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Villanova Beats Michigan 79-62, Wins Title Behind DiVincenzo 31pts

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SAN ANTONIO, TX — Donte DiVincenzo came off the bench to score 31 points No. 1-seeded Villanova beat third-seeded Michigan 79-62 on Monday night at Alamodome in San Antonio to win its second National Championship in three years.

DiVincenzo, who played a team-high 37 minutes and was instrumental at key moments after Jalen Brunson slipped into foul trouble during the second half, shot 10 of 15 from the field and hit five of the 10 Villanova 3-pointers.

The 6-foot-5 reserve junior guard also grabbed five rebounds, three assists and two key blocks.

“Honestly, I didn’t look at the score at all,” said DiVincenzo, who scored 12 points in the first half before exploding in the second.

“I didn’t know how many points I had. I didn’t know any of that. I was just trying to make the right play.

“And Omari (Spellman) was setting unbelievable screens for me getting me open. And I was just feeling it.”

Mikal Bridges added 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers, while Spellman pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (36-4), who pull ahead with a decisive run late in the first half to lead 37-28 at the break.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman led Michigan with 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting in his final college basketball game.

Moritz Wagner scored 11 points early, but was limited to just five after that, with Villanova head coach Jay Wright revealing at halftime that he instructed his players to keep the ball away from the big forward.

Wagner ended with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Wolverines (33-8), who had won 14 straight entering the NCAA Tournament championship game on Monday night.

Meanwhile, junior guard Brunson, the national Player of the Year, ended with nine points and went junt 4 of 13 from the field for Villanova, which won all six NCAA Tournament games by double digits.

“It just shows how much depth we have, and that we don’t care who gets the credit,” Brunson said.

The Wildcats joined Michigan State (2000), Duke (2001) and North Carolina (2009) as the only teams to do so.

BOX SCORES AND MORE ESPN LINKS BELOW

Villanova v Michigan: National Championship, Preview, How To Watch

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SAN ANTONIO, TX — No. 1-seeded Villanova will aim to win its second NCAA Tournament national title in three years when it takes on third-seeded Michigan on Monday night at Alamodome in San Antonio.

Game time for the national championship is set for 9:20 PM ET and will be televised and stream live on TBS.

Villanova whipped fellow No. 1 seeded Kansas in its Final Four game on Saturday night, while Michigan rallied to top Loyola-Chicago 69-57 in the other Final Four encounter.

While the Wildcats (35-4) are in their second national championship game in three seasons and seeking a second title in the three campaigns, the Wolverines (33-7) are making their first national championship game appearance since 2013.

Both teams are also in good form entering the season finale.

Villanova, which boasts the nation’s best offense with 86.8 points per game and is shooting just over 50-percent, is currently on a 10-game winning streak and beat the likes of West Virginia, Texas Tech and the Jayhawks during this run.

Jalen Brunson of Villanova during a college basketball
Jalen Brunson of Villanova during a college basketball game.

“Obviously we’re very talented offensively,” said junior guards Jalen Brunson, who scored 18 points in the win over Kansas.

“We have a lot of weapons offensively, but when it comes to us staying together on defense, that’s what makes it special and we’re going to keep getting better and keep getting better (to) be ready for Monday.”

Meanwhile, Michigan will carry an impressive 14-game winning streak into the national championship contest and is scoring almost 74 points per game and giving up close to 59 at the other end.

“This team’s had no attention at all,” said Michigan head coach John Beilein.

“Until we went up to beat Michigan State we weren’t nationally ranked. Now we’re playing on Monday night.”

Moritz Wagner, who recorded a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds to help the Wolverines erased a 10-point deficit in the second half in the win over Loyola-Chicago, is expected to be a handful for Villanova on Monday night.

Wagner, who is from Berlin, Germany, got noticed by idol and fellow countryman Dirk Nowitzki on Twitter, became only the third player and the first since 1983 to register at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a national semifinal game.

The 6-foot-11 junior joined NBA greats Larry Bird (1979) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1983).

