Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Butler topples No. 1 Villanova
INDIANAPOLIS — Kethan Savage scored five of his 13 points during a decisive seven-point run to give No. 18 Butler a 66-58 victory over No. 1 Villanova on Wednesday night, ending the Wildcats’ 20-game winning streak.
Butler (13-2, 2-1 Big East) improved to 4-0 against ranked opponents this season and extended its home winning streak to 12 games, beating a top-ranked team for the second time in school history.
The Bulldogs did it by upending the defending national champions and stopping the longest winning streak in Villanova history.
Jalen Brunson had 23 points and Josh Hart scored 13 on a rugged shooting night for the Wildcats (14-1, 2-1), beaten for the first time since a 69-67 loss to Seton Hall in the Big East championship game last March.
From there, the Wildcats won all six games in the 2016 NCAA Tournament before opening 14-0 this season.
“We beat an unbelievable program and an unbelievable team,” Butler Coach Chris Holtmann said. “Our kids performed at a high level.”
Villanova’s loss left No. 2 Baylor and No. 5 Gonzaga as the only undefeated teams left in Division I. Baylor, which has never been ranked No. 1, beat Iowa State 65-63 Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs took the lead for good when Savage scored on a layup with 2:57 left to make it 53-52. After Kelan Martin’s basket, Savage turned a steal into a threepoint play for a 58-52 lead with 1:46 to go, and the Wildcats never recovered.
The Wildcats shot a season-low 37 percent from the field. Coach Jay Wright also earned his first technical foul of the season.
Neither team ever really had complete control until the final stretch
Butler erased the Wildcats’ biggest lead of the night, 15-7, with a 9-0 run. Villanova answered with the next seven points.
It was more of the same in the second half and at one point, the teams traded leads on five consecutive baskets.
But after Hart’s 8-footer gave Villanova a 52-51 edge with 3:19 left, Savage started the crucial run with a layup and closed it out with the three-point play.
Butler sealed it by making six consecutive free throws in the final 33 seconds.
In other games involving top 25 men’s teams Wednesday, Manu Lecomte made a short high-arching jumper over a defender with 8 seconds left and No. 2 Baylor remained undefeated with a 65-63 victory over Iowa State in the Bears’ Big 12 home opener. After a timeout, the Bears (14-0, 2-0 Big 12) came out and the former Miami transfer made a move around the left side and then shot over Matt Thomas, who at 6-5 is 6 inches taller than the guard. Iowa State (9-4, 1-1) had one more chance after a timeout, but Monte Morris’ baseline jumper was no good as time expired . ... Grayson Allen had 15 points and seven assists in his return from a one-game suspension for tripping an opponent, and No. 8 Duke routed Georgia Tech 110-57 in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game before leaving the team to have back surgery. Jayson Tatum scored 19 points to lead the Blue Devils (13-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Justin Moore had 13 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (9-5, 1-1).
SEC MEN Vanderbilt rolls
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Matthew Fisher-Davis scored a career-high 33 points with a career-best seven three-pointers made as Vanderbilt routed the young Auburn Tigers 80-61 Wednesday night in the Commodores’ SEC home opener.
Fisher-Davis was on the court nearly three hours before tipoff honing his shot. It obviously worked, as he scored 17 consecutive in a span of 4 minutes 16 seconds, his last a three-pointer that put them up 24-4 with 12:34 left in the first half. The junior guard checked out with 2:56 left, having hit 11 of 20 from the floor and 7 of 14 beyond the arc.
Vanderbilt (8-6, 2-0) never trailed in beating the Tigers for its 13th consecutive victory in this series.
Luke Kornet added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Vanderbilt.
Auburn (10-4, 0-2) lost its second consecutive overall. Jared Harper scored 19 points, Mustapha Heron added 13 and Danjel Purifoy had 10.
In another game involving SEC men’s teams Wednesday, P.J. Dozier scored 24 points and Sindarius Thornwell had 19 in his return from a six-game suspension to lead South Carolina to a 67-61 victory over Georgia in the Gamecocks’ SEC opener. Thornwell, the SEC’s reigning defensive player of the year, had 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 6 steals for South Carolina (11-3, 1-0 SEC). Yante Maten led Georgia (9-5, 1-1) with 18 points.