No. 3 Villanova rolls to 9th straight, handles Seton Hall

Even when No. 3 Villanova went up by 16 points in the second half, Jay Wright never felt comfortable against Seton Hall.

The two longtime Big East rivals have played nothing but close games lately and the Wildcats coach had a feeling the Pirates had a run in them. It was one of the few things he was wrong about this season.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 23 points in a foul-plagued 21 minutes and Villanova rolled to ninth straight victory with an unexpectedly easy 80-72 decision over Seton Hall on Saturday t Newark, N.J.

“I didn’t think of this one as not being one of the close ones because I know how good they are and I know they can always make a run at us,” Wright said. “So the history of this rivalry is such that you just you never, ever feel comfortable, you know? And I definitely felt that way tonight.”

Jermaine Samuels added 17 points and Justin Moore had 16, while Collin Gillespie had 11 points and a career-high 11 assists.

The Wildcats (11-1, 6-0 Big East) built a double-digit lead midway through the first half and were really never threatened in handing Seton Hall (9-8, 6-5) its third straight loss to a ranked opponent.

Robinson-Earl finished 8 of 12 from the field and hit all five of his free throws. He missed 14 minutes in the second half after picking up his third and fourth fouls early, but returned for the final three minutes and scored six points to seal the win.

Georgetown 73, Providence 72: At Washington, Qudus Wahab made a jumper with 1:16 remaining to give Georgetown the lead en route to the win over the visiting Friars. Chudier Bile registered 19 points to lead the Hoyas. Bile hit 10 of 12 free throws. Jamorko Pickett had 12 points for Georgetown (4-8, 2-5 Big East Conference), which broke its five-game losing streak. Donald Carey added 10 points and Jahvon Blair had six rebounds. A.J. Reeves scored a season-high 28 points for the Friars (9-8, 5-6). Nate Watson added 12 points. Alyn Breed had 10 points and six rebounds.

Xavier 68, Butler 55: At Indianapolis, Paul Scruggs had 24 points as Xavier picked up the road victory. Adam Kunkel had 15 points for Xavier (11-2, 4-2 Big East Conference). Nate Johnson added 14 points. Zach Freemantle had 10 rebounds. Bryce Nze had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (5-9, 4-7). Bo Hodges added 11 points and six rebounds. Aaron Thompson had 10 points.