“Wow. If you put it like that, that’s probably cool,” Wagner told reporters after Saturday’s win.

“But to be honest, I kept looking possession by possession. … And I honestly just tried to do my job.”

NCAA Tournament Scores: No. 1 Villanova Beats 9th-seeded Alabama, 81-58

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PITTSBURGH — Mikal Bridges hit five 3s on his way to scoring 23 points and No. 1 seed Villanova cruised to an 81-58 win over ninth-seeded Alabama in its NCAA Tournament – March Madness – second-round game on Saturday.

“We sometimes get away with some out-of-control shots, but we know that we don’t really care about offense,” Bridges said.

Donte DiVincenzo connected on five 3-pointers and added 18 points and five assists off the bench for the Wildcats (32-4), who are in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since winning the national championship in 2016.

Jalen Brunson ended with 12 points and Omari Spellman grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for Villanova, which is now the new favorite to win the national title, following the shocking first-round exit of No. 1 overall seed Virginia, which suffered the historic 20-point loss to 16th-seeded UMBC on Friday night.

“There’s a youthful exuberance with this team that is exciting me,” said Wildcats head coach Jay Wright, who is taking this program to its sixth Sweet 16 under his guidance.

“My good vibes are coming from how this team’s playing, how unselfishly they play,” he added.

DiVincenzo said: “We’re a 1 seed so it was more attention for us.”

He added: “We just had to withstand that first initial hit, and then once we got comfortable out there with each other, we started defending at a higher rate.

“I just think we wore down their men.”

Collin Sexton paced Alabama with 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting, but none of his team-mates managed to score in double figures.

The Crimson Tide (20-16), who shot 4 for 16 from 3-pointers in the game, trailed 32-27 at the break and were outscored 49-31 after halftime.

Villanova returns to the court on Friday in Boston where it will play the winner of the Marshall versus West Virginia second round clash.

AP Top 25 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings Week 18: Mar. 5

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MIAMI, FL — Virginia entered Week 18 as the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings on Monday.

The Cavaliers (28-2), which easily won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title by four clear games, secured all 65 first-place votes in this week’s poll for 1,625 points.

Virginia, which beat Louisville, 67-66, and Notre Dame, 62-57 in its final two games to wrap up league play last week, has now held the No. 1 position in the poll for four straight weeks.

Tony Bennett’s men will be inactive until Thursday when it bows into ACC Tournament action at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Villanova moved two places up and leaped over Xavier to No. 2 this week after victories over Seton Hall and Georgetown during last week’s fixtures.

Meanwhile, the Musketeers, who won the Big East regular-season title ahead of the Wildcats, stayed at No. 3 with Michigan State, which dropped two places to No. 4, and Duke rounding out the Top 5.

At No. 6 is Gonzaga, while Michigan made a huge jump into the top 10 after surprisingly lifting the Big Ten Tournament title at the weekend.

The Wolverines, which finished fourth in the regular-season standings, jumped eight spots after beating the Spartans and then Purdue to win their second straight Big Ten Tournament crown.

Cincinnati, Kansas and the Boilermakers completed the Top 10.

Wichita State stays stable at No. 11 and it is followed by defending champion North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Pac-12 regular-season champion Arizona.

Auburn slipped two spots to 16th, Ohio State drops four places to No. 17, while West Virginia, Clemson and Saint Mary’s rounded out the Top 20.

Florida, at No. 23 and Miami, at No. 24, are the two newcomers this week with the Top 25 completed by Houston at No. 21, Nevada at No. 22 and Rhode Island, which dropped both games last week, at No. 25.

Kentucky (23) and Middle Tennessee (24) were the two teams making way this week, while St. Bonaventure and Loyola-Chicago are among the teams receiving votes in Week 18.

AP Top 25 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings.

