The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Top-ranked ’Nova downs Providence
Josh Hart scored 25 points, Kris Jenkins had 19 and No. 1 Villanova beat Providence 78-68 on Saturday in Philadelphia.
The defending national champion Wildcats (19-1, 7-1 Big East) have won five straight since their only loss at Butler on Jan. 4 temporarily knocked them out of the No. 1 spot in The AP Top 25.
Rodney Bullock had 17 points and Jalen Lindsey added 14 for Providence (13-8, 3-5). NO. 2 KANSAS 79, TEXAS 67 >> At Lawrence, Kansas, Devonte’ Graham scored 18 points and Frank Mason III added 17 for Kansas.
Freshman Josh Jackson chipped in 15 points for the Jayhawks (18-1, 7-0 Big 12) while Svi Mykhailiuk added 12 points and Landen Lucas had 12 rebounds. Freshman Jarrett Allen posted season-highs with 22 points and 19 rebounds for Texas (7-12, 1-6). NO. 14 ARIZONA 96, NO. 3 UCLA 85 >> At Los Angeles, Kobi Simmons scored 20 points and Arizona remained undefeated in conference play. Lauri Markkanen added 18 points for the Wildcats (18-2, 7-0 Pac-12), who have won 12 in a row. Lonzo Ball scored 24 points for UCLA (192, 6-2), which had its 11game home winning streak snapped. NO. 5 KENTUCKY 85, NO. 24 SOUTH CAROLINA 69 >> At Lexington, Kentucky, Malik Monk scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 and Kentucky overcame an ankle injury to starting guard De’Aaron Fox to beat South Carolina and take over first place in the Southeastern Conference. MARQUETTE 102, NO. 7 CREIGHTON 94 >> At Omaha, Nebraska, Katin Reinhardt scored 17 of his season-high 21 points in the first half and Marquette picked up its first Big East road win.
Luke Fischer and Jajuan Johnson added 18 points apiece for the Golden Eagles (13-6, 3-3).
Marcus Foster scored 30 points to lead the Bluejays (18-2, 5-2), who were playing their first full game without star point guard Maurice Watson Jr., who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Monday against Xavier. KANSAS STATE 80, NO. 7 WEST VIRGINIA 75 >> At Manhattan, Kansas, Kamau Stokes and Barry Brown each scored 13 points to help Kansas State rally to upset West Virginia.
The Wildcats (15-4, 4-3 Big 12) trailed by 12 late in the first half before Stokes keyed a late burst, hitting a layup right before the halftime buzzer to cut the deficit to two at the half. NO. 9 NORTH CAROLINA 90, BOSTON COLLEGE 82 >> At Boston, Kennedy Meeks scored 20 points with nine rebounds and Justin Jackson scored 22 points for North Carolina.
It was the sixth straight win for Carolina (18-3, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) since a league-opening loss to Georgia Tech.
Ky Bowman matched his career high with 33 points for BC (9-11, 2-5). NO. 10 FLORIDA ST. 73, NO. 12 LOUISVILLE 68 >> At Tallahassee, Florida, Jonathan Isaac and Dwayne Bacon both scored 16 points for Florida State.
Terance Mann added 15 points and Michael Ojo had 10 for the Seminoles (18-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who went 5-1 during a stretch where it faced six straight ranked opponents.
Tony Hicks led Louisville (16-4, 4-3) with 16 points. NO. 11 OREGON 69, STANFORD 52 >> At Eugene, Oregon, Chris Boucher had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Dylan Ennis scored 15 points and Oregon rolled to a victory over Stanford. NO. 13 BUTLER 70, DEPAUL 69, OT >> At Rosemont, Illinois, Kethan Savage scored 20 points for Butler.
Kamar Baldwin added 18 points and Kelan Martin had 12 for the Bulldogs (17-3, 6-2 Big East). NO. 15 NOTRE DAME 84, SYRACUSE 66 >> At South Bend, Indiana, V.J. Beachem scored a career-high 30 points for Notre Dame, which snapped a fourgame losing streak against Syracuse. NO. 16 VIRGINIA 62, GEORGIA TECH 49 >> At Charlottesville, Virginia, Marial Shayok scored a careerbest 19 points as Virginia used a 22-7 run spanning halftime. NO. 17 WISCONSIN 78, MINNESOTA 76, OT >> At Minneapolis, Ethan Happ scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Wisconsin. VANDERBILT 68, NO. 19 FLORIDA 66 >> At Gainesville, Florida, Matthew FisherDavis scored 19 points and Nolan Cressler came up big in the final minute for Vanderbilt. NO. 20 CINCINNATI 78, TULANE 61 >> At New Orleans, Jacob Evans scored 15 points as Cincinnati won its 10th consecutive game. NO. 21 PURDUE 77, PENN ST. 52>> At West Lafayette, Indiana, Caleb Swanigan had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Purdue.