Feb 3, 2019 3 min read

Villanova had reminders everywhere of how just successful it’s been in recent seasons: two national championship trophies were displayed for photo ops and former great Jalen Brunson was honored in a pregame ceremony.

Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels gave the Wildcats a glimpse of just how great the future could be for the program.

Gillespie hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 30 points, Samuels had 16 rebounds and Eric Paschall had 24 points to keep No. 14 Villanova unbeaten in the Big East with a 77-65 victory over Georgetown on Sunday.

The Wildcats (18-4) have won 10 straight games and are 9-0 in the conference for the first time since 2009-10.

“I want to see how far we can take this ride,” coach Jay Wright said.

The Wildcats got rolling late at their off-campus home, the Wells Fargo Center, where they are 32-3 since 2012-13 – and their win percentage boosted by six straight wins over the Hoyas in Philadelphia.

Phil Booth – who missed 10 of his first 12 shots – scored on a driving layup, then buried a 3 to snap a tie and give Villanova a 58-53 lead with 5:41 left. Villanova, which was called for four fouls on one possession late in the game, got a Gillespie bucket to stretch the lead and hold off the Hoyas.

No. 17 Purdue 73, Minnesota 63: Carsen Edwards scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half to lead No. 17 Purdue to a 73-63 victory over Minnesota.

Trevion Williams added 16 points and Matt Haarms had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Boilermakers (16-6, 9-2 Big Ten), who moved into a three-way tie with Michigan and Michigan State for the Big Ten lead.

Amir Coffey scored 22 points, Daniel Oturu had 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and Jordan Murphy contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Golden Gophers (16-6, 6-5).

The Boilermakers scored 13 straight to tie the game midway through the second half. Harms scored on a layup following an offensive rebound from his own missed 3-pointer to tie it at 47 with 9:50 to play.

It was part of a big 21-2 run in which the Boilers recovered after appearing to fall apart in an uncharacteristic stretch late in the first half and early part of the second.

Final Four ref Brown dies: Irv Brown, the Final Four referee who also coached baseball at University of Colorado, did color commentary on ESPN’s first college football broadcast and pioneered sports radio in Denver, died Sunday. He was 83.

Brown’s nephew confirmed the death. Officials at CU said he died of complications from a brief illness.

Brown officiated in four of UCLA’s Final Fours in the 1960s and ’70s. He forged strong working relationships with everyone from Bob Knight to Dick Vitale, who tweeted that Brown had the whistle for his last appearance as a coach in the NCAA Tournament in 1977.

Brown was a fixture on talk radio in Denver, working with longtime partner Joe Williams on shows that spanned four decades and included dozens of other co-hosts and guest hosts.