WEEK 18 – MONDAY, MARCH 5

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Virginia (65) 28-2 1,625
2 Villanova 27-4 1,516
3 Xavier 27-4 1,510
4 Michigan State 29-4 1,346
5 Duke 25-6 1,340
6 Gonzaga 28-4 1,254
7 Michigan 28-7 1,231
8 Cincinnati 27-4 1,213
9 Kansas 24-7 1,129
10 Purdue 28-6 1,096
11 Wichita State 24-6 861
12 North Carolina 22-9 852
13 Tennessee 23-7 825
14 Texas Tech 23-8 784
15 Arizona 24-7 739
16 Auburn 25-6 692
17 Ohio State 24-8 603
18 West Virginia 22-9 486
19 Clemson 22-8 422
20 Saint Mary’s 28-4 385
21 Houston 24-6 247
22 Nevada 26-6 218
23 Florida 20-11 192
24 Miami 22-8 191
25 Rhode Island 23-6 86

Dropped from rankings: Kentucky 23, Middle Tennessee 24

Others receiving votes: St. Bonaventure 72, Kentucky 66, TCU 45, Loyola-Chicago 43, Virginia Tech 15, Seton Hall 10, Middle Tennessee 9, Creighton 8, Arkansas 4, NC State 2, Nebraska 2, Kansas State 2, Buffalo 1, New Mexico State 1, Texas A&M 1, Florida State 1

Shamorie Ponds Helps St. John’s Stunned No. 1 Villanova 79-75

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PHILADELPHIA — Shamorie Ponds scored 26 points and St. John’s stunned No. 1 Villanova 79-75 on Wednesday night for its second win over an AP Top 5 team in five days.

It was also the first time the Red Storm (12-13, 1-11 Big East) were winning against a No. 1 team in 33 years.

“It’s big for the university and it’s also big for us,” Ponds said.

Ponds also finished with five rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Justin Simon added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with seven assists, two steals and a block for St. John’s, which beat the then-No. 4 Duke Blue Devils 81-77 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

“These are huge wins,” St. John’s coach Chris Mullin said. “It’s a testament to their perseverance, unselfishness with each other, their confidence.”

Marvin Clark II added 15 points and six rebounds, Bashir Ahmed ended with 10 points and Tariq Owens had nine points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Red Storm, who were winning for the first time in conference play this season.

Jalen Brunson, one of the leading candidates for national player of the year, paced Villanova with a game-high 28 points and nearly lead his team to the comeback victory.

Brunson made a layup and then completed the 3-point play by making the free throw to pull the home side within a point at 67-66 with 1:34 left.

However, Clark II completed a 3-point play of his own to push back the St. John’s lead to four before the visitors sealed the win by knocking down their free throws down the stretch.

“When they beat Duke, I said it was no surprise,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

Collin Gillespie scored 12 points off the bench and Omari Spellman tallied 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (22-2, 9-2 Big East), who had their nine-game winning streak snapped.

Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo also scored 11 points apiece in the defeat for Villanova, which was without junior forward Eric Paschall, who sustained a concussion on Sunday in a win over Seton Hall.

The Wildcats are also still without Phil Booth, who has been sidelined indefinitely with a broken hand.

NCAA College Men’s Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings Week 14: Feb. 5

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MIAMI, FL — Villanova, Virginia and Purdue remain the Top 3 teams in the latest NCAA College Men’s Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings for the fourth successive week, following the Week 14 poll on Monday (5).

As expected, Villanova (22-1, 9-1 Big East) hold the No. 1 stop for the fifth straight weeks after picking up a pair of victories last week against Creighton and Seton Hall at home.

The Wildcats, who have won nine straight games, collected 48 of the 65 first-place votes from the media panel for 1,608 points.

Virginia comes back this week as the No. 2 ranked team in the poll and received 16 first-place votes.

The Cavaliers (22-1, 11-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) held off Louisville at home before stifling Syracuse’s offense on the road to improve to 11-0 in ACC play and extend their overall win streak to 14 games.

Virginia, which edged closer to winning the ACC regular season conference title, leads the rest of field by at least three games.

At No. 3 is Purdue, which extended its overall winning streak to 19 games, the nation’s longest winning run.

