Paschall leads Villanova past Providence
PHILADELPHIA — With Philadelphia swept up in a Super Bowl frenzy, No. 1 Villanova showed again why city sports fans can also brag about having the top team in college basketball. Just across the street from where the Eagles clinched a Super Bowl berth, the Wildcats used a 22-2 run in the first half to cruise to their sixth straight win, 89-69 over Providence on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats (19-1, 6-1 Big East) are the only program in the AP Top 25 that plays in the shadow of four major pro teams that share a sports complex.
Philly is an Eagles city. The Wildcats, even with the 2016 national championship, are just along for the ride.
Villanova was forced to play this season at the Wells Fargo Center, home of the NBA's 76ers, because of renovations at its on-campus arena. The Wildcats improved to 7-0 in their temporary digs, even though the 20,000-seat arena was maybe half full.
Eric Paschall led six Wildcats in double figures with 17 points, Omari Spellman had 16 and Jalen Brunson scored 15.
No. 2 Virginia 61, No. 18 Clemson 36
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — Devon Hall scored 14 points, Kyle Guy had 12 and No. 2 Virginia broke open a close game with an 18-2 run in the second half to win their 11th straight.
The Cavaliers (19-1, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who lead the nation in scoring defense, allowed their fewest points of the season. The Tigers gave Virginia a game until early in the second half, when Clemson managed just four points in a span of 12 minutes. The burst turned a 30-27 lead into a 48-29 advantage.
Gabe DeVoe scored 11 points, all in the first 12 minutes, and was the only player to score in double figures for the Tigers (16-4, 5-3). They shot 31.9 percent (15-47) and scored just 13 points in the second half.
No. 22 Tennessee 67, Vanderbilt 62
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Jordan Bowden scored 19 points, Lamonte' Turner hit a huge 3-pointer and No. 22 Tennessee nearly blew a 20-point second-half lead before hanging on for a victory.
Tennessee (14-5, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) earned its fifth win in six games and withstood a brilliant performance from Vanderbilt's Riley LaChance, who scored all of his 25 points in the second half.
After trailing 41-21 with 14½ minutes left, Vanderbilt (7-13, 2-6) cut Tennessee's lead to 60-58 when Jeff Roberson made one of two free-throw attempts with 1:19 remaining. Turner answered by sinking a 3-pointer with 1:03 left.
LaChance missed a 3-point attempt on Vanderbilt's next possession to set up a layup by Bowden that extended Tennessee's lead to 65-58 with 33 seconds left. Tennessee's lead wouldn't drop below five the rest of the way.
Vanderbilt announced before the game that senior guard Matthew Fisher-Davis would miss the rest of the season with an injured right shoulder. Fisher-Davis has made 70 career starts and was averaging 11.9 points per game to rank second on the team.