No. 1 Nova hammers Hall in frenzied Philly
AP
-PHILaDELPHIa — Omari Spellman had 26 points, 11 rebounds and helped No. 1 Villanova kick off a rousing day in Philadelphia sports with a 92-76 win over Seton Hall on Sunday.
The Wildcats (22-1, 9-1 Big East) won their ninth straight game in front of a crowd dotted with green jerseys and chanting for the Eagles just hours before the Super Bowl.
Villanova’s win served as the sports appetizer for a city absolutely whipped into a frenzy, with fans lined up hours before kickoff around the block to get into sports bars to watch the Eagles play the New England Patriots.
Mikal Bridges, who scored 17 points, hit a 3 with 2:22 left for a 21-point lead that seemed to serve as the cue for fans to turn their full attention toward the Super Bowl. They put on dog masks (an Eagles rallying symbol) and chanted “We Want Brady!”
For about 25 minutes, the Pirates (17-6, 6-4) gave the Wildcats a serious scare.
Eric Paschall slammed into the court with such a thump it could be heard in the nose bleeds and subbed out for a quick breather on the bench. Paschall’s timeout was brief. He hit a 3 that tied the game at 48-all.
Jalen Brunson, a top candidate for national player of the year, followed with another 3 that snapped a tie game and seemed to signal the part of the game where Nova usually goes on a decisive run. It was that time. Paschall dunked on the next possession and Bridges came flying out of nowhere down the baseline to put back a missed shot that sent the roaring crowd to their feet in appreciation.
OHIO STATE 75, ILLINOIS 67: Keita Bates-Diop scored a career-high 35 points and had 13 rebounds for No. 17 Ohio State in columbus. The Buckeyes (205, 11-1 Big Ten) played without suspended guard Kam Williams. Jae’Sean Tate added 11 points. Mark alstork paced Illinois (1212, 2-9) with 19 points.
NIAGARA 96, MONMOUTH 91: Kahil Dukes scored a careerhigh 37 points to lead visiting Niagara over Monmouth.
Louis Pillari had four 3-pointers and 18 points and Melik Martin scored 17, 10 in the first half when Monmouth (7-16, 3-8) took a 4442 lead. Deion Hammond added 14 points and austin Tilghman grabbed 13 rebounds with nine assists.
RIDER 74, QUINNIPIAC 59: Stevie Jordan had 18 points and six assists, Dimencio Vaughn added 16 points with four steals and Rider beat host Quinnipiac for its sixth straight victory.
cameron Young led Quinnipiac (9-15, 6-6) with 18 points. Jacob Rigoni and chaise Daniels each added 12. Six of Quinnipiac’s nine first-half field goals were from 3-point range. The Bobcats finished with nine 3-pointers and hit 20 of 51 shots overall.
ARIZONA STATE 88, WASHINGTON STATE 78: Shannon Evans II scored 23 points and Romello White added 21 as No. 25 arizona State beat host Washington State.
Tra Holder scored 20 for arizona State (17-6, 5-6 Pac-12), which was coming off a loss at Washington.
Malachi Flynn scored 22 for Washington State (9-13, 1-9), which has lost five in a row and is last in the league.
arizona State shot 70 percent in the second half to hold off the cougars, who were undone by 18 turnovers.
CANISIUS 73, SAINT PETER’S 58: Isaiah Reese scored 15 points and Jermaine crumpton and Jonathan Sanks had 14 each to lead canisius to a victory over Saint Peter’s in Jersey city.
canisius (15-9, 9-2 Metro atlantic athletic conference) built a 42-30 halftime lead behind 4-of4 shooting behind the arc from Sanks. —AP GETTY