The Boilermakers (23-2, 12-0 Big Ten) collected the final vote for first place, following victories over Maryland and Rutgers and they continue to play like a Final Four team.

Rounding out the Top 5 were Michigan State at No. 4 and Xavier.

Cincinnati (21-2) moves up two places to No. 6, its highest AP Top 25 Ranking since January 2004, while No. 7 is Texas Tech (19-4), its best position since ranked No. 7 in March 1996.

Also making a notable move inside the Top 10 this week was the eighth-ranked Auburn (21-2), which grabbed its highest ranking since January 2000.

Duke (19-4) dropped five places to No. 9 after shockingly losing to St John’s, 81-77, while Kansas (18-5) is down three spots to No. 10, following the defeat to Oklahoma State.

Next came No. 11 Saint Mary’s and it is followed by Gonzaga, Arizona, Ohio State and Tennessee in making up the Top 15.

Clemson advanced four places to No. 16, but Oklahoma is down five spots to No. 17, following its away defeat at Texas in a Big 12 battle on Saturday.

Rhode Island, a dipping West Virginia and Michigan completed to Top 20.

The last five is rounded out by defending champion North Carolina, at No. 21, Wichita State, which dropped six places to No. 22, as well as newcomers Nevada, at No. 23 and Miami, at No. 25.

Kentucky sits at No. 24.

Florida (23) and Arizona State (25) were the two teams making way this week.

The Gators slid out from No. 23 after back-to-back losses to unranked teams, while Arizona State dropped out from No. 25 after to influence the raters and holds a 5-6 record in the Pac-12 conference play.

NCAA College Men’s Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings
WEEK 14

RK TEAM RECORD
1 Villanova (48) 22-1
2 Virginia (16) 22-1
3 Purdue (1) 23-2
4 Michigan State 22-3
5 Xavier 21-3
6 Cincinnati 21-2
7 Texas Tech 19-4
8 Auburn 21-2
9 Duke 19-4
10 Kansas 18-5
11 Saint Mary’s 23-2
12 Gonzaga 21-4
13 Arizona 19-5
14 Ohio State 20-5
15 Tennessee 17-5
16 Clemson 19-4
17 Oklahoma 16-6
18 Rhode Island 19-3
19 West Virginia 17-6
20 Michigan 19-6 331
21 North Carolina 17-7
22 Wichita State 17-5
23 Nevada 20-4
24 Kentucky 17-6
25 Miami 17-5

Dropped from rankings: Florida (23) and Arizona State (25)

Others receiving votes: Butler 65, Washington 54, Florida State 27, New Mexico State 23, Seton Hall 20, Creighton 18, Arizona State 17, Texas 15, NC State 12, Alabama 8, Middle Tennessee 6, Nebraska 4, Florida 3, Houston 3, TCU 3, Oklahoma State 2, East Tennessee State 1, Vermont 1

No. 1 Villanova Cruised Past Creighton, 98-78

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PHILADELPHIA — All five Villanova starters scored in double figures and the No. 1 ranked Wildcats buried a record-matching 19 3-pointers en route to whipping Creighton 98-78 on Thursday night.

Mikal Bridges scored 21 points with four assists and three rebounds and Jalen Brunson added 19 for Villanova (21-1, 8-1 Big East), who improved to 21-1 for the first time in program history and opened its four-game homestand with yet another victory.

Donte DiVincenzo finished with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Eric Paschall, who made the record-tying 3-pointers with just under two minutes remaining, ended with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Wildcats, who scored 16 points off turnovers.

Marcus Foster scored 20 points to lead Creighton, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.

Kaleb Joseph and Khyri Thomas each scored 12 points, while Toby Hegner and Ty-Shon Alexander ended with 10 each in the defeat for the Bluejays (17-6, 7-4 Big East), who have lost eight straight against Villanova and 17 of the 19 all-time meetings against the Wildcats.

It was the eighth meeting against AP Top 25 teams this season for Creighton, which has defeated three of those Top 25 teams this term.

