’Nova wins with buzzer-beater

Josh Hart was on his back, saw the basketball rest on the rim and wondered how it got there as 20,000 frenzied fans held their breath.

“I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I thought I missed it,’ ” Hart said.

He did miss the potential winner.

But in an engrossing game stuffed with a March Madness feel, it seemed fitting that defending national champion Villanova again won at the buzzer.

Donte DiVincenzo beat the horn on a tip-in for his only basket to lead No. 1 Villanova to a 61-59 win over No. 12 Virginia on Sunday in Philadelphia.

The Wildcats (20-2) stumbled through their worst half of the season before they found their 3-point groove that fueled a second-half rally. Down 12 points with 10 minutes left, the Wildcats had the ball with 11.5 seconds left and the game tied. Hart drove the lane and missed his layup. DiVincenzo zipped down the baseline and tipped the ball in just as the horn sounded.

After a review, the basket stood and the Wildcats celebrated at center court. Did it feel like March? “Hell yeah,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. Purdue falters late: Michael Jacobson’s putback with 42 seconds left gave Nebraska the lead, and the host Cornhuskers made 4 of 6 free throws the rest of the way to hold off No. 20 Purdue 83-80.

Nebraska (10-11, 4-5 Big Ten) ended a five-game losing streak.

Purdue (17-5, 6-3) lost for the first time in four games.

Before the game, Purdue coach Matt Painter said in a statement that junior forward Basil Smotherman was leaving the program.

Key injuries: Point guard Edmond Sumer suffered an apparent injury to his left leg during No. 24 Xavier’s 82-77 victory over St. John’s on Sunday in New York. With six minutes to play, Sumer made a basket and was hit as he scored. He was helped off the court by teammates . ... Indiana junior guard James Blackmon Jr., who averages 17.6 points per game, is indefinitely out with a leg injury. He suffered the injury during the team’s loss to Michigan on Thursday.