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Hart's start doesn't derail Villanova

Villanova guard Josh Hart dribbles into the lane with Creighton guard Khryi Thomas (left) defending in the No. 1 Wildcats’ 80-70 victory over the No. 10 Bluejays on Saturday in Omaha, Neb.
Villanova guard Josh Hart dribbles into the lane with Creighton guard Khryi Thomas (left) defending in the No. 1 Wildcats’ 80-70 victory over the No. 10 Bluejays on Saturday in Omaha, Neb.

OMAHA, Neb. -- It was New Year's Eve, but it sure felt like March to Josh Hart and the rest of the top-ranked Villanova Wildcats.

The defending national champions overcame an early 10-point deficit, Hart's slow start and a frenzied crowd to defeat No. 10 Creighton 80-70 on Saturday.

"It's good to get in here, play Villanova basketball against a tough team and have something we can build on," Hart said. "We know we can get a lot better. In March we can say we played in a tough environment. We faced adversity and we overcame it."

Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 27 points, including 11 in a row as the Wildcats wiped out their early deficit, and Villanova (14-0, 2-0 Big East) extended its school-record winning streak to 20 games.

The game marked only the second time in the Big East that two unbeaten teams met in a conference game, and it lived up to the hype with nine lead changes and five ties before the Wildcats pulled away late.

Kris Jenkins added 21 points and Hart had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.

Marcus Foster led the Bluejays (13-1, 1-1) with 22 points. Justin Patton had 18 points and eight rebounds.

"Certainly disappointed we lost, but a great learning experience for us," Creighton Coach Greg McDermott said. "Villanova is terrific. We knew they we were terrific and knew it would take a great effort to win."

The Wildcats were the first defending national champion to visit Omaha since 1946, and the third-largest crowd (18,831) in the CenturyLink Center's 13-year history was there to greet them. The towel-waving fans filled the seats early and made the building as loud as it's ever been as the Bluejays ran onto the court. Creighton used that fuel to make its first five shots and build a quick 10-point lead.

"I'm happy this is my last time here," Hart said. "This environment is crazy, it's hectic. When they get on a run, you hear it. We'll be talking on the court and we can barely hear what we're saying. One time Coach called a play, I had no idea what he was calling. Kris was 5 feet away trying to tell me, and I was like, 'What are you saying?' "

No. 6 LOUISVILLE 77,No. 16 INDIANA 62

INDIANAPOLIS -- Donovan Mitchell scored a career-high 25 points and Deng Adel had 17 for Louisville.

The Cardinals (12-2) closed out their nonconference schedule with three victories over Top 20 teams.

OG Anunoby finished with 14 points and James Blackmon Jr. added 10 as the Hoosiers (10-4) lost for the second time in four days.

Louisville broke open a close game with a 15-4 run late in the first half and led 39-27 at halftime.

NO 7. GONZAGA 81,PACIFIC 61

STOCKTON, Calif. -- Jordan Mathews scored 16 points and No. 7 Gonzaga went on a big run in the second half to beat Pacific.

Gonzaga (14-0, 2-0 West Coast Conference) trailed by eight with 17:13 remaining before going on a 25-4 run in a 10-minute span. Mathews and Josh Perkins had two three-pointers apiece during the spurt.

Perkins finished with 9 points and Przemek Karnowski added 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists to offset a slow night from leading scorer Nigel Williams-Goss. Williams-Goss had nine points on 4-of-10 shooting.

Jacob Lampkin had a career-high 18 points for Pacific. The Tigers (6-9, 0-2) were seeking their first victory against a Top 25 team since the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

GEORGIA TECH 75, No. 9 NORTH CAROLINA 63

ATLANTA -- Josh Okogie scored 26 points and Ben Lammers had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Georgia Tech pulled off a major upset in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

Justin Jackson finished with 16 points and Nate Britt scored 13 for the Tar Heels, who committed a season-high 20 turnovers. North Carolina (12-3, 0-1) never led after Okogie hit two free throws with 11:59 remaining.

Josh Heath scored 15 points and Quinton Stephens had 11 for Georgia Tech (9-4, 1-0), the ACC's youngest and least experienced teams.

No. 20 FLORIDA ST. 60,No. 12 VIRGINIA 58

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Dwayne Bacon scored 26 of his 29 points after halftime and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with four seconds left for Florida State.

Bacon scored the last seven points during a 9-0 run for the Seminoles (14-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) that turned a 51-49 deficit into a 56-51 lead, and then answered quickly after Kyle Guy's three-pointer had given Virginia a 58-57 lead with 8.8 seconds to play.

Guy scored 14 points and three others had 10 for Virginia (11-2, 1-1), which lost for the second time in its last 37 ACC home games.

No. 17 XAVIER 81, GEORGETOWN 76

WASHINGTON -- Edmond Sumner scored a career-high 28 points on his birthday and J. P. Macura added 23 for Xavier.

The Musketeers (12-2, 2-0 Big East) trailed by six points early in the second half, but slowly chipped away at the deficit. Macura's three-pointer put Xavier up for good at 62-59 with 8:23 remaining and his two free throws capped a 13-5 run to give the Musketeers their largest lead, 72-64 with 3:58 remaining.

L.J. Peak scored 21 points for the Hoyas (8-6, 0-2). Rodney Pryor had 20 including 10 consecutive for Georgetown after Macura's free throws. Trailing 77-74, Pryor missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 24 seconds remaining.

NO. 20 SAINT MARY'S 72,

SAN DIEGO 60

MORAGA, Calif. -- Jock Landale scored 14 points and Tanner Krebs added 12 to help No. 20 Saint Mary's beat San Diego 72-60.

Krebs, a redshirt freshman from the Australian island of Tasmania, made all four of his three-point shots for the Gaels (12-1, 2-0 WCC), who won their sixth consecutive game. Freshman Jordan Ford equaled his career-best with 12 points.

Brett Bailey scored 19 points to lead the Toreros (7-7, 0-2).

Down 9-2 less than five minutes into the game, the Gaels crept back, finally taking the lead for good at 22-19 on a three-pointer by Krebs with 6:55 left in the first half.

No. 24 NOTRE DAME 78, PITTSBURGH 77, OT

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Steve Vasturia made a three-pointer from the wing with 2.5 seconds left in overtime for Notre Dame.

The Panthers took a 77-75 lead on a runner by Jamel Artis with 41 seconds to play. Vasturia missed a shot but grabbed his own rebound with 21 seconds left. The Irish reset their offense and Vasturia ended up with the ball in the corner. He faked a shot, took a step to his right and made the three-pointer in front of the Notre Dame bench to quiet a raucous Petersen Events Center.

Bonzie Colson led the Fighting Irish (12-2, 1-0) with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Vasturia shook off foul trouble to finish with 15 while Matt Farrell added 15 for Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

Artis and Michael Young finished with 25 points each for Pitt (11-3, 0-1).

Sports on 01/01/2017

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