However, the Bluejays have never beaten a No. 1 team in program history and are 0-3 against such opponents.

As a team, Villanova shot 54 percent on 37 of 68 shooting and almost 50 percent from long range.

The nation’s top-ranked team knocked down 10 3-pointers in the first half.

Creighton shot 49 percent, but just 6 for 18 from 3-pointers.

Villanova, which won eight straight, played its second game without injured leader Phil Booth.

Booth is out indefinitely with a broken bone in his right hand, but it might be safe to say the Wildcats are easing toward winning their fifth successive regular-season Big East title.

NEXT TIME

Villanova will share the Super Bowl schedule on Sunday in Philadelphia with the Eagles when they take on Seton Hall.

Creighton makes its first trip to Wintrust Arena to play at DePaul next Wednesday.

Villanova, Virginia, Purdue Stay Top 3: College Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings

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MIAMI, FL — Villanova, Virginia and Purdue continue to be the Top 3 teams in the latest NCAA College Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings for Week 13, released on Monday, Jan. 29.

As expected, Villanova returns as the No. 1 team in the country after receiving 47 of the 65 first-place votes from the media panel.

The Wildcats (20-1) picked up a pair of wins last week, beating Providence and Marquette.

Virginia picked up 17 votes for first place after beating Duke 65-63 on Saturday, while Purdue (21-2) grabbed the last first-place vote this week after setting a school-record 17th consecutive win on the home court when they defeated bitter rival Indiana at the weekend.

The Blue Devils stayed No. 4 this week, despite their defeat to the Cavaliers, while Michigan State moved up one place to complete the Top 5.

Xavier moves up two slots to No. 6 and is followed by Kansas, which slipped two places to No. 7, Cincinnati, Arizona and Texas Tech.

Rounding out the Top 15 are Auburn at No. 11, Oklahoma, Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga and West Virginia, which dropped eight-places this week after losing to TCU and Kentucky.

Wichita State is 16th and it is followed by Ohio State, Tennessee, the fast sliding defending champion North Carolina and Clemson in the Top 20.

The last five is completed by Kentucky, which returns to the AP Top 25 rankings, at No. 21, Rhode Island, Florida, Michigan and Arizona State.

Kansas State, Florida State, Miami and NC State are among the teams receiving votes this week.

AP Top 25 Rankings: College Basketball
Monday, Jan. 29 – Week 13

RK TEAM RECORD
1 Villanova (47) 20-1
2 Virginia (17) 20-1
3 Purdue (1) 21-2
4 Duke 18-3
5 Michigan State 20-3
6 Xavier 19-3
7 Kansas 17-4
8 Cincinnati 19-2
9 Arizona 18-4
10 Texas Tech 17-4
11 Auburn 19-2
12 Oklahoma 15-5
13 Saint Mary’s 21-2
14 Gonzaga 19-4
15 West Virginia 16-5
16 Wichita State 17-4
17 Ohio State 18-5
18 Tennessee 15-5
19 North Carolina 16-6
20 Clemson 17-4
21 Kentucky 16-5
22 Rhode Island 17-3
23 Florida 15-6
24 Michigan 17-6
25 Arizona State 16-5

Others receiving votes: Kansas State 94, Florida State 76, Nevada 41, Louisville 39, Creighton 33, Seton Hall 16, Miami 12, TCU 11, Houston 8, Alabama 6, New Mexico State 5, NC State 5, USC 3

College basketball AP Top 25 Schedule, TV Channels: Jan. 13

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MIAMI, FL — College basketball AP Top 25 schedule, game times, channels and streams on Saturday, Jan. 13. No. 1 Villanova, No. 7 Duke and defending champion North Carolina are among the teams down to feature this weekend.

There are four ranked vs. ranked matchups listed on Saturday, including the Big 12 and Top 10 battle between No. 2 West Virginia v No. 8 Texas Tech.

