Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

March 7

College Roundup: Villanova tops a top team again

From staff and news services

PHILADELPHIA - At the final horn, Villanova fans stayed in the stands and the Wildcats exchanged some casual high fives.

The postgame celebration was novel but what preceded looked so familiar: another win for Villanova over a Top-5 team.

Make it 3 of 3 at the Wells Fargo Center for a Villanova team suddenly primed for the NCAA tournament.

JayVaughn Pinkston scored 20 points to help Villanova beat a top-five team for the third time this season, 67-57 over No. 5 Georgetown on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (19-12, 10-8 Big East) also beat then-No. 5 Louisville and then-No. 3 Syracuse and have put themselves in solid shape for at least an NCAA tournament at-large bid. All three wins over Top-5 teams came at the Wells Fargo Center, the site of tournament games the first weekend.

The Wildcats may not play in March at their off-campus home, but they expect to be chasing the championship somewhere. With three Top-5 wins on the resume, Coach Jay Wright said the Wildcats should be tournament bound.

Villanova students stormed the court after the first two wins and security lined the baseline again Wednesday. With students on break, only a few fans made the dash. That gave the Wildcats the chance to head behind the basket and salute the ones that stuck around.

Otto Porter Jr. scored 17 points as the Hoyas (23-5, 13-4) had an 11-game winning streak snapped. The Big East leaders lost for the first time since Jan. 19 against South Florida. The Hoyas would have been guaranteed at least a share of the regular-season title with a win.

GEORGIA TECH 71, (6) MIAMI 69: Marcus Georges-Hunt followed his own miss to tip in the winning basket at the buzzer as the Yellow Jackets (16-13, 6-11 ACC) rallied past the Hurricanes (23-6, 14-3) at Coral Gables, Fla.

The Hurricanes, who squandered an 11-point lead in the second half, lost for the third time in four games and fell to 13-1 at home. They are assured of a share of the ACC title and can still clinch the championship outright by winning at home Saturday against Clemson.

Georgia Tech beat a Top-25 team for the first time since March 2010.

Julian Gamble's three-point play with 12 minutes to go put Miami up 56-45 before the Yellow Jackets rallied. Robert Carter Jr. intercepted a pass to set up the final possession.

(7) MICHIGAN 80, PURDUE 75: Trey Burke had 26 points and five rebounds to lead the Wolverines (25-5, 12-5 Big Ten) over the host Boilermakers (14-16, 7-10).

Terone Johnson scored a career-high 35 points for Purdue

(11) FLORIDA 66, VANDERBILT 40: Kenny Boynton scored 15 points, Pat Young added 14 and the Gators (24-5, 14-3 SEC) routed the visiting Commodores (13-16, 7-10) to clinch the SEC regular-season championship.

IOWA ST. 87, (13) OKLAHOMA ST. 76: Senior Will Clyburn scored 20 points and the Cyclones (20-10, 10-7 Big 12) beat the visiting Cowboys (22-7, 12-5) to bolster their NCAA tournament hopes.

XAVIER 77, (16) SAINT LOUIS 66: Travis Taylor had 19 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as the Musketeers (17-12, 9-6 A-10) never trailed in the overtime in ending an 11-game winning streak by the Billikens (23-6, 12-3).

(17) SYRACUSE 78, DEPAUL 57: Brandon Triche and James Southerland combined for 37 points in the final home game of their careers as the Orange (23-7, 11-6 Big East) beat the Blue Devils (11-19, 2-15) to snap a three-game losing streak.

(Continued on page 2)

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