Butler upsets No.1 Villanova with 3-point spree
31 Dec 2017
INDIANAPOLIS — Kelan Martin scored 24 points and Paul Jorgensen had a career-high 23 to help Butler upset No. 1 Villanova 101-93 Saturday.
It’s the second straight year the Bulldogs (12-3, 2-0 Big East) have ended Villanova’s perfect start.
Jalen Brunson had 31 points and Mikal Bridges finished with 21 to help Villanova (13-1, 1-1) cut a 23-point deficit to six with 1:33 left. But Brunson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with a chance to make it a four-point game and the comeback bid fell short.
It was a stunning twist for Villanova, which had won 10 of its 13 games by 14 or more points and was allowing 65.8 points per game.
The Bulldogs made seven 3s in the final 7 minutes of the first half to take a 53-45 lead then made all five of their 3s in the second half.
Butler wound up 15 of 22 on 3s.
Arizona 84, Arizona State 78: Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 19 rebounds, including a crucial tip-in with 11 seconds to go, and Arizona held on to hand Arizona State its first loss of the season.
Allonzo Trier, who missed his first six shots but finished with 23 points, made a pair of free throws to put the Wildcats (11-3) ahead 82-78 with 10.3 seconds to go in the teams’ Pac-12 opener and one of the most anticipated matchups in the rivalry’s history.
Duke 100, Florida State 93: Freshman Marvin Bagley III had 32 points and a season-best 21 rebounds for Duke.
Freshman Wendell Carter Jr. added 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, Grayson Allen scored 22 points and Trevon Duval scored 11 of his 16 in the second half for the Blue Devils (13-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Alabama 79, Texas A&M 57: John Petty made five 3-pointers and scored 18 points to help Alabama knock off Texas A&M 79-57 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The Crimson Tide (9-4) rebounded from a lackluster performance against Texas to easily upset the short-handed Aggies (11-2).
Xavier 77, DePaul 72: J.P. Macura scored 19 points and had a steal and a blocked shot in the final minute to complete Xavier’s comeback from a 16-point deficit.
The Musketeers (14-1, 2-0 Big East) won their ninth in a row and matched the best start in school history. The big comeback set up their seventh win in a row over the Blue Demons (7-7, 0-2).
Max Strus led DePaul with 33 points, matching his season high.
Wichita State 72, UCONN 62: Landry Shamet scored 16 points to lead Wichita State in its first American Athletic Conference game.
Rashard Kelly, Conner Frankamp and Austin Reaves each added 11 points for Wichita State (11-2, 1-0) which has won three straight.
Virginia 59, Boston College 58: Ty Jerome scored a career-high 31 points, including two free throws with 53 seconds left, for Virginia.
Kyle Guy added 11 points and Isaiah Wilkins had eight with 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Cavaliers (12-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Oklahoma 90, TCU 89: Freshman Trae Young scored 39 points, including the tiebreaking free throws with 7.9 seconds left, and had 14 assists as Oklahoma overcome a 13-point deficit in the second half to end the nation’s longest winning streak.
North Calolina 73, Wake Forest 69: Joel Berry II hit a high-arcing floater in the paint with 10.3 seconds left for North Carolina.
Purdue 98, Lipscomb 66: Vincent Edwards had 23 points and 15 rebounds, Isaac Haas added 19 points and seven rebounds to help Purdue beat Lipscomb.
Carsen Edwards scored 18 points, and Dakota Mathias had 15 for the Boilermakers (13-2). Miami 67, Pittsburgh 53: Anthony Lawrence II had 12 points and Ja’Quan Newton and Bruce Brown Jr. both had 11 for Miami.
Arkansas 95, Tennesse 93 (OT): Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford combined for 61 points and Arkansas rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit.
Gonzaga 101, Santa Clara 52: Silas Melson scored 19 points, Josh Perkins had 12 points and eight assists, and Gonzaga cruised by Santa Clara for its 16th straight victory in the series.
Emmanuel Ndumanya had a career-high 12 points for Santa Clara (4-10, 1-1). — AP