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Williamson, Barrett Star, No. 1 Duke Rolls Over North Dakota State, 85-62

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett combined for 51 points No. 1 seed Duke pulled away for an 85-62 win over No. 16 seed North Dakota State in a March Madness East Regional NCAA Tournament game on Friday.

The top overall seeded Blue Devils (30-5) led by just four points at halftime, but opened the second half on a 9-0 run and never looked back en route to the comfortable first-round game victory.

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Barrett recorded a double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds, while fellow freshman sensation Williamson scored 25 points on 12 of 16 shooting from the floor.

“In the second half, we played beautiful basketball,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Williamson, who thrilled the crowd with a number of dunks in an explosive NCAA Tournament debut, was rested for a big portion of the second half, despite not picking up a single foul in the game.

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“We did start out very sluggish. We weren’t playing very well,” Williamson admitted. “But I think in the second half we calmed down, and we just started playing Duke basketball.”

Cam Reddish added 12 points for Duke, which shot almost 51 percent overall from the field.

Vinnie Shahid scored 20 points to lead North Dakota State in the defeat.

Jordan Horn ended with 11 points for the Bison (19-16), who trailed 31-27 at the break, but couldn’t contain Williamson, who took over the game after the interval and in the blink of an eye, Duke stretched the lead to 40-27.

North Dakota State coach David Richman said the Blue Devils proved why they were selected as the No. 1 overall seed.

“Duke was the No. 1 overall seed there, especially in the second half, they get out in transition like that and turn you over, they’re elite,” said Richman.

“That’s an exceptional team, and it was a pleasure to coach against Coach K and for our guys to compete in that environment.”

With a big lead and just over four and a half minutes remaining in the second half, Krzyzewski emptied the Duke bench.

“In the second half, we played just beautiful basketball for those 12 minutes, and then we subbed, and they subbed.

The Blue Devils (31-5) will face the winner of the clash between the eighth-seeded VCU versus No. 9 seed UCF on Sunday in the second round.

North Dakota State’s season comes to an end.

Box Score | Play-by-Play | Team Stats | Videos |Bracket

Watch Duke v Syracuse: ACC Tournament – Zion Returns

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CHARLOTTE, NC — Zion Williamson will start for Duke when the No. 5 Blue Devils open Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament play against Syracuse on Thursday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC.

Watch Live Streaming Coverage on WatchESPN

No. 3 Duke vs. No. 6 Syracuse
When: Mar. 14 | 9:30 PM (ET)
Where: Spectrum Center
Watch Live: ESPN 
Listen Live: Blue Devil IMG Sports Network
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Williamson missed the last six games since he injured his left knee against North Carolina on Feb. 20. He played just 36 seconds in that game.

With the talented freshman on the sidelines, Duke went 3-3 and have looked shaky at times in his absence.

Williamson is expected to play without limits tonight against Syracuse, which will be without leading scorer Tyus Battle, who remains out with a hip problem.

Duke is being backed to win this game with Williamson rejoining RJ Barrett, Cam Raddish and Tre Jones in leading the Mike Krzyzewski side.

Krzyzewski is 62-23 all-time in the ACC Tournament and has won 14 titles.

Meanwhile, Battle will miss a second successive game for the Orange, who beat Pittsburgh 73-59 on Wednesday night in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

The junior guard suffered over the weekend. He is averaging 17.2 points per game.

Duke Returns To No. 1 In AP Top 25 College Basketball Rankings

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MIAMI, FL — As expected, Duke reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings, which was released in Week 16 on Monday.

However, there are no new teams joining the Top 25 for the first time this term.

The Blue Devils (23-2) received 58 of 64 first-place votes from the panel to replace Tennessee at the top of the poll. It is the third Duke is holding the top-ranked spot this season.

Duke grabbed a pair of victories last week, including a stunning 71-69 comeback victory at then-No. 16 Louisville last Tuesday, while Tennessee went down to last week’s fifth-ranked Kentucky.

The Volunteers (23-2), who had spent four weeks at No. 1, slipped to No. 5 this week after the weekend’s loss at the Wildcats in SEC play.

Week 16 poll sees Gonzaga (25-2), which earned the remaining six first-place votes, moved up one place to No. 2 and it is followed by Virginia at No. 3 and Kentucky, which all advanced a slot each.

