Top-ranked ’Nova beats Temple for 17th straight
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Josh Hart shook off a slow start to score 26 points and lead No. 1 Villanova to its 17th straight win, 78-57 over Temple on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats (11-0) haven’t lost since the Big East championship game. They won six straight in the postseason to win the NCAA championship and have been flawless this season. The Wildcats fattened their record against Philly teams and finished 4-0 in the Big 5 city series.
Hart missed his first five shots after missing four total shots in a 37-point effort last week against Notre Dame. He hit a runner at the firsthalf buzzer to spark a sensational second half: Hart made consecutive 3s that made it 49-31 and blew the game open.
• No. 22 Oregon 81, Montana 67 — At Eugene, Ore.: Chris Boucher had 23 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to lead Oregon.
Dylan Ennis added 22 points for the Ducks (9-2), who won their seventh straight and extended the nation’s third-longest home winning streak to 32 games. Payton Pritchard had 12 points.
Oregon took control of the game with a 9-0 run midway through the second half for its first double-digit lead. The Ducks shot 51.7 percent (30 of 58) for the game but struggled at the free throw line, hitting just 15 of 25.
• No. 25 Cincinnati 96, Texas Southern 58 — At Cincinnati: Freshman Jarron Cumberland scored a career-high 18 points — all in the second half — as No. 25 Cincinnati pulled away to its most lopsided victory of the season.
Cincinnati (8-2) was coming off a 75-65 loss at Butler on Saturday. The Bearcats used their pronounced height advantage to take control on defense, repeatedly misdirecting shots. The Tigers made only 30 percent from the field.
Demontrae Jefferson scored 13 points for Texas Southern (4-6), which is in a stretch of 16 straight road games to open the season.
Women
• No. 5 Mississippi St. 58, Arkansas-Little Rock 44 — At Little Rock, Ark.: Victoria Vivians scored 17 points as No. 5 Mississippi State pulled away in the fourth quarter for a victory over Arkansas-Little Rock on Tuesday night.
The win keeps the Bulldogs (10-0) undefeated and is the 100th of coach Vic Schaefer’s career, making him only the second in school history to reach the century mark in victories.
• No. 23 Arizona St. 69, Middle Tennessee 48 — At Mufreesboro, Tenn.: Freshman Robbi Ryan scored 13 points and Arizona State cruised to its fifth straight win.
Reili Richardson had eight points and made two 3-pointers, and Kelsey Moos scored seven points — all in the first half — to lead the Sun Devils who led 43-20 at halftime.
Arizona State entered the game shooting 46 percent during its winning streak. The Sun Devils made 24 of 43 field goals (56 percent) against the Blue Raiders, but committed 24 turnovers.