Cosby-Roundtree gets Villanova back on track
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. >> Villanova took a step forward after dropping out of the Top 25 for the first time since December 2013.
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and the defending national champion Wildcats stopped a two-game skid by beating Canisius, 83-56, Thursday in the opening round of the AdvoCare Invitational at Disney World.
“We pride ourselves on attention to detail, and as you can see right now we just don’t have it,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys, but it was a good step for us today. I thought a lot of good details defensively, good details on the glass.”
The Wildcats outrebounded Canisius 51-24.
Oklahoma State and No. 19 LSU joined Villanova in Friday’s semifinals. No. 14 Florida State and UAB played later Thursday for the other spot.
Phil Booth also scored 15 points for the Wildcats (32). They will play Oklahoma State, which beat Memphis
84-64.
Villanova went from No. 8 to unranked after losing to Michigan 73-46 in a rematch of last season’s national championship game and getting beaten 76-68 in overtime by Furman last week.
“When we were in the AP poll we never talked about it, so when we’re not we don’t talk about it,” Wright said. “We were looking forward to playing better and that’s what I’m really pleased with.”
Villanova stars Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman were all selected in the NBA draft after last season’s championship run.
Canisius (1-3) got 19 points from Isaiah Reese. Takal Molson, who entered averaging
21.3 points per game, had 10. The Golden Griffins got to
63-52 with 4 1/2 minutes left before Villanova pulled away. MIAMI 85, LA SALLE 49 >> Chris Lykes scored 18 points and Miami embraced the morning tipoff in a dominant win in the first round of the Wooden Legacy.
The Hurricanes (4-0), who came in as the highest-scoring team in the tournament, continued to put up big numbers and got to the lane with ease. Five players scored in double figures for Miami.
“They pressed, and we did a good job of getting by them and making solid passes and getting in the lane and making shots and kicking it out,” Lykes said. “We’re a dynamic team. It’s a little different from the team last year.”
It was a dunk-fest early on as guard Anthony Lawrence dunked for the game’s first basket inside two minutes after tipoff. He later had a breakaway dunk, and his teammates were in on the slam-dunk party all game.
Jared Kimbrough scored 10 points for La Salle (0-5).