Nevada is at No. 6 Michigan, followed by North Carolina, Houston and Michigan State to round out the top 10.

Marquette slipped a spot to No. 11, Kansas is at No. 12, while LSU made the biggest leap this week after climbing six spots to No. 13. Texas Tech and Purdue are also in the top 15.

Florida State at No. 16, Villanova, which suffered a shocking defeat to St. John’s on Sunday, Louisville, Iowa State and Virginia Tech make up the top 20.

The next five is completed by Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas State, Maryland and Buffalo.

AP Top 25 Poll
 TEAM REC LAST

  1. Duke (58) 23-2 2
  2. Gonzaga (6) 25-2 3
  3. Virginia 22-2 4
  4. Kentucky 21-4 5
  5. Tennessee 23-2 1
  6. Nevada 24-1 7
  7. Michigan 23-3 6
  8. North Carolina 20-5 8
  9. Houston 25-1 9
  10. Michigan St. 21-5 11
  11. Marquette 21-4 10
  12. Kansas 20-6 14
  13. LSU 21-4 19
  14. Texas Tech 21-5 15
  15. Purdue 18-7 12
  16. Florida St. 20-5 17
  17. Villanova 20-6 13
  18. Louisville 18-8 16
  19. Iowa St. 19-6 23
  20. Virginia Tech 20-5 22
  21. Iowa 20-5 21
  22. Wisconsin 17-8 20
  23. Kansas St. 19-6 18
  24. Maryland 19-7 24
  25. Buffalo 22-3 25

Others receiving votes: Cincinnati 99, Wofford 32, Auburn 21, Washington 20, Mississippi State 2, St. John’s 2, Yale 1, Ole Miss 1

Williamson, Barrett Lead No. 2 Duke To 94-78 Win Over NC State

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DURHAM, N.C. — Zion Williamson scored 32 points, RJ Barrett recorded a triple-double and No. 2 Duke beat North Carolina State 94-78 Saturday night to stay atop of the Atlantic Coast Conference Standings.

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Williamson, who was scoring 30 or more points for the third time this season, shot 12 of16 from the floor on the night and also had six rebounds and three steals at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Barrett added 23 points. 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first college career triple-double, while Tre Jones added 13 points and five assists for the Blue Devils (22-2, 10-1 ACC), who were winning nine straight.

Barrett became the first Duke player with triple-double in 13 years. He is the fourth Duke player to record a triple-double and the first since Shelden Williams in January 2006.

“My teammates were obviously finishing, and it was great to play with them, especially Zion especially at the end, just grabbing everything, finishing everything,” Barrett said.

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Torin Dorn scored 17 points for NC State, with Markell Johnson collecting a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists in the defeat.

C.J. Bryce ended with 13 points and five rebounds for the Wolfpack (18-7, 6-6), who had a two-game winning streak snapped.

The travelers were also losing four in the last six outings.

As a team, Duke shot 35 of 66 overall from the field for 53.0 percent, but was only 3 for 16 from 3-point range.

NC State went 33 of 66 from the field for 50.0 percent and was 6 for 19 from long-range.

The Blue Devils dominated the rebounding column – finishing with a 44-26 advantage and scored 22 points off 12 turnovers by Wolfpack.

“You’ve got to cut down on your mistakes and you’ve got to be able to rebound the basketball,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said.

“But I like my team. We’ve fought and competed against every team in this league.”

Duke returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts North Carolina.

N.C. State will entertain Boston College also on Wednesday night.

Barrett, No. 2 Duke Hold Off No. 3 Virginia

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — RJ Barrett scored 26 points and No. 2 Duke beat No. 3 Virginia 81-71 on Saturday night as LA Lakers NBA stars LeBron James and Rajon Rando watched from the sidelines.

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Barrett, who made 6 for 10 from 3-point range, including his first five tries, also grabbed seven rebounds for Duke, which raced out to a 19-9 lead in the opening eight minutes.

Zion Williamson had 18 points with five rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, while Cam Reddish hit 5 of his first 6 shots from long-range to finish with 17 points for the Blue Devils (21-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot nearly 62 percent (13-21) from 3-pointers.

Tre Jones, who missed Duke’s win in the first game, contributed 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Marques Bolden played a big role at both ends of the court for the nation’s second-ranked ball club.

Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome scored 16 points each to lead Virginia (20-2, 8-2), which trailed 39-35 at halftime.

De’Andre Hunter scored 11 points and Braxton Key had 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who saw their 13-game home winning streak snapped.

Duke returns to action on Tuesday night at No. 16 Louisville

Virginia heads to Chapel Hill to play No. 8 North Carolina on Monday night.

Zion Williamson Leads No. 2 Duke To Easy 91-61 Win Over St. John’s

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DURHAM, N.C. — Zion Williamson scored 26 points, all five Duke starters scored in double figures, and the No. 2 ranked Blue Devils blew away St. John’s 91-61 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

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Williamson’s 26 points included a few highlighted dunks, while the talented freshman who skipped across the court to join his teammates in the locker room after the game, also had six rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

Per ESPN Stats and Information, Williamson was scoring 25 points for the 10th time this season, which sets a record for Duke freshmen.

Fellow freshman talent Cam Reddish added 16 points, while RJ Barrett collected 15 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two steals for Duke (18-2, 10-1 Home), which won five straight.

Alrounder Tre Jones, who set the tone for the team from the point guard position, finished with 13 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and three steals, while Marques Bolden chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds for the Blue Devils in the win.

With today’s win, Duke, which shot 55.6 percent from the field, improved its home win record against non-conference opponents to 147 consecutive, which is the longest active streak in the NCAA.

LJ Figueroa had 14 points and eight rebounds and Marvin Clark II added 12 for St. John’s.

Shamorie Ponds, who is averaging over 20 points this season for St. John’s was held to just 11 points, as the Red Storm (16-6), who fell behind by 20 points in the second half, dropped their third in four games.

How To Watch No. 2 Duke v St. John’s: Live Stream, Game Time and Preview

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DURHAM, N.C. — No. 2 Duke will look to extend its winning run on Saturday when the Blue Devils step out of conference play to host St. John’s at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Live coverage of this game is on ESPN with WatchESPN providing live stream.

Tip-off time is scheduled for 12:00 PM ET and according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the home side have a 94.7 percent chance of winning this game.

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No. 2 Duke vs. St. John’s
When: Feb. 2 | 12:00 PM (ET)
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium
Watch Live: ESPN 
Listen Live: Blue Devil IMG Sports Network
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Live Stats

Duke (18-2, 10-1 Home) enters this game on a four-game winning run and recorded an 83-61 victory over Notre Dame on Monday night.

The Blue Devils have the longest active streak in the NCAA when it comes to non-conference home wins at 146 consecutive and the college basketball experts are backing Mike Krzyzewski’s side to improve that record on Saturday.

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Notably, though, the last time Duke dropped a non-conference home game was against St. John’s on February 26, 2000.

The Red Storm (16-5, 3-3 Away), meanwhile, are seeking their second win against an AP ranked team this season after beating the then-No. 16 Marquette earlier this term.

Chris Mullin’s side is coming off an 83-67 win over Creighton on Wednesday night.

Individually, Duke freshman RJ Barrett leads the ACC in scoring at 23.6 points, while fellow freshman star Zion Williamson is also averaging more than 20 points per game, at 22.0.

Another Blue Devils standout is freshman Tre Jones, who is the nation’s only player averaging 5.0+ assists, 2.0+ steals with a 5.0+ assist-turnover ratio.

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For St. John’s, the team is led by junior guard Shamorie Ponds, who is averaging 20.9 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in seven straight played games.

In the win over Creighton this week, Ponds had 26 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and six steals.

Duke leads the head-to-head series against the Red Storm 16-7 and won two of the last three and nine of the last 11 games.

However, St. John’s knocked off the Blue Devils last season at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, 81-77 with Ponds scoring 33 points for the Red Storm.

Barrett, Williamson Guide No. 1 Duke Past No. 4 Virginia, 72-70

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DURHAM, N.C. — RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson combined to score 57 points and No. 1 Duke secured a 72-70 victory over No. 4 Virginia on Saturday night to hand the Cavaliers their first loss of the season.
Box Score (HTML)

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Barrett shot 11 of 19 from the field and made key free throws down the stretch to finish with 30 points and five rebounds to lead Duke, which was without injured point guard Tre Jones.

