Hart racing to the top
Notre Dame can’t slow Villanova senior
Jay Wright doesn’t follow who is in the running for national player of the year. However, the Villanova coach thinks he has the best player in the country in senior guard Josh Hart.
After Saturday’s career-best performance, it would be hard to argue.
“He’s as good as any player in the country is and he’s so complete,” Wright said.
Hart scored a career-high 37 points and No. 1 Villanova rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat No. 22 Notre Dame, 74-66, on Saturday at the Prudential Center.
Hart was the only player for Villanova (10-0) to score in double figures.
Matt Farrell and Steve Vasturia had 18 points each for Notre Dame (9-1), which entered the game as one of eight remaining unbeaten Division I teams.
(4) Duke 94, UNLV 45: Grayson Allen shot 75% en route to a career-high 34 points to lead Duke over UNLV (5-4) in the first college basketball game played at T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Luke Kennard had 16 points for the Blue Devils (10-1), while Amile Jefferson contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds.
(13) Louisville 102, Texas Southern 71: Quentin Snider scored 15 points, V.J. King added 13 and Louisville overcame a cold shooting start to beat Texas Southern and give Hall of Famer Rick Pitino his 400th victory as the Cardinals’ coach.
Pitino, who last month earned his 750th career victory, improved to 400-163 in 16 seasons with Louisville. His Cardinals (9-1) first had to shake off early sluggishness and to pull away from the scrappy, athletic Tigers and win their fourth in a row.
(16) West Virginia 90, VMI 55: Daxter Miles Jr. scored a seasonhigh 20 points and West Virginia overcame an early lull to beat VMI (1-7) and give coach Bob Huggins his 799th career win.
West Virginia (8-1) followed up a 53-point win over Western Carolina on Wednesday with a lackluster first half.
(20) Arizona 79, Missouri 60: The Wildcats (8-2) looked polished in their first true road game of the season as they defeated Missouri (5-4). BIG TEN
(3) Kansas 89, Nebraska 72: Frank Mason III had 18 points and seven assists without a turnover, Josh Jackson and Svi Mykhailiuk added 15 points apiece and Kansas cruised to a victory over Nebraska (5-5).
The Jayhawks (9-1) had no trouble with their old conference foe despite playing without forward Carlton Bragg Jr., who is suspended indefinitely. Bragg was charged Friday with misdemeanor battery.
(9) Indiana 103, Houston Baptist 61: James Blackmon Jr. scored 18 points, Robert Johnson added 16 and Indiana dominated Houston Baptist.
Thomas Bryant finished with nine points and 13 rebounds for the Hoosiers (8-1), who out-rebounded Houston Baptist, 45-31.
(19) Purdue 77, Cleveland State 53: Caleb Swanigan had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Dakota Mathias added 12 points on 4 three-pointers to lead Purdue over Cleveland State (3-6).
The Boilermakers (8-2) finished the first half on a 12-0 run to lead, 41-20, and cruised the rest of the way. BIG EAST
(14) Xavier 77, Utah 69: J.P. Macura emerged from his shooting slump by scoring 18 points, and RaShid Gaston helped Xavier get the edge up front against Utah (6-2), the nation’s top rebounding team.
The Musketeers (8-2), coming off back-to-back road losses, built a 15-point lead in the first half.
(15) Butler 75, (23) Cincinnati 65: Kelan Martin came off the bench to score 20 points and was the catalyst in two key secondhalf runs that sent Butler past Cincinnati.
The Bulldogs (9-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season by extending their home winning streak against non-conference opponents to 34 games.