No. 7 Xavier holds on for 84-81 win over Lehigh in opener Playing with the highest preseason ranking in its history, Xavier got a win that was too close for comfort. Trevon Bluiett scored a career-high 25 points and led a second-half surge that carried No. 7 Xavier to an 84-81 victory over Lehigh on Friday night. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400918291
Foster scores 19, No. 22 Creighton holds off UMKC 89-82 Creighton has three days to get ready for No. 9 Wisconsin, and judging by how the 22nd-ranked Bluejays looked in the second half of their season opener against UMKC, they'll need to make the most out of every one of them. The Bluejays won 89-82 on Friday night, but not before sweating out a comeback attempt that saw the Kangaroos cut a 28-point deficit with 13 minutes left to single digits. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400917464
No. 3 Villanova needs Hart to get past No. 15 Purdue, 79-76 - No. 15 Purdue kept making No. 3 Villanova hold its breath Monday night. Josh Hart made sure the Wildcats followed the same old beat. The preseason All-America guard scored 24 points, made big shot after big shot and calmly sank the final four free throws of the game to help the defending national champions hang on for a 79-76 victory. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400915183
Macura scores 18 as No. 11 Xavier routs Buffalo 86-53 After a sloppy opening win, No. 11 Xavier spent its time working on defense. It was much improved the second time around. J.P. Macura scored 18 points and the Musketeers took advantage of 38 personal fouls by Buffalo, pulling away for an 86-53 victory on Monday night. The Musketeers (2-0) quickly opened a double-digit lead and got the balance back in their offense after relying on career highs for points by Trevon Bluiett and Edmond Sumner in their opening 84-81 win over Lehigh. Bluiett and Sumner had 13 points apiece on Monday. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400917005
No. 22 Creighton pulls away from No. 9 Badgers 79-67 November college basketball games typically don't mean much in the big picture of a season. As far as Greg McDermott was concerned, No. 22 Creighton's 79-67 victory over No. 9 Wisconsin on Tuesday night meant a whole lot. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400914922
No. 11 Xavier hangs on, beats Missouri 83-82 in OT The play J.P. Macura made with 1.7 seconds left won't show up in any boxscore, and certainly won't appear in any highlight video. But it helped No. 11 Xavier escape and remain unbeaten. Edmond Sumner's free throw with 0.3 seconds left in overtime gave the Musketeers an 83-82 win over Missouri in the opening round of the Tire Pros Invitational on Thursday. He was fouled after Xavier inbounded near midcourt, after a heady timeout that Macura called to give his team a chance to set something up at the end. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400910742
No. 3 Villanova tops Western Michigan 76-65 Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins watched his team slice a double-digit lead to three points against defending national champion Villanova. Then the third-ranked Wildcats showed once more they're built to handle tough games. "They did what they do," Hawkins said. Villanova used a 13-4 run down the stretch for a 76-65 win over the Broncos (1-2) on Thursday to start the Charleston Classic. Western Michigan had cut a 14-point second-half lead to 59-56 to draw within striking distances of the Wildcats. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400918974
No. 11 Xavier defeats Clemson 83-77 in Tire Pros tournament J.P. Macura doesn't know why but for some reason his shot hadn't been falling quite right during Xavier's first couple of games. But that changed -- quickly -- during the 11-ranked Musketeers' 83-77 victory over Clemson on Friday in the second round of the Tire Pros Invitational. The junior guard hit his first 3-pointer in the first 58 seconds, then exchanged a little trash talk with Clemson forward Jaron Blossomgame. It was on from there. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400926407
Hart scores 30, leads No. 3 Villanova over Wake Forest 96-77 Josh Hart loved Villanova's defense, saying it was biggest reason why the third-ranked Wildcats blew past Wake Forest on Friday. Hart's shooting helped a bunch, too. Hart scored a career-high 30 points off six 3-pointers to lead the Wildcats to a 96-77 victory over Demon Deacons. Villanova (4-0) advanced to the finals of the Charleston Classic, slowing down a Wake Forest offense that scored 103 points a day earlier. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400926406
Cole scores 19 as No. 22 Creighton routs Washington St. Creighton jumped on Washington State early and the Cougars could never recover. But the Bluejays' confidence is still showing, especially after their 103-77 victory over Washington State on Friday in the opening round of the Paradise Jam tournament. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400919643
