Hart, No. 1-ranked Villanova pounce on Providence

Jays, Mountaineers both take a tumble

PHILADELPHIA — Josh Hart saw an opportunity to drive with the ball and kept attacking the basket instead of shooting jumpers.

Hart scored 25 points, Kris Jenkins had 19 and No. 1 Villanova beat Providence 78-68 on Saturday.

The defending national champion Wildcats (19-1, 7-1 Big East) have won five straight since their only loss at Butler on Jan. 4 temporarily knocked them out of the No. 1 spot in The AP Top 25.

Hart tied a season low with only two 3-pointers attempted and made both. He scored seven of his 10 baskets on layups. Villanova only tried 17 shots from 3-point range, making seven. The Wildcats entered the game averaging 25 attempts from beyond the arc.

“They do a great job of taking away 3s,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said of Providence. “Our guys did a good job of reading the defense and not taking contested 3s. Josh is as relentless at attacking the basket as anybody I’ve ever seen.”

Hart finished 10 of 16 from the field.

“Just be aggressive is something Coach always says,” Hart said. “If they step up, make the right pass, If they don’t, you score.”

Rodney Bullock had 17 points and Jalen Lindsey added 14 for Providence (13-8, 3-5).

(2) KANSAS 79, TEXAS 67: In Lawrence, Kan., Devonte’ Graham scored 18 points, Frank Mason III added 17 and the Jayhawks (18-1, 7-0 Big 12) beat the Longhorns (7-12, 1-6).

Freshman Josh Jackson chipped in 15 points for Kansas while Svi Mykhailiuk added 12 points and Landen Lucas had 12 rebounds.

(4) GONZAGA 73, PORTLAND 52: In Spokane, Wash., Nigel Williams-Goss scored 15 points as the Bulldogs (19-0, 7-0 West Coast) beat the Pilots (9-10, 2-5) to remain the only unbeaten team in Division I.

(5) KENTUCKY 85, (24) SOUTH CAROLINA 69: In Lexington, Ky., Malik Monk scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 and the Wildcats (17-2, 7-0 SEC) overcame an ankle injury to starting guard De’Aaron Fox to beat the Gamecocks (15-4, 5-1).

(6) BAYLOR 62, TCU 53: In Fort Worth, Texas, Manu Lecomte scored 17 points and the Bears (18-1, 6-1 Big 12) beat the Horned Frogs (14-5, 3-4).

MARQUETTE 102, (7) CREIGHTON 94: In Omaha, Neb., Katin Reinhardt scored 17 of his seasonhigh 21 points in the first half, and the Golden Eagles (13-6, 3-3) picked up their first Big East road win with an upset of the Bluejays (18-2, 5-2).

Marcus Foster scored 30 points to lead Creighton, which was playing its first full game without star point guard Maurice Watson Jr., who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Monday against Xavier.

KANSAS STATE 79, (7) WEST VIRGINIA 75: In Manhattan, Kan., Kamau Stokes and Barry Brown each scored 13 points to help the Wildcats (15-4, 4-3 Big 12) rally to upset the Mountaineers (15-4, 4-3).

(9) NORTH CAROLINA 90, BOSTON COLLEGE 82: In Boston, the Tar Heels (18-3, 6-1 ACC) beat BC (9-11, 2-5) despite 33 points from Eagles freshman Ky Bowman, who had originally committed to play wide receiver for Carolina before opting for basketball instead.

(10) FLORIDA STATE 73, (12) LOUISVILLE 68: In Tallahassee, Fla., Jonathan Isaac and Dwayne Bacon both scored 16 points and the Seminoles (18-2, 6-1 ACC) held off the Cardinals (16-4, 4-3).

(11) OREGON 69, STANFORD 52: In Eugene, Ore., Chris Boucher had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Dylan Ennis scored 15 and the Ducks (18-2, 7-0 Pac-12) rolled to victory over the Cardinal (11-9, 3-5).

(13) BUTLER 70, DEPAUL 69 (OT): In Rosemont, Ill., Kethan Savage scored 20 points and the Bulldogs (17-3, 6-2 Big East) held off the last-place Blue Demons (8-12, 1-6) in overtime.

