College basketball roundup
Villanova turned the site of its latest romp into the scene of a Super Bowl pep rally.
The final horn caused a celebration – not just because the Wildcats won, but to signal the certain Eagles bash ahead.
Omari Spellman hit six 3 pointers and had 26 points, 11 rebounds and helped No. 1 Villanova kick off a rousing day in Philadelphia sports with a 92-76 win over Seton Hall on Sunday.
The Wildcats (9-1 Big East, 22-1) won their ninth straight game in front of a crowd dotted with green jerseys and chanting for the Eagles hours before the Super Bowl.
“I love the Eagles,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said, “but this is way more important to me.”
Villanova’s win served as the sports appetizer for a city absolutely whipped into a frenzy, with fans lined up hours before kickoff around the block to get into sports bars to watch the Eagles play the New England Patriots.
Mikal Bridges, who scored 17 points, hit a 3 with 2:22 left for a 21-point lead that seemed to serve as the cue for fans to turn their full attention toward the Super Bowl. They put on dog masks (an Eagles rallying symbol) and chanted “We Want Brady!”
No. 17 Ohio State 75, Illinois 67: Keita Bates-Diop scored a career-high 35 points and had 13 rebounds for No. 17 Ohio State.
The Buckeyes (11-1 Big Ten, 20-5) played without suspended guard Kam Williams. Jae’Sean Tate added 11 points.
Mark Alstork paced Illinois (2-9, 12-12) with 19 points.
No. 25 Arizona State 88, Washington State 78: Shannon Evans II scored 23 points and Romello White added 21 for No. 25 Arizona State.
Tra Holder had 20 for the Sun Devils (5-6 Pac-12, 17-6).
Malachi Flynn scored 22 for Washington State (1-9, 9-13), which has lost five in a row.
Tulsa 63, South Florida 54: Junior Etou had 17 points and 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season, DaQuan Jeffries added 16 points and Tulsa beat South Florida 63-54 or its sixth straight win in the series.
Tulsa (6-5 AAC, 13-10) took over sole possession of fourth, trailing No. 8 Cincinnati (10-0), Houston (7-3) and Wichita State (7-3). The top four seeds receive a first-round bye to the conference tournament quarterfinals March 9.
After trailing 33-30 early in the second half, Tulsa outscored the Bulls 22-5 over six minutes – with seven points from Etou – to take control.
Stephan Jiggetts led USF (1-10, 8-16) with 22 points and seven rebounds. David Collins, who played last year at First Love Christian Academy in Washington, added 11 points.