Villanova shakes off listless first half

For 20 minutes, Villanova looked ordinary, vulnerable, may be even a little scared.

The Wildcats finished like champions.

Donte DiVincenzo scored 21 points and the NCAA Tournament’s top seed shook off a shocking start and stumbled forward in the East region Thursday night with a 76-56 victory over No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s (20-16) in Buffalo, New York.

Leading by just one at halftime, the Wildcats (32-3) opened the second half with a 21-6 run and took their first step toward defending their championship.

“We didn’t start the game with energy. We don’t have time to figure it out,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

Florida 80, East Tennessee State 65: Devin Robinson tied his career-high with 24 points, Kasey Hill added 14 and No. 4 seed Florida (25-8) used a second-half surge to beat 13th-seeded East Tennessee State 80-65 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Orlando, Florida.

Robinson scored his most points in nearly two months. He made 10 of 17 shots and chipped in seven rebounds. Hill reached double figures for the fourth consecutive game. Kevarrius Hayes, filling in for injured center John Egbunu, finished with seven points, seven rebounds and six steals. He broke the school record for steals in an NCAA Tournament game. ETSU finished 27-8.

Virginia 76, UNC Wilmington 71: Defensive-minded Virginia showed it can play with a little offensive tempo, using five guards to top UNC Wilmington.

London Perrantes scored 24 points, Marial Shayok added a career-high 23 off the bench and No. 5 seed Virginia rallied from 15 points down to beat 12th-seeded UNC Wilmington 76-71 in Orlando.

Virginia advanced past the first round for the fourth consecutive year and won as a No. 5 seed for the first time in four tries.

The Cavaliers closed the first half with a 16-1 run that erased a double-digit deficit.