No. 1 Villanova routs DePaul in Big East opener
Mikal Bridges scored 20 points, Phil Booth added 17 points and six assists, and visiting No. 1 Villanova made it look easy, beating DePaul 103-85 on Wednesday in the Big East opener for both teams.
The Wildcats (13-0, 1-0 Big East) closed in on last year’s program-record 14-0 start and gave coach Jay Wright his 399th victory in 17 seasons at Villanova.
Bridges and Booth each made four 3-pointers, and the Wildcats nailed 15 of 31 from long range.
OKC WINS 6TH STRAIGHT
The Oklahoma City Thunder are having fun playing basketball and that’s translating into a long winning streak. Paul George went 7 of 10 from 3-point range — tying the Thunder record for 3s in a game — and scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 30 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds as host Oklahoma City won its sixth straight game, beating the red-hot Toronto Raptors 124-107.
l Kyrie Irving scored 21 points, Al Horford had 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the host Charlotte Hornets 102-91 on Wednesday night.
l Jimmy Butler scored 12 of Minnesota’s 14 points in overtime and finished with a seasonhigh 39 to lift the host Timberwolves to a 128-125 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
l Vince Carter scored a season-high 24 points, and the Sacramento Kings handed the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers their second straight loss with a 109-95 victory. LeBron James had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists for the Cavs.
FSU EYES SANDERS
New Florida State coach Willie Taggart could be making a “Prime Time” addition to his Seminoles coaching staff.
Taggart and former FSU standout and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders have “mutual interest” for Sanders to become the Seminoles’ new defensive backs coach, according to a Wednesday report by 247Sports.
MUTKO STEPS DOWN
Vitaly Mutko bowed to mounting pressure and stepped down as chairman of the 2018 World Cup organizing committee on Wednesday after being dogged by investigations that highlighted his role in a state-backed doping program. Alexei Sorokin, the chief executive of the committee, will also assume the chairmanship vacated by Mutko. Sorokin also took Mutko’s spot on the FIFA Council this year after he was blocked from seeking re-election due to his promotion to Russian deputy prime minister.
RACING TRAINER DEAD, 81
Jack Van Berg, a Hall of Fame trainer who oversaw Alysheba to victories in the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, died Wednesday. He was 81.
He died in a Little Rock, Arkansas, hospital, according to a spokeswoman for Oaklawn Park, where Van Berg had relocated his training base after leaving Southern California in 2013. No cause was given.
Van Berg ranks fourth all-time among trainers in North America, with 6,523 victories from 41,164 starts, according to Equibase. He had career purse earnings of $85,925,482.