No. 1 Villanova hangs on to beat DePaul 68-65 No. 17 Xavier tops Providence

It is for reasons like Wednesday night that Josh Hart is among the favorites for the national player of the year.

Hart scored 25 points and Jalen Brunson added 13 as No. 1 Villanova barely held off DePaul, 68-65 on Wednesday night, the Wildcats’ 19th straight win.

The Wildcats (13-0, 1-0 Big East) looked rather pedestrian playing for the first time in a week. But thanks to Hart they survived.

The senior swingman scored 10 points in the final 3:06, including a dagger 3-pointer from the top of the key with 9.5 seconds left that gave Villanova a 66-62 lead.

“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Hart said. “Coach puts me in the position and my teammates put me in that position.”

DePaul’s Billy Garrett Jr. missed a clean look for a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

After a sloppy first

Trevon Bluiett scored 22 points on Wednesday night, and No. 17 Xavier took control at the outset and pulled away to an 82-56 victory over Providence in their Big East opener.

Xavier (11-2, 1-0) surged ahead by as many as 30 points, with Bluiett leading the way. He had nine rebounds to go with his eighth 20-point game of the season. Edmond Sumner added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Isaiah Jackson had 17 points for the Friars (104, 0-1) in their most lopsided loss of the season.

Xavier took control with an early 16-2 run and pushed the lead to 25 points early in the second half.

Rodney Bullock leads the Friars at 19.4 points per game, but Xavier’s tight man-to-man defense gave him few open shots. He missed his first 10 shots and finished with a season-low two points on 1-of-11 shooting.

— The Associated Press