Trae Young of Oklahoma Sooners
Trae Young of Oklahoma Sooners

Another highlighted Big 12 clash sees No. 9 Oklahoma playing host to No. 16 TCU at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

No. 18 Miami against No. 19 Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East battle between No. 10 Xavier and No. 25 Creighton at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, are the other all-ranked matchups on the schedule for Saturday.

Meanwhile, top-ranked Villanova will aim to build another healthy winning streak when it travels to St. John’s.

Jalen Brunson and the Wildcats (15-1, 3-1 Big East) celebrated their return to the No. 1 position in the latest poll with an 89-65 win over Xavier on Wednesday night and they will start with a massive 91 percent chance to win three straight, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

Seventh-ranked Duke (14-2, 2-2 ACC) bounced back from its defeat to NC State last weekend with a one-sided 87-52 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.

Duke's Marvin Bagley III makes a jumper
Duke’s Marvin Bagley III hits a jumper

The Blue Devils will hope to build on that win when they host Wake Forest at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

In the meantime, defending national champion North Carolina (13-4, 2-2 ACC) will face Notre Dame (13-4, 3-1 ACC) in what is expected to be an even matchup at Purcell Pavilion in Indiana.

The No. 20 ranked Tar Heels lost a pair last week against Florida State and Virginia, but bounced back with a 96-66 rout of Boston College on Tuesday night.

In other highlighted games on the AP Top 25 schedule, No. 4 Michigan State resumes its rivalry with Michigan at Breslin Center, No. 12 Kansas entertains Kansas State, while No. 5 Purdue goes to Minnesota and fellow fifth-ranked Wichita State takes a six-game winning streak into Reynolds Center to take on Tulsa.

No. 15 Gonzaga hunts their sixth straight when it visits San Francisco, No. 11 Arizona State will aim to figure things out against Oregon State after losing three of its last four games to start conference play, while No. 17 Arizona welcomes Oregon and No. 21 Kentucky goes to Vanderbilt.

AP Top 25 Schedule
Saturday, January 13

Michigan at No. 4 Michigan State 12:00 PM FOX
No. 5 Purdue at Minnesota 12:00 PM ESPN2 and WatchESPN
Wake Forest at No. 7 Duke 12:00 PM ACCNE and WatchESPN
Kansas State at No. 12 Kansas 12:00 PM ESPN and WatchESPN
Georgetown at No. 13 Seton Hall 12:00 PM Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports GO
No. 16 TCU at No. 9 Oklahoma 1:00 PM ESPNU and WatchESPN
No. 2 West Virginia at No. 8 Texas Tech 2:00 PM ESPN and WatchESPN
No. 25 Creighton at No. 10 Xavier 2:00 PM FOX
Oregon at No. 17 Arizona 2:00 PM ESPN2 and WatchESPN
Syracuse at No. 23 Florida State 2:00 PM ACCNE and WatchESPN
No. 18 Miami at No. 19 Clemson 3:00 PM ESPNU and WatchESPN
No. 22 Auburn at Mississippi State 3:30 PM SECN and WatchESPN
No. 21 Kentucky at Vanderbilt 4:00 PM ESPN and WatchESPN
Oregon State at No. 11 Arizona State 6:00 PM PAC12
No. 20 North Carolina at Notre Dame 6:00 PM ESPN and WatchESPN
Texas A&M at No. 24 Tennessee 6:00 PM SECN and WatchESPN
No. 14 Cincinnati at South Florida 7:00 PM ESPNN and WatchESPN
No. 5 Wichita State at Tulsa 7:30 PM ESPNU and WatchESPN
No. 1 Villanova at St. John’s 8:00 PM Fox Business Network
No. 15 Gonzaga at San Francisco 9:30 PM ESPNU and WatchESPN

Villanova Back At No. 1, College Basketball AP Top 25 rankings

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MIAMI, FL — As expected, Villanova returns to the No. 1 spot in the College Basketball AP Top 25 rankings in Monday’s Week 10 release.