Williamson added 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting to go with nine rebounds, while Cam Reddish had nine points and eight boards for the Blue Devils (15-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) who bounced back from an overtime loss to Syracuse in the week.

DeAndre Hunter scored 18 points, and Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy each had 14 for Virginia, which won 16 straight entering this game.

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Braxton Key added 11 points and six rebounds and Guy also grabbed six boards for the Cavaliers (16-1, 4-1) who shot 52.8 percent from the field in the defeat.

Duke shot 51 percent from the floor and 12 of 19 from the field for 63.2 percent in the second half.

The encounter, which was a battle right down to final moments, had 14 ties and 15 lead changes.

No. 1 Duke Held On To Beat No. 4 Virginia In ACC Action

No. 1 Duke v No. 4 Virginia: Livescores, Streams and TV Channels

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No. 1 Duke will look to bounce back from a defeat the last time out when it takes on No. 4 Virginia in the highlighted ACC fixture on Saturday night.

The night’s Top Five showdown inside Cameron Indoor Stadium will tip-off at 6:00 pm and WatchESPN will have live streaming coverage. The television broadcast is on ESPN.

Watch Live: ESPN|WatchESPN
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Live Stats|ESPN GameCast

Duke comes into this game seeking to rebound from the disappointing home defeat to unranked Syracuse on Monday.

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The Blue Devils (14-2, 3-1 ACC) started that game strongly, but fell apart after losing starting point Tre Jones, who left with a shoulder sprain.

Duke was also without Cam Reddish, who missed the game with an illness.

Meanwhile, fourth-ranked Virginia enters this game undefeated and ranked No. 1 in points allowed this season at a stingy 51.7 points per game.

The Cavaliers (16-0, 4-0 ACC) have won 16 straight, while their last four opponents have failed to reach 60 points.

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It will be the 170th meeting between these two ball clubs with Duke leading the all-time series 119-51.

The Blue Devils have also won three of the last four and hold a one-sided 52-9 lead at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Individually, Duke will look to freshman star Zion Williamson to lead the offense. Williamson is coming off a record-breaking 35 point performance against Syracuse, which is the highest by a Blue Devils freshman in single-game.

Fellow freshman RJ Barrett leads the ACC in scoring at 23.4 points per game, while Williamson is second at 21.2 ppg.

Reddish will return from illness.

Kyle Guy leads Virginia in scoring this season with 15.3 ppg, with De’Andre Hunter scoring 14.4.

Cam Reddish Hits Game-winning 3-pointer; No. 1 Duke Wins At No. 13 Florida State

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TALLAHASSEE, FL — Cam Reddish hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left and No. 1 Duke beat No. 13 Florida State 80-78 here in Tallahassee, FL, on Saturday.

The Blue Devils (14-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed the Seminoles 39-38 at halftime and had to play without leading scorer Zion Williamson for the entire second half.

With his team trailing by one, Reddish caught the ball off an inbounds pass and buried a wide-open 3-pointer to stun the crowd at Donald L. Tucker Center and lift Duke to its ninth consecutive win.

The talent who has been quiet for the most part this season, finished with 23 points and made five 3-pointers.

Fellow freshman RJ Barrett, who took over on offense when Williamson left the game, led the Blue Devils with 32 points on 10 of 19 shooting,

Williamson went out of the game after getting poked in the eye late in the first half. He didn’t return and ended with 11 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes.

Florida State (13-3, 1-2) was led by Mfiondu Kabengele, who collected his third career double-double, when tying a career-high with 24 points to go with 10 rebounds.

Phil Cofer, who hit five 3-pointers, scored a season-high 21 points, while P.J. Savoy, who had made a pair of free throws to put the Seminoles ahead with 15.8 seconds left, added 10 points in the defeat.

Florida State last entertained a No. 1 team eight years ago when it upset Duke 66-61 on Jan. 12, 2011. The Noles were on course to pull off another shocker, but fell short.

Duke returns to action on Monday night when it hosts Syracuse.

Florida State also has a short turnaround as the Noles are back in action at Pittsburgh on Monday.


Stream No. 1 Duke v No. 13 Florida State; Livescores and Updates

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TALLAHASSEE, FL — No. 1 Duke will travel to take on No. 13 Florida State at Donald L. Tucker Center here in Tallahassee, FL, and you can watch live streaming coverage of this game on WatchESPN.

