Balanced attack boosts Villanova
Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo scored 17 points apiece in Villanova’s balanced offense on Saturday, and the secondranked Wildcats led most of the way during a 73-57 victory over No. 24 Xavier, which suffered another significant injury.
Villanova (24-2, 11-2) won a matchup of the Big East’s top teams at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, where the Wildcats suffered one of their five losses last season on the way to a national championship.
It was a costly game for Xavier (18-7, 8-4), which already is missing point guard Edmond Sumner to a torn ACL. Trevon Bluiett, who is second to Villanova’s Josh Hart for the Big East lead in scoring, appeared to aggravate his sprained right ankle midway through the first half and had to be helped off the court. Gonzaga still perfect: Przemek Karnowski scored 19 and No. 1 Gonzaga (26-0, 14-0 West Coast) survived its toughest remaining obstacle to an undefeated regular season by posting a 74-64 victory against No. 20 Saint Mary’s (22-3, 12-2) 74-64 in Moraga, Calif. Kansas holds on: Josh Jackson had 31 points and 11 rebounds and made a free throw with 2.8 seconds left to lift No. 3 Kansas to an 80-79 victory over Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. Landen Lucas scored 13 for Kansas (22-3, 10-2 Big 12). Keenan Evans scored 25 and Niem Stevenson had a career-high 22 points for Texas Tech (16-9, 4-8). Florida State upset: Bonzie Colson scored a careerhigh 33 and grabbed 13 rebounds to help Notre Dame avenge a January loss to Florida State with an 82-74 win over the No. 14 Seminoles in South Bend, Ind. Matt Farrell added 15 points and nine assists for Notre Dame (19-7, 8-5 ACC). Terrance Mann led FSU (21-5, 9-4) with 15 points. Butler loses again: Alpha Diallo scored 15 and Kyron Cartwright had 14 for Providence as the Friars beat No. 22 Butler 71-65 in Providence, R.I. Nate Fowler scored a career-high 19 for the Bulldogs (19-6, 8-5 Big East), who have lost three of their last four games. Providence (15-11, 5-8) hit just one of its first 13 shots.
News services