St. John’s scores win against Villanova at Garden

LJ Figueroa and the Red Storm used a strong defensive effort in the second half to stun No. 13 Villanova.

Figueroa scored 22 points and St. John’s (19-7, 7-6 Big East) rallied to beat the Wildcats, 71-65.

It was the first win for the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden against Villanova (20-6, 11-2), in 17 years.

“It was as loud as I can remember, maybe louder,” St. John’s coach Chris Mullin said. “I’m happy for them they got to experience that too. There’s nothing like that. There are some great places to play college basketball, but when you get a full Madison Square Garden against a championship team like Villanova there’s nothing like that.”

Michigan State

Michigan State (21-5, 12-3) shut down visiting Ohio State (16-9, 6-8) in the second half despite an injury to Nick Ward. Ward left in the second half with a broken left hand, but No. 11 Michigan State still rolled to a 62-44 victory. The Spartans hope Ward will be able to return before the end of the season.

Miami

Emese Hof scored 18 of her 25 points in the second half to help the 20th-ranked Hurricanes (22-5, 10-2 ACC) rally for a 79-73 victory against host No. 2 Louisville (23-2, 10-2).