Tip-off time for this encounter is scheduled for 2:00 pm ET, with ESPN providing the live television broadcast.

Duke is coming off an 87-65 victory at Wake Forest on Tuesday night, while Florida State beat Miami 68-62 at home on Wednesday.

The Blue Devils (13-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) enter this game on an eight-game winning streak, while holding each opponent during this run to its lowest offensive efficiency of the season.

Freshman power star Zion Williamson is coming off a career-high 30 points, to go with 10-rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win over Wake Forest for Duke in midweek.

Fellow freshmen Tre Jones, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish are other talents to watch for Duke, along with Javin DeLaurier, Marques Bolden and Jack White who have all been contributing for Mike Krzyzewski’s team this season.

Meanwhile, Florida State (13-2, 1-1) will look to leading scorers Terance Mann and Mfiondu Kabengele to lead on offense, with the likes of Trent Forrest and M.J. Walker also looking to perform at home.

The Seminoles trail the Blue Devils 38-10 all-time in this series.

No. 1 Duke at No. 13 Florida State
When: Jan. 12 | 2:00 PM (ET)
Where: Donald L. Tucker Center
Watch Live: ESPN 
Listen Live: Blue Devil IMG Sports Network
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Live Stats

Duke Back To No. 1: Associated Press Top 25 College Basketball Poll WK 8

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MIAMI, FL – Duke moved back to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Monday, after Kansas suffered defeat at Arizona State.

The Blues Devils held the top-ranked spot earlier this season, following a crushing victory over Kentucky in its season opener, but fell down the order with a loss to Gonzaga two weeks later.

On Monday, Duke (11-1), which showed a level of toughness in a 69-58 victory over No. 12 Texas Tech last week, received 35 of 64 first-place votes from the panel.

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Michigan received nine first-place votes and moved up to No. 2, Tennessee collected 12 votes for first-place to inch up to third, while the last four votes for first-place went to No. 4 Virginia and No. 5 Kansas, which held the top spot last week.

The Jayhawks fell four places after losing for the first time this season to then-No. 18 Arizona State in Temple.

Completing the top 10 were Nevada, which held firm at No. 6, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Florida State and Virginia Tech.

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Despite losing to Duke at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, Texas Tech moved up one spot to No. 11, with Auburn dropping five spots to No. 12. Ohio State at No. 13, North Carolina and Wisconsin rounded out the top 15.

The next five are No. 16 Kentucky, Arizona State, Marquette, Mississippi State and NC State.

Closing out the top 25 are Buffalo, which dropped seven spots to No. 21, Houston, Indiana, Iowa and Oklahoma.

Dropped from rankings this week were Furman (24) and Nebraska (25).

Associated Press Top 25 Rankings

Men’s College Basketball Rankings – Week 8

1 Duke (35) 11-1 1529
2 Michigan (9) 12-0 1472
3 Tennessee (12) 10-1 1471
4 Virginia Virginia (4) 11-0 1427
5 Kansas (4) 10-1 1386
6 Nevada 12-0 1316
7 Gonzaga 11-2 1199
8 Michigan State 10-2 1146
9 Florida State 11-1 1061
10 Virginia Tech 10-1 924
11 Texas Tech 10-1 845
12 Auburn 10-2 770
13 Ohio State 11-1 737
14 North Carolina 8-3 678
15 Wisconsin Wisconsin 10-2 673
16 Kentucky 9-2 664
17 Arizona State 9-2 626
18 Marquette 10-2 538
19 Mississippi State 11-1 518
20 NC State 11-1 292
21 Buffalo Buffalo 11-1 279
22 Houston Houston 12-0 274
23 Indiana Indiana 11-2 247
24 Iowa Iowa 10-2 178
25 Oklahoma Oklahoma 11-1 163

Dropped from rankings: Furman 24, Nebraska 25
Others receiving votes: Nebraska 160, Kansas State 69, St. John’s 67, Villanova 44, Iowa State 11, Cincinnati 11, TCU 6, Seton Hall 5, Louisville 4, Purdue 3, Furman 2, Belmont 2, San Francisco 1, Pennsylvania 1, NJIT 1