two free throws with 8.3 seconds left that gave Texas (14-2) a three-point lead. He also had five blocks.

Daniel Gibson hit two more free throws with 3.9 seconds left before Villanova’s Randy Foye bounced a running 3-pointer off the backboard.

(1) Duke 87, Clemson 77: At Clemson, S.C., J.J. Redick scored 34 points and Shelden Williams added 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Blue Devils (16-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Tigers (13-4, 2-2) for the 19th straight time.

(2) Florida 69, Auburn 57: At Gainesville, Fla., Taurean Green scored 21 points, including six free throws over the final 5:25, and Al Horford added 14 to help the Gators (16-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) extend the best start and longest winning streak in school history by beating the Tigers (8-6, 0-3).

(4) Connecticut 74, Georgetown 67: At Hartford, Conn., Hilton Armstrong had 19 points – his sixth straight game scoring in double figures – and six blocked shots as the Huskies (14-1, 2-1 Big East) beat the Hoyas (10-4, 2-2) for the 11th straight time.

(5) Memphis 73, SMU 53: At Memphis, Tenn., Joey Dorsey scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds and the Tigers (15-2, 2-0 Conference USA) got off to a strong start in a win over the Mustangs (7-7, 0-2).

(7) Illinois 79, Michigan 74: At Champaign, Ill., Dee Brown scored 26 points and James Augustine added 23 as the Illini (16-1, 2-1 Big Ten) withstood a second-half charge to beat the Wolverines (11-3, 1-2) for the 11th straight time.

(15) Boston College 90, Florida State 87: At Boston, Craig Smith had 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Eagles (12-4, 1-3) to their first Atlantic Coast Conference victory despite a career-high 37 points from Al Thornton of the Seminoles (11-3, 2-2).

(16) West Virginia 104, Marquette 85: At Morgantown, W.Va., Mike Gansey scored a career-high 33 points despite hurting an ankle and Kevin Pittsnogle had 30 as the Mountaineers (12-3, 4-0 Big East) broke their conference record with 20 3-pointers in a victory over the Golden Eagles (12-5, 2-2).

(17) George Washington 82, Saint Joseph’s 70: At Washington, Carl Elliott scored a career-high 20 points and the Colonials (12-1, 3-0 Atlantic 10) held the Hawks (6-7, 1-3) scoreless for nearly six minutes in the first half.

(18) N.C. State 87, Georgia Tech 78: At Raleigh, N.C., Cameron Bennerman had 16 points and four teammates added 14 apiece as the Wolfpack (14-2, 3-1 ACC) beat the Yellow Jackets (9-5, 2-1).

Miami 81, (20) North Carolina 70: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Guillermo Diaz scored 24 points to help the Hurricanes (10-6, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to their first road win against the Tar Heels (10-3, 2-1).

(21) Wisconsin 68, Northwestern 52: At Madison, Wis., Alando Tucker had 20 points and seven rebounds and the Badgers (14-2, 4-0 Big Ten) beat the Wildcats (9-6, 2-2).

(22) Oklahoma 45, Texas A&M 44: At College Station, Texas, Terrell Everett hit a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left and the Sooners (10-4, 1-2 Big 12) beat the Aggies (11-3, 1-2).

Syracuse 77, (25) Cincinnati 58: At Cincinnati, Gerry McNamara scored 29 points, and Demetris Nichols started a second-half surge that carried the Orange (15-2, 3-0 Big East) past the Bearcats (13-4, 2-2) for their 12th straight win.