The Wildcats (14-1, 2-1 Big East) moved back to the top spot after an upset-filled week that included defeats to last week’s No. 1 Michigan State and No. 2 Duke.

Villanova, which spent three weeks as the top-ranked team in December, received 52 of 65 first-place votes from the media panel to move up two places from third with 1,611 after holding off Marquette, 100-90 last week.

West Virginia, another candidate for the top spot at the start of the day, climbed four spots to No. 2 and picked up 12 first-place votes after picking up a pair of wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma last week.

This is the highest ranking for the Mountaineers since December 1959, which was during Jerry West’s senior season, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

Virginia moves up five spots to No. 3 and grabbed the final for first place, following its impressive victory over defending national champion North Carolina at the weekend.

The Cavaliers, who were one of the three possible No. 1 contenders in Week 10, is followed in the Top 5 by Michigan State at No. 4 and Purdue and Wichita State, which is tied for fifth.

Preseason No. 1 Duke, which lost at North Carolina State on Saturday, dropped five spots to No. 7, and the Blue Devils are followed by Texas Tech, which is up 10 spots this week, Oklahoma and Xavier, which fell five places to complete the top 10.

Arizona State dropped seven places to No. 11 with Kansas, Seton Hall, Cincinnati and Gonzaga round out the top 15.

TCU stayed stabled at No. 16, despite losing to the Jayhawks, but Arizona and Miami are down two places each to No. 17 and No. 18, while Clemson is up six slots to No. 19 and North Carolina slipped eight places to No. 20.

Kentucky, newcomers Auburn, Florida State, Tennessee and Creighton, which is back in the AP Top 25 rankings again for this week, round out the last five.

Dropping from the AP Top 25 rankings for Week 10 are Texas A&M (11) and Arkansas (22).

Notre Dame, Florida, the Aggies and the over-achieving Ohio State, are receiving votes this week.

AP Top 25 Rankings: Week 10
January 8, 2018
RK TEAM RECORD

1 Villanova (52) 14-1
2 West Virginia (12) 14-1
3 Virginia (1) 14-1
4 Michigan State 15-2
5 Purdue 15-2
5 Wichita State 13-2
7 Duke 13-2
8 Texas Tech 14-1
9 Oklahoma 12-2
10 Xavier 15-2
11 Arizona State 13-2
12 Kansas 12-3
13 Seton Hall 14-2
14 Cincinnati 14-2
15 Gonzaga 14-3
16 TCU 13-2
17 Arizona 12-4
18 Miami 13-2
19 Clemson 14-1
20 North Carolina 12-4
21 Kentucky 12-3
22 Auburn 14-1
23 Florida State 12-3
24 Tennessee 10-4
25 Creighton 13-3
Dropped from rankings: Texas A&M 11, Arkansas 22

Others receiving votes: Notre Dame 121, Florida 85, Texas A&M 62, Ohio State 29, Rhode Island 7, Michigan 5, Baylor 2, Nevada 2, New Mexico State 1, Georgia 1, Arkansas 1

Associated Press Top 25 For Week 6: Villanova Is No. 1, Duke At No. 4

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MIAMI, FL, Sporting Alert – Villanova is the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 college basketball rankings in Week 6 on Monday.

The Wildcats (10-0) collected 41 first-place votes for 1,598 points after beating No. 12 Gonzaga and La Salle last week.

Villanova replaced and swapped places with Duke (11-1), which fell three places to No. 4 this week, following the Blue Devils’ 89-84 defeat to Boston College at the weekend.

Michigan State picked up 19 votes for first place this week to move up one spot to No. 2 after a pair of wins over Rutgers and Southern Utah.

Wichita State is up three spots to No. 3, while undefeated Arizona State, which collected the remaining five first-place votes, jumped 11 places to No. 5 after beating last week’s second-ranked Kansas 95-85 and had an 82-70 win over St John’s.

Miami moved up four spots to No. 6, and it is followed by defending champion North Carolina, which is also up four places to seventh, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Xavier in the Top 10.

