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Men’s basketball roundup: Nova rallies past Butler

Villanova guards Collin Gillespie (2), Donte DiVincenzo (10) and Jalen Brunson (1) wave to the crowd after their team defeated Butler 86-75 in an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Donte DiVincenzo scored a career-high 30 points, Jalen Brunson had 27 and No. 1 Villanova bounced back from its second loss of the season, rallying past Butler 86-75 Saturday.

Omari Spellman added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (23-2, 10-2 Big East), who avoided losing consecutive games for the first time since March 2013. The injury-depleted Wildcats were coming off a surprising home loss to last-place St. John’s three days earlier.

Kelan Martin scored 30 and Kamara Baldwin had 25 for Butler (17-9, 7-6), which handed Villanova its first loss of the season on Dec. 30. The Bulldogs had won three straight vs. Villanova, and looked they might continue the streak when they led by as many as 13 in the first half behind Martin’s hot hand.

VIRGINIA TECH 61,

No. 2 VIRGINIA 60

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored on a putback with 5.8 seconds left and Virginia Tech spoiled Virginia’s opportunity to climb to No. 1.

Blackshear rebounded a missed layup by Justin Robinson and banked it in as he was being fouled. He missed the free throw, but Ty Jerome’s 28-foot attempt at the other end missed badly and the Hokies (18-7, 7-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a marquee victory.

No. 4 MICHIGAN STATE 68, No. 3 PURDUE 65

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Miles Bridges made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left and finished with 20 points, helping Michigan State top Purdue.

The Spartans (24-3, 12-2 Big Ten) have won eight straight, improving their chances of contending for a conference championship and earning a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

No. 5 XAVIER 72, CREIGHTON 71

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Quentin Goodin made two free throws with three-tenths of a second left, allowing Xavier to hold off Creighton.

Goodin got fouled by Ronnie Harrell Jr. after Harrell had made three straight free throws to give the Bluejays a one-point lead with 4.6 seconds left. Goodin took an inbound pass from Naji Marshall and drove the length of the court to the basket, with Harrell making contact in the lane and sending him to the line.

No. 7 TEXAS TECH 66, KANSAS STATE 47

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Keenan Evans scored 19 points and Texas Tech beat Kansas State to take sole possession of the Big 12 lead.

Texas Tech (21-4, 8-4) relied on strong second-half defense. After a 27-27 deadlock in the first half, the Red Raiders turned up the pressure.

No. 8 AUBURN 78,

GEORGIA 61

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Jared Harper scored 24 points and Auburn, playing without top scorer Bryce Brown, showed impressive depth by beating Georgia.

Auburn leaned heavily on Harper early in the game. He scored 12 consecutive points for the Tigers, including back-to-back 3s for a 17-9 lead. Auburn (22-3, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) never relinquished the advantage.

BAYLOR 80,

No. 10 KANSAS 64

WACO, Texas (AP) — Manu Lecomte scored eight straight points for Baylor after Big 12 co-leader Kansas had pulled within a basket, and the senior guard finished with 18 overall in the Bears’ upset victory.

The Jayhawks (19-6, 8-4 Big 12) trailed 30-20 at halftime after having more turnovers (nine) than made field goals (seven) before the break. They were down by as many as 13 points after that but got within 58-56 with 7:14 left after consecutive jumpers by Lagerald Vick.

No. 14 OHIO STATE 82, IOWA 64

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Keita Bates-Diop had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Ohio State beat Iowa for sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

Kaleb Wesson added 18 points and C.J Jackson scored 14 for the Buckeyes (21-5, 13-1 Big Ten), who were 9 for 20 from 3-point range.

ALABAMA 78,

No. 15 TENNESSEE 50

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Donta Hall had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Collin Sexton scored 16 points to lead Alabama to a victory over Tennessee.

The Crimson Tide (16-10, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) thoroughly dominated the Volunteers (18-6, 8-4) around the basket and cashed in on a number of fast-break chances

IOWA STATE 88,

No. 17 OKLAHOMA 80

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State freshman Lindell Wigginton upstaged Trae Young by scoring 26 points and the Cyclones upset Oklahoma, handing the Sooners their sixth consecutive road loss.

Fellow rookie Cam Lard had 19 points with 17 rebounds for the Cyclones (13-11, 4-8 Big 12).

OKLAHOMA STATE 88,

No. 19 WEST VIRGINIA 85

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Kendall Smith and Cameron McGriff each scored 20 points and Oklahoma State beat another ranked team on the road, topping West Virginia.

No. 21 NO. CAROLINA 97, N.C. STATE 89

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Luke Maye scored 27 of his career-high 33 points after halftime to help North Carolina beat rival North Carolina State.

No. 22 WICHITA STATE 95, UConn 74

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Landry Shamet scored 16 points in just 23 minutes as Wichita State cruised to a win over UConn.

No. 23 NEVADA 83, SAN DIEGO STATE 58

RENO, Nevada (AP) — Jordan Caroline scored 26 points and Lindsay Drew just missed a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Nevada’s victory.

TEXAS A&M 85, No. 24 KENTUCKY 74

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Freshman point guard T.J. Starks scored 17 points and Texas A&M toppled Kentucky in a sold-out and raucous Reed Arena.

BOSTON COLLEGE 72,

No. 25 MIAMI 70

BOSTON (AP) — Ky Bowman stole a rebound under the basket, drew a foul and hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds left as Boston College scored the last nine points of the game to rally for a victory over Miami.

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