Villanova falls
Kyron Cartwright scored 17 points and Providence withstood several late surges to stun No. 2 Villanova 76-71 on Wednesday night. Rodney Bullock and Alpha Diallo each added 14 points for the Friars, who snapped a fivegame losing streak to the Wildcats.
PROVIDENCE 76, NO. 2 VILLANOVA 71
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Kyron Cartwright scored 17 points and Providence withstood several late surges to stun No. 2 Villanova 76-71 on Wednesday night.
Rodney Bullock and Alpha Diallo each added 14 points for the Friars (17-9, 8-5 Big East), who snapped a fivegame losing streak to the Wildcats.
It was Providence’s first victory over Villanova since Jan. 24, 2016.
Mikal Bridges had 19 points for Villanova but fouled out with 1:12 to play in the game. Jalen Brunson added 14 points.
Villanova (23-3, 10-3) pulled within 59-54 on a pair of free throws by Omari Spellman with 6:25 left. But the Friars outscored the Wildcats 8-4 over the next two minutes to push the lead back to 67-58.
Collin Gillespie gave the Wildcats a chance after his layup trimmed Providence’s lead to 72-69 with 29 seconds left. Cartwright then connected on 1 of his 2 free throws on the other end.
Villanova missed on its ensuing possession and was forced to foul with 20.6 left. Cartwright again hit 1 of 2, and Eric Paschall made a layup on the other end to make it 74-71.
The Wildcats fouled again with 12.8 left, but this time Diallo was able to convert on a pair of free throws.
NO. 4 XAVIER 102, SETON HALL 90
CINCINNATI — Trevon Bluiett followed his worst shooting performance of the season with a 37-point effort, and No. 4 Xavier held on for a victory over Seton Hall, securing the Musketeers’ hold on first place in the Big East.
Xavier (24-3, 12-2) has won nine in a row heading into its showdown with Villanova on Saturday at the Cintas Center.
Seton Hall (17-9, 6-7) has dropped a season-high four in a row. Myles Powell scored a career-high 30 points, including 24 in the second half as the Pirates cut Xavier’s 25-point lead to 87-81 with 3:39 left before Xavier finished it out at the free-throw line.
NO. 10 AUBURN 76, KENTUCKY 66
AUBURN, Ala. — Bryce Brown returned from a shoulder injury to score 18 points and make four three-pointers in leading No. 10 Auburn to a victory over Kentucky.
The Tigers (23-3, 11-2 SEC) overcame a horrid shooting start to take control down the stretch, with some big baskets from Brown and clutch plays from Jared Harper.
Harper also scored 18 and had 7 assists while making all 9 free throw attempts for the league-leading Tigers.
Brown missed the Georgia game with a right shoulder injury and got off to a cool start against the Wildcats (17-9, 6-7), who dropped their fourth consecutive.
FLORIDA STATE 81, NO. 11 CLEMSON 79, OT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Phil Cofer scored 17 points, Trent Forrest added 16 and Florida State rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half to defeat No. 11 Clemson in overtime.
The Seminoles (18-8, 7-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) didn’t take their first lead until 1:05 remaining in overtime.
Terance Mann added 13 points as the Seminoles snapped a two-game losing streak and gave Coach Leonard Hamilton his 500th career victory and 300th at Florida State.
Marcquise Reed scored 23 points while Gabe Devoe and David Skara had 11 each for Clemson (20-5, 9-4), which has lost its last three to Florida State.
NO. 12 DUKE 74, VIRGINIA TECH 52
DURHAM, N.C. — Grayson Allen scored 25 points and matched a career high with seven three-pointers, helping No. 12 Duke beat Virginia Tech.
Freshman Gary Trent Jr. added 19 points for the Blue Devils (21-5, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Duke led 36-28 at halftime, then used a 9-0 burst midway through the second half to blow the game open.
Justin Bibbs scored 15 points to lead the Hokies (18-8, 7-6), who never looked in sync against Duke’s zone defense.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN 74, IOWA 59
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Duncan Robinson scored 18 points and No. 22 Michigan beat Iowa.
The Wolverines (21-7, 10-5 Big Ten) won for the second consecutive game and the fourth time in five games.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 16 points for the Wolverines and Moritz Wagner added 14 points.
Luka Garza scored 22 points to pace the Hawkeyes (12-16, 3-12).
SEC MEN VANDERBILT 81, MISSISSIPPI STATE 80
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Riley LaChance swished a three-pointer from the top of the key with 0.5 seconds left, giving Vanderbilt a victory over Mississippi State.
LaChance and Joe Toye both scored 16 points for the Commodores (1016, 4-9 SEC), who went 14 of 27 from three-point range.
The Bulldogs (18-8, 6-7), who haven’t won at Memorial Gym since 2012, fell to 1-7 on the road.
Xavian Stapleton led the Bulldogs with 18 points and Abdul Ado added 15. Tyson Carter scored 12, Aric Holman had 11 and Nick Weatherspoon added 10.
GEORGIA 72, FLORIDA 69, OT
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Yante Maten scored 23 points, including a huge three-pointer to send the game into overtime, and Georgia beat Florida to end a three-game losing streak in SEC play.
Maten added 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. The senior scored eight consecutive points to put the Bulldogs (14-11, 5-8 SEC) ahead for good early in the extra frame.
The Gators (17-9, 8-5) looked like they would win in regulation after Egor Koulechov scored eight points in the final 2:36. But Jalen Hudson turned the ball over, and Maten hit a wide-open three-pointer from the top of the arc to send it to overtime.
SOUTHLAND MEN MCNEESE STATE 76, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 72
McNeese State (8-15, 6-7 Southland Conference) opened a 43-28 halftime advantage, then had to hold off the University of Central Arkansas (13-13, 7-6) at the Farris Center in Conway.
Thatch Unruh’s three-pointer with 3:05 left got the Bears within 69-68 before the Cowboys closed the game on a 7-4 run.
The Cowboys had four players with 10 or more points, led by James Harvey’s 17. Kalob Ledoux had 16, while Quatarrous White scored 12 and Jarren Greenwood 10.
UCA’s Mathieu Kamba led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field. The team’s leading scorer, Jordan Howard, had 14 points but was just 6 of 20 from the field, including 2 of 11 from three-point range. Unruh scored 11 for the Bears, while Hayden Koval had 10 and shared team-high rebounding honors with Kamba with 12.
DeAndre Jones had 10 rebounds and a team-high three steals for the Bears.
SOUTHLAND WOMEN CENTRAL ARKANSAS 51, MCNEESE STATE 45
The University of Central Arkansas (17-7, 10-3 Southland Conference) fought back from an 18-12 first-quarter deficit to get by McNeese State (1113, 7-6) at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, La.
The Sugar Bears outscored the Cowgirls 12-7 in the second quarter and went into intermission down 25-24. A 17-10 third quarter was enough to give UCA a six-point lead heading into the fourth.
UCA’s Taylor Baudoin led all scorers with 30 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds, including 7 on the offensive end. No other Sugar Bears player scored in double figures.
Mercedes Rogers led McNeese State with 11 points. Teammate Caitlin Davis added 10.
The Sugar Bears shot 30.3 percent from the field but outscored the Cowgirls 16-0 in points off turnovers and 32-8 in points in the lane.