NO. 22 BUTLER 74, NO. 2 VILLANOVA 66
VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Kelan Martin scored 22 points and fueled a stunning second-half rally to lead No. 22 Butler past No. 2 Villanova 74-66 on Wednesday night, snapping the Wildcats' on-campus home winning streak at 48 games.
Kamar Baldwin added 15 points for the Bulldogs (22-6, 11-5 Big East), who have handed the defending national champion Wildcats two of their three losses this season.
Jalen Brunson scored 24 points and Josh Hart had 18 for Villanova (26-3, 13-3), which came into the game having already clinched at least a share of their fourth consecutive Big East regular-season championship.
The game marked the first time Hart and fellow seniors Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds lost a game at the Pavilion in their four-year careers.
With Villanova leading by seven with 10:30 remaining, Butler scored the game's next 18 points to take a 60-49 lead. Martin led the comeback effort with nine points during that stretch, including two three-pointers.
Despite a frenetic Villanova press, Butler held on with some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to snap Villanova's seven-game winning streak.
The Bulldogs also upset then-No. 1 Villanova in Hinkle Fieldhouse on Jan. 4. They gave the defending champs even more fits Wednesday at the Pavilion, the Wildcats' on-campus home where they hadn't lost since Feb. 3, 2013, against Providence.
Playing without starting center Reynolds (rib injury) for the fourth consecutive game and using a six-man rotation most of the way, the Wildcats missed their first six shots and committed four turnovers before the opening TV timeout.
Villanova didn't take its first lead until Brunson hit a contested three-pointer from the top of the key with just under 1 minute left in the first half.
The Wildcats led by as many as eight early in the second half before the Bulldogs flipped the script and stunned a sold-out Pavilion crowd not accustomed to seeing any losses.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats need just one victory in their final two regular-season games to capture their fourth consecutive outright Big East title -- every year since the league was re-formed as a 10-team conference in 2013-14.
After a recent rough patch that included three losses in four games, the Bulldogs have won three consecutive and are suddenly in good position to nab at least a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In other games involving Top 25/SEC men's teams Wednesday, Dylan Brooks hit a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds to play to cap a comeback from 16 points down and No. 6 Oregon beat California 68-65 to keep its hopes alive for a Pac-12 title. Brooks led the Ducks (25-4, 14-2) with 22 points and Chris Boucher added 18. Jabari Bird scored 20 points to lead the way for the Golden Bears (18-9, 9-6). ... Justin Jackson scored 21 points and No. 8 North Carolina pulled away after halftime to beat No. 7 Louisville 74-63 in a matchup of Atlantic Coast Conference leaders. Kennedy Meeks added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels (24-5, 12-3). Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points for the Cardinals (22-6, 10-5). ... John Gillon hit a three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer, and Syracuse upset No. 10 Duke 78-75 as the Orange kept alive their postseason hopes. Gillon finished with 26 points and Tyus Battle had 18 for Syracuse (17-12, 9-7 Atlantic Coast Conference). Luke Kennard led Duke (22-6, 10-5) with 23 points. ... Kyron Cartwright made a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to give Providence a 68-66 victory over No. 23 Creighton. Emmitt Holt scored all 18 of his points in the second half for Providence (17-11, 7-8 Big East). Marcus Foster had 18 points and Justin Patton added 17 for Creighton (22-6, 9-6). ... Dupree McBrayer scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, and Minnesota beat struggling No. 24 Maryland 89-75 for its sixth consecutive victory. Nate Mason scored 17 points and Akeem Springs added 16 for Minnesota (21-7, 9-6 Big Ten). Backup center Ivan Bender scored a career-high 15 points for Maryland (22-6, 10-5). ... Jeff Roberson scored 15 points and Luke Kornet had a double-double as Vanderbilt never trailed in a 67-56 victory over Tennessee. Kornet had 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks for Vanderbilt (15-13, 8-7 SEC). Robert Hubbs III scored 16 to lead Tennessee (15-13, 7-8), while Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield added 11 apiece.
Sports on 02/23/2017