Defeats to Washington and Arizona State saw Kansas slipping 11 slots to No. 13, with West Virginia and Gonzaga, at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively.

TCU and Seton Hall rounded out the Top 25.

Virginia at No. 16, Purdue, Notre Dame, Florida State and Tennessee make up the Top 25.

The Seminoles are ranked for the first time season after wins over then-No. 5 Florida, Loyola (MD) and Tulane last week.

Baylor and Florida are No. 21 and 22, and are followed by newcomers Texas Tech and Arizona, while Cincinnati fell eight places to No. 25.

Minnesota (14), Nevada (22) and USC (25) dropped from The Associated Press Top 25 rankings this week.

The Associated Press Top 25 – Week 6

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Villanova (41) 10-0 1,598
2 Michigan State (19) 9-1 1,561
3 Wichita State 8-1 1,402
4 Duke 11-1 1,362
5 Arizona State (5) 9-0 1,316
6 Miami 8-0 1,272
7 North Carolina 9-1 1,237
8 Kentucky 8-1 1,227
9 Texas A&M 8-1 1,072
10 Xavier 9-1 1,044
11 West Virginia 9-1 972
12 Gonzaga 8-2 805
13 Kansas 7-2 760
14 TCU 10-0 718
15 Seton Hall 8-1 704
16 Virginia 8-1 690
17 Purdue 10-2 568
18 Notre Dame 8-2 564
19 Florida State 9-0 452
20 Tennessee 7-1 342
21 Baylor 7-2 281
22 Florida 6-3 261
23 Arizona 7-3 252
24 Texas Tech 7-1 191
25 Cincinnati 7-2 145

Dropped from rankings: Minnesota 14, Nevada 22, USC 25

Others receiving votes: Creighton 79, Oklahoma 72, Texas 52, Louisville 19, Arkansas 17, Virginia Tech 15, Minnesota 15, Nevada 13, Mississippi State 8, UCLA 6, SMU 6, Loyola-Chicago 5, Alabama 4, Houston 3, Georgia 3, Towson 3, Northern Iowa 3, Syracuse 2, Boise State 2, Rhode Island 1, Middle Tennessee 1

No. 5 Villanova Beats Western Kentucky 66-58 In Battle 4 Atlantis

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PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Jalen Brunson scored 18 points and No. 5 Villanova defeated Western Kentucky 66-58 in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on Wednesday.

The teams started slowly and ended the first half 27-24 in favor of the Wildcats (4-0), who came alive after the break to shoot 63 percent in the second half and made 15 of 24 shots during that period to setup the victory.

“They usually play a little faster than that, but I think they were smart knowing they’ve got three days here,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

“They controlled the tempo. … Offensively they had us out of whack, and I think that had a lot to do with our poor shooting in the first half.”

Brunson made 7 of his 9 shots from the field in 35 minutes, while Mikal Bridges had 17 points, eight rebounds, five steals, three blocks and three assists in the win.

“We still have to get a lot better,” Brunson said. “We’re still a work in progress.”

Donte DiVincenzo scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half off the bench for Villanova, which led by as many as 18 points late.

It was a one-point game with 15:07 remaining, but the Wildcats exploded to build their double-digit lead.

“They find ways to have spurts and make runs,” Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury said. “And they were able to find a way to spurt out the second half a little bit on some turnovers.”

Darius Thompson scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and dished out six assists in total for the Hilltoppers (2-2), who were sent to the free throw line just four times.

Dwight Coleby had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Western Kentucky, which shot 44 percent but struggled to take care of the ball which led to Villanova getting easy baskets off turnovers after the interval.

“I think our turnovers were kind of self-inflicted,” Thompson admitted. “Just trying to do a little too much in the wrong times.”

Officials: Gary Maxwell, Antonio Perry, Jeb Hartness
Technical fouls: Western Kentucky-TEAM. Villanova-None.
Attendance: 1199
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Western Kentucky………….. 24 34 – 58
Villanova………………… 27 39 – 66
2017 Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis – Game 2