(15) NOTRE DAME 84, SYRACUSE 66: In South Bend, Ind., V.J. Beachem scored a career-high 30 points for the Fighting Irish (173, 6-1 ACC), who snapped a fourgame losing streak against the Orange (11-9, 3-4).

Notre Dame was hot from outside, hitting 11 3-pointers against the Syracuse zone.

(16) VIRGINIA 62, GEORGIA

TECH 49: In Charlottesville, Va., Marial Shayok scored a careerbest 19 points and the Cavaliers (15-3, 5-2 ACC) used a 22-7 run spanning halftime to beat the Yellow Jackets (11-8, 3-4).

(17) WISCONSIN 78, MINNESOTA 76 (OT): In Minneapolis, Ethan Happ scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Badgers (16-3, 5-1 Big Ten) to an overtime victory over the Gophers (15-5, 3-4).

(18) DUKE 70, MIAMI 58: In Durham, N.C., Matt Jones scored all 13 of his points in the second half, hitting three 3-pointers during the run of 20 consecutive points that lifted the Blue Devils (15-4, 3-3 ACC) over the Hurricanes (12-6, 2-4).

VANDERBILT 68, (19) FLORIDA 66: In Gainesville, Fla., Matthew Fisher-Davis scored 19 points, Nolan Cressler came up huge in the final minute and the Commodores (9-10, 3-4 SEC) upset the Gators (14-5, 5-2).

(20) CINCINNATI 78, TULANE 61: In New Orleans, Jacob Evans scored 15 points and Cincinnati’s defense stifled the Green Wave (4-15, 1-6 American) in the first half as the Bearcats (17-2, 7-0) won their 10th consecutive game.

(21) PURDUE 77, PENN STATE 52: In West Lafayette, Ind., Caleb Swanigan had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the Boilermakers (16-4, 5-2 Big Ten) built an 18-point halftime lead and coasted to a victory over the Nittany Lions (11-9, 3-4).

MWC

FRESNO STATE 81, NEVADA 76: In Reno, Nev., Jaron Hopkins scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half to help the Bulldogs (13-7, 5-3) hold off the Wolf Pack (16-4, 5-2).

Nevada has lost two conference games this season, falling to Fresno State both times. The Bulldogs dropped Nevada 77-76 on New Year’s Eve.

Hopkins hit 9 of 11 from the floor while dishing out five assists.

UNLV 87, AIR FORCE 85 (2 OT): In Las Vegas, Nev., Jovan Mooring’s 3-pointer at the buzzer at the end of regulation forced overtime as the Rebels (10-10, 3-5) outlasted the Falcons (9-11, 2-5).

Air Force’s Jacob Van hit a 3 with no time left to send the game into a second overtime.

COLORADO STATE 64, UTAH STATE 56: In Logan, Utah, Emmanuel Omogbo had 20 points and 16 rebounds and the Rams (128, 4-3) never trailed on their way to a win over the Aggies (8-10, 2-5).

Omogbo had his MWC-leading 10th double-double of the season and the 18th of his career.

Gian Clavell added 15 points and Prentiss Nixon scored 14 — each made a pair of 3-pointers for the Rams (12-8, 4-3).

BOISE STATE 75, SAN JOSE STATE 65: In San Jose, Calif., David Wacker scored 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds, Chandler Hutchison finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and the Broncos (12-6, 5-2) topped the Spartans (9-9, 2-5) in a wire-to-wire win.

State colleges

TEXAS A&M KINGSVILLE 77, WNMU 58: In Kingsville, Texas, the Javelinas (10-7, 3-5 Lone Star) went up 42-23 at the half and turned back the Mustangs (2-15, 0-9). Sophomore Willie McCray led Western with 13 points.

ANGELO STATE 84, ENMU 68: In San Angelo, Texas, the Rams (12-4, 4-4) jumped to a 25-6 lead and handled the Greyhounds (7-12, 1-8). Chris Lewis scored 15 points for Eastern on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.\

NMHU 95, COLORADO CHRISTIAN 84: In Las Vegas, N.M., Ron Lawton scored 35 points on 12-of18 shooting as the Cowboys (7-11, 5-8 RMAC) handled the Cougars (10-8, 7-5). Marlon Johnson deliverd 21 points and 13 rebounds for Highlands.