College basketball: No. 1 Villanova avoids upset; No. 6 Louisville and No. 16 Indiana lose

Josh Hart scored 25 points and Jalen Brunson added 13 as No. 1 Villanova barely held off visiting DePaul, 68-65, on Wednesday night, the Wildcats’ 19th consecutive win.

The Wildcats (13-0, 1-0 Big East) looked rather pedestrian playing for the first time in a week. But thanks to Hart, considered among the favorites for national player of the year, they survived.

A 14-6 Villanova run gave the Wildcats a 51-39 lead with 16:41 to go. But the Blue Demons responded with a 14-0 run to get back in the game and take a 53-51 lead.

Hart scored 10 points in the final 3:06, including a dagger three-pointer from the top of the key with 9.5 seconds left that gave Villanova a 66-62 lead.

Billy Garrett Jr. missed a clean look for a tying three-pointer at the buzzer. Tre’Darius McCallum had 19 points for the Blue Demons (7-7, 0-1).

No. 12 Virginia 61, at No. 6 Louisville 53: Devon Hall scored 10 points and Kyle Guy added a key jumper with 2:02 remaining as Virginia withstood a late rally in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both schools.

The Cavaliers (11-1, 1-0) seemed headed to another lopsided win over Louisville before the Cardinals rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit to get to within 57-48 with 3:51 left. Guy’s basket regained momentum for Virginia, which got two free throws from Mamadi Diakite with 28 seconds left to seal its fourth straight win overall and fourth in five games against Louisville (11-2, 0-1). Diakite had nine points.

Quentin Snider, Deng Adel and Tony Hicks had eight points each for Louisville, which had won six straight.

Nebraska 87, at No. 16 Indiana 83: Glynn Watson Jr. scored 26 points and Tai Webster had 21 to lead Nebraska to the upset. The Cornhuskers (7-6, 1-0) snapped Indiana’s 26-game home winning streak by finishing with their highest point total of the season in the Big Ten opener for both.

Indiana’s last loss at Assembly Hall was to Michigan State on March 7, 2015. Robert Johnson finished with 19 points and Thomas Bryant had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hoosiers (10-3, 0-1).

at No. 9 North Carolina 102, Monmouth 74: Justin Jackson scored 28 points to lead North Carolina. Kennedy Meeks added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Isaiah Hicks finished with 15 points to help the Tar Heels (12-2) win their second straight.

Micah Seaborn scored 19 points and Je’Lon Hornbeak added 17 before fouling out for Monmouth (10-3), which had its program-record nine-game winning streak snapped.

at No. 17 Xavier 82, Providence 56: Trevon Bluiett scored 22 points and Xavier took control at the outset in the Big East opener. Xavier (11-2, 1-0) surged ahead by as many as 30 points, with Bluiett leading the way. He had nine rebounds to go with his eighth 20-point game of the season. Edmond Sumner added 13 points and seven rebounds. Isaiah Jackson had 17 points for the Friars (10-4, 0-1) in their most lopsided loss of the season.

at No. 20 Florida State 88, Wake Forest 72: Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 23 points apiece as Florida State opened Atlantic Coast Conference play. Florida State (12-1, 1-0) trailed most of the game and was down 66-61 before it went on a run of 17 straight points over a 4:02 span. The Seminoles made seven straight shots from the field during the run while the Demon Deacons committed four turnovers. Keyshawn Woods and Bryant Crawford led the Demon Deacons (9-3, 0-1) with 16 each.

No. 24 Notre Dame 63, St. Peter’s 55: V.J. Beachem scored 18 points to help Notre Dame close out its non-conference schedule. Steve Vasturia added 11 points for the Irish (11-2), who were outscored in the second half for the fifth straight game. Bonzie Colson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for Notre Dame. Nick Griffin led Saint Peters (5-7) with 16 points.

SOUTHLAND

Men

Utah Valley 73, at UC Riverside 64: Connor Toolson had 16 points, including a late three-pointer and Kenneth Ogbe added 14 points to lead the Wolverines (7-6) Menno Dijkstra hit two free throws to pull UC Riverside (1-9) to within two with two minutes to play, but Zach Nelson answered with a layup, Isaac Neilson made two foul shots and Toolson’s fourth three-pointer made it 70-61 with 49 seconds left. Gentrey Thomas had 20 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs, for the Highlanders.

Thursday’s schedule

Men

Long Beach State at Eastern Michigan, 11 a.m.

Pepperdine at Gonzaga, 6 p.m.

Morgan State at Cal State Northridge, 7 p.m.

St. Mary’s at Loyola Marymount, 8 p.m.