Hart leads No. 3 Villanova over UCF, 67-57 The hundreds of Villanova fans at Charleston's TD Arena gathered with coach Jay Wright and his Wildcats to cheer their latest in-season tournament championship. Most of them surely believe winning the Charleston Classic can lead the defending national champions to even bigger celebrations this season. "I feel good about where we are, our path," Wright said Sunday night. The Wildcats passed their biggest test yet in staring down UCF and 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall for a 67-57 victory, giving Villanova an in-season tournament title for the fourth straight season. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400926521
No. 11 Xavier escapes with win over Northern Iowa Just a few games into the season, it's clear 11th-ranked Xavier has some work to do closing out games. The Musketeers nearly let a 16-point second-half lead disappear, but Trevon Bluiett hit some clutch free throws late to help them pull away from Northern Iowa for a 67-59 victory in the Tire Pros Invitational championship game Sunday night. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400926515
Huff has double-double, No. 22 Creighton beats NC State Greg McDermott isn't ready to think about No. 22 Creighton's place in the national polls just yet. "I'll worry about that come March," the Bluejays coach said. Creighton is riding high, though, after beating N.C. State 112-94 on Sunday night to advance to the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400926517
Georgetown holds off No. 13 Oregon 66-61 in Maui Georgetown was at its best in the first half, playing aggressive defense, feeding the hot hand of Rodney Pryor. The Hoyas were at their worst to start the second half, failing stops or shots to drop. Rather than folding, as they had in the past, the Hoyas gritted out a victory over a tough opponent. Pryor had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Georgetown withstood a furious second-half rally to hold on for a 65-61 victory over No. 13 Oregon on Monday in the first round of the Maui Invitational. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400926681
Hart, Jenkins lead Villanova past Charleston, 63-47 Jay Wright and his Villanova players are ready to enjoy Thanksgiving and take a much-needed break from basketball. Josh Hart had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Kris Jenkins scored 11 points and No. 2 Villanova knocked off feisty College of Charleston 63-47 on Wednesday night. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400919646
Butler knocks off No. 8 Arizona, 69-65 With six new players donning a Butler uniform this season, coach Chris Holtmann isn't sure what to expect from his Bulldogs. Some have labeled this season as a rebuilding year. Holtmann shrugs it off with a wait-and-see attitude. He may not have to wait any longer, as his Bulldogs showed plenty of resolve Friday night in a 69-65 victory over No. 8 Arizona in the championship game of the Continental Las Vegas Invitational. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400926926
After slow start, No. 12 Creighton beats Loyola (Md.) 82-52 If Justin Patton's growth continues like it has been, he's going to be a big problem for the Big East once conference play begins. The 7-foot, 230-pound redshirt freshman made all eight of his shots and scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, leading No. 12 Creighton in an 82-52 victory over Loyola (Md.) on Saturday. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400918995
No. 9 Xavier dominates in 64-42 win over Northern Iowa The rematch was no match at all. Xavier's defense made sure of it. J.P. Macura scored 18 points, and Xavier's defense dug in during a dominant first half, sending the ninth-ranked Musketeers to a 64-42 victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400918156
No. 18 Butler remains undefeated with 68-59 win over Utah Chris Holtmann knew he had learned a lot about his Butler team during a week-long, three game road trip -- for better or worse. The ride back to Indianapolis will be a pleasant one for the third-year coach after a clean sweep. Kelan Martin scored 18 points as No. 18 Butler remained undefeated with a 68-59 victory over Utah on Monday night. The loss was the first of the season for the Utes. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400915534
No. 2 Villanova cruises past Saint Joseph's 88-57 The Villanova student section had checked their tweets, texts and timelines and saw the score from roughly 630 miles west of campus that had as much of an impact on them as the latest victory a few feet in front of them. Kentucky lost -- a game and its grip as the No. 1 team in nation. "No. 1! No. 1! No. 1" Villanova coach Jay Wright heard the chant. He glanced at the scoreboard for an update, and when there was nothing on the screen for UCLA-Kentucky, he simply "thought it was something else." Think again. The national champion Wildcats are set to become the No. 1 Wildcats. Josh Hart had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double and led No. 2 Villanova to an 88-57 victory over Saint Joseph's on Saturday. Read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400918455
