NCAA News Wire
Top 25 roundup: Seton Hall upsets No. 6 Villanova
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
NEWARK, N.J. — Seton Hall knocked off its second consecutive ranked opponent at home as the Pirates upset previously undefeated and No. 6 Villanova 66-61 in overtime on Saturday.
Villanova (13-1, 1-1 Big East) was trying to set a program record for consecutive wins to start a season, but Seton Hall (12-2, 2-0) had other ideas after a 59-50 defeat of No. 15 St. John’s on New Year’s Eve.
Villanova big man Daniel Ochefu put together a monster performance with 19 points and 24 rebounds, but the Wildcats shot only 31 percent (18 of 58) from the field and 57.1 percent from the line (20 of 35).
No. 2 Duke 85, Boston College 62
DURHAM, N.C. — Freshman Jahlil Okafor scored a season-high 28 points in his first Atlantic Coast Conference game and Duke beat Boston College at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Guard Quinn Cook added 15 points, freshman forward Justise Winslow scored 13 and guard Rasheed Sulaimon had 11 as the Blue Devils (13-0, 1-0) ran their home-court winning streak to 41 games.
The outcome ruined the ACC debut for Boston College coach Jim Christian. Guard Olivier Hanlan scored 22 points for the Eagles (7-5, 0-1).
No. 3 Virginia 89, Miami 80 (2 OT)
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Virginia, unbeaten and off to its best start in more than 30 years, blew a 19-point lead but outlasted Miami in double overtime at the BankUnited Center.
Point guard London Perrantes led Virginia (13-0, 1-0 ACC) with 26 points and shooting guard Justin Anderson had 16 points, including some dramatics in the first overtime. Perrantes entered the game averaging just 3.1 points but made some big shots. He sank 11 of 12 free throws and was 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Point guard Angel Rodriguez had 25 points for Miami (10-4).
No. 7 Gonzaga 87, Portland 75
PORTLAND, Ore. — Gonzaga won its seventh game in a row, defeating Portland in a West Coast Conference game at the Chiles Center.
The Bulldogs (14-1, 3-0) led by 15 points at halftime and by as many as 21 points in the second half, then withstood Portland’s comeback bid. Center Przemek Karnowski and guard Kevin Pangos paced four Gonzaga players in double figures with 21 points each.
For Portland (10-5, 1-2), center Thomas van der Mars had 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds and point guard Alec Wintering scored 20 points.
South Carolina 64, No. 9 Iowa State 60
NEW YORK — Sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell scored six points in the final 1:51 of the second half to help South Carolina upset Iowa State at the Barclays Center.
Sophomore guard Duane Notice scored 15 points, and senior guard Tyrone Johnson and Thornwell added 13 points apiece for South Carolina (9-3), which extended its winning streak to seven games, its longest since an eight-game streak in 2003-04.
Junior forward Jameel McKay had 15 points and six rebounds, senior forward Dustin Hogue, from nearby Yonkers, had 15 points and sophomore guard Monte Morris added 10 for Iowa State (10-2), which had a seven-game winning streak snapped.
No. 11 Texas 70, Texas Tech 61
LUBBOCK, Texas — Guard Javan Felix scored 15 points and forward Jonathan Holmes added 14 to lead Texas over Texas Tech in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Felix hit 3-of-5 3-pointers coming off the bench, while fellow reserve center Cameron Ridley scored 13 with seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
The Longhorns (12-2) particularly needed Felix’s shooting touch with guard Isaiah Taylor coming back into the lineup after missing 10 games. Taylor was out because of a wrist injury and struggled to find the range in his first game back, finishing 2 of 10 from the field.
Center Isaiah Manderson scored 12 points for the Red Raiders (10-4).
No. 12 Maryland 70, Minnesota 58
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Guard Melo Trimble scored 20 points, forward Jake Layman added 12 and swingman Dez Wells had 12 as Maryland held off cold-shooting Minnesota.
Maryland freshman forward Damonte Dodd added a career-highs of nine points and 12 rebounds.
The Terrapins (14-1, 2-0 Big Ten) built a 15-point lead in the first half but Minnesota (11-4, 0-2) cut the lead to 36-33 at intermission.
The Gophers were paced
