Villanova rolls to ninth straight win

NEWARK, N.J. — Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 23 points in 21 minutes and No. 3 Villanova rolled to ninth straight victory with an unexpectedly easy 80-72 decision over Seton Hall on Saturday.

Jermaine Samuels added 17 points and Justin Moore had 16 for Jay Wright’s team. Collin Gillespie had 11 points and a career-high 11 assists.

The Wildcats (11-1, 6-0 Big East) built a double-digit lead midway through the first half and were really never threatened in handing Seton Hall (9-8, 6-5) its third straight loss to a ranked opponent.

Shevar Reynolds had 13 points and Jaren Rhoden, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Myles Cale all scored 12 points for Seton Hall.

The Pirates’ last two losses were close. They endured a crushing lastsecond setback to Villanova on Jan. 19 and then lost a four-point decision to No. 17 Creighton on Wednesday in a game the Hall blew a 16-point secondhalf lead.

NO. 2 BAYLOR 84, AUBURN 72

WACO, Texas — Davion Mitchell had 13 points and seven assists against his former team, Matthew Mayer soared for a couple of highlight dunks and Baylor stayed undefeated with a win in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Mitchell swished a 3-pointer with 111⁄2 minutes left to extend Baylor’s lead to 59-43, getting the pass from Jared Butler and making the shot right after coming out of one of his shoes.

NO. 20 VA. TECH 65, NO. 8 VIRGINIA 51

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Keve Aluma scored a career-high 29 points to lead Virginia Tech to a win over Virginia.

Aluma hit 10 of 15 shots from the floor, including two 3-pointers to help the Hokies (13-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast

Conference) rally from a 10-point deficit in the second half. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak to the rival Cavaliers.

NO. 24 OKLAHOMA 66, NO. 9 ALABAMA 61

NORMAN, Okla. — De’Vion Harmon scored 18 points to help Oklahoma defeat Alabama in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, despite playing without leading scorer Austin Reaves and starting guard Alondes Williams because of COVID-19 protocols.

Elijah Harkless scored 14 points and Brady Manek added 12 for the Sooners (11-4), who became the second team in the past 25 years to beat three top 10 teams in a row following wins over Kansas and Texas.

NO. 10 TEXAS TECH 76, LSU 71

BATON ROUGE, La. — Mac McClung, who had not made a field goal in the second half, hit two 3pointers to key a stunning late rally as Texas Tech beat LSU in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Texas Tech (12-5) scored straight 12 points in the final minute. Trailing 71-64 following a field goal by Shareef O’Neal with 1:10 remaining in the game, McClung hit two from behind the arc.

FLORIDA 85, NO. 11 WVU 80

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Colin Castleton scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and Florida beat West Virginia in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Noah Locke had 19 points for Florida (10-4), which has won a seasonhigh four straight. Tyree Applebee finished with 12.

The Gators went ahead to stay on Scottie Lewis’ tiebreaking 3-pointer with 4:05 remaining. Castleton followed with a three-point play, and he made two free throws to put the Gators up 83-80 with 1:36 remaining.

NO. 12 MISSOURI 102, TCU 98 (OT)

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Xavier Pinson scored a career-best 36 points, Jeremiah Tilmon had a career-high 33 and Missouri beat TCU in overtime in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

The Tigers (11-3) trailed by 12 with less than five minutes left in regulation. Missouri, which was one of the nation’s worst 3-point shooting teams coming into the day, rallied behind Pinson’s outside shooting. He went 8 for 13 from beyond the arc, including a deep 3 with 3.9 seconds left that tied it at 89.

PENN ST. 81,

NO. 14 WISCONSIN 71

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Myreon Jones scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting and Penn State snapped a decade-long skid against Wisconsin.

Izaiah Brockington added 18 points and John Harrar had 17 for the Nittany Lions (6-7, 3-6 Big Ten), who lost 13 straight against Wisconsin — including eight at home.

NO. 18 TENNESSEE 80, NO. 15 KANSAS 61

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Yves Pons scored 17 points and Tennessee never trailed in beating Kansas in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

The Volunteers (12-3) won their second straight and notched their second win against a top-15 opponent this season, a much-needed boost to their resume after COVID-19 issues scratched No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 14 Wisconsin and also a trip to Notre Dame.

GA TECH 76,

NO. 16 FLORIDA ST. 65

ATLANTA — Moses Wright scored 23 points and Georgia Tech beat Florida State, ending the Seminoles’ fivegame winning streak.

Florida State (10-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) had 19 points from RaiQuan Gray. The Seminoles couldn’t overcome Wright and the Yellow Jackets’ backcourt duo of Jose Alvarado, who had 21 points, and Michael Devoe, who had 19.