Villanova tops Penn for Big 5 win

Collin Gillespie scored 26 points, Brandon Slater had 16 and No. 6 Villanova avoided a second straight court-storming at Penn with a 71-56 win Wednesday night.

The last time the two Big 5 schools played at the Palestra in 2018, the Ivy League Quakers pulled off one of the great upsets in school history with a threepoint win over the reigning national champion Wildcats.

The only thing more improbable for Penn than beating Villanova once was doing it twice inside the hoops haven affectionately known as the Cathedral of college basketball.

The Wildcats (5-2) used an early 13-0 run that gave them a needed cushion by halftime. With former 76ers coach Brett Brown watching from the bleachers, Gillespie gave him a look at a point guard that could hit three-pointers.

Gillespie, making his 94th start over five seasons, hit four 3s in the first half and pushed back the smallest of Penn runs. He hit one for a seven-point lead, another for an 11point lead and one more for a 16-point edge. That was good enough to hit cruise control against the Quakers (3-7).

Jordan Dingle led Penn with 21 points. The Quakers did make 13 3-pointers.

Villanova, Penn, Saint Joseph’s, La Salle and Temple have long had rivalry games intertwined in the fabric of Philly sports. The Big 5 — a name coined by

Philadelphia Inquirer sports writer Herb Good — was officially formed in 1954 and the schools started round-robin play for “City Series” bragging rights in 1955. The Big 5 really took off as a basketball treasure in the 1960s when games were televised and a few years of established roundrobin plays got bragging rights rolling.

Georgia 82, No. 18 Memphis 79:

Jabri AbdurRahim’s three-pointer with less than 2 minutes remaining gave the host Bulldogs the lead, and Georgia (3-5) snapped its four-game losing streak by beating the Tigers (5-2).

No. 25 Seton Hall 85, Wagner 63:

Jared Rhoden had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Kadary Richmond added 10 points, leading the host Pirates

(6-1) past Wagner (2-1).

TOP 25 WOMEN

No. 11 Tennessee 76, Tennessee Tech 48: Alexus Dye had 20 points and nine rebounds, Tamari Key added 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, and the host Volunteers (7-0) beat the Golden Eagles (2-5).

No. 16 Kentucky 83, West Virginia 60: Rhyne Howard scored 27 points, Dre’una Edwards had a double-double with six blocks and the host Wildcats (5-1) rolled over the Mountaineers (4-2) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

No. 17 Texas A&M 65, Little Rock 50: Kayla Wells and Destiny Pitts each scored 15 points and the host Aggies (8-0) beat the Trojans (4-4).