Top-ranked Villanova overwhelms DePaul
Wyoming, Dalton too much for Aztecs
CHICAGO — Mikal Bridges scored 20 points, Phil Booth added 17 points and six assists, and No. 1 Villanova made it look easy, beating DePaul 103-85 on Wednesday in the Big East opener for both teams.
The Wildcats (13-0, 1-0 Big East) closed in on last year’s program-record 14-0 start and gave coach Jay Wright his 399th victory in 17 seasons at Villanova.
Bridges and Booth each made four 3-pointers, and the Wildcats nailed 15 of 31 from long range.
Chicago-area product Jalen Brunson had 16 points and five assists. Eric Paschall scored 16, and Villanova hit the 100-point mark for the third time this season.
Max Strus had 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists for DePaul (7-6, 0-1). Marin Maric added 17 points and 10 rebounds, but the Blue Demons dropped their 13th straight against ranked opponents. They fell to 3-21 against No. 1 teams.
The Wildcats beat DePaul for the 15th straight time and improved to 25-8 in the all-time series. They shot 18 of 34 and nailed 8 of 18 3-point attempts on the way to a 48-33 halftime lead. No. 6 XAVIER 91, MARQUETTE
87: In Milwaukee, Trevon Blueitt had 23 points, J.P. Macura scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half and the Musketeers (13-1, 1-0) beat the Golden Eagles (9-4, 0-1).
Tyrique Jones added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting before fouling out for Xavier.
Andrew Rowsey led the Golden Eagles with 31 points but missed a 3 while open from a couple feet from behind the arc with 1:16 left with his team trailing 85-82.
Marquette’s Markus Howard also missed a couple of layups late, including an attempt high off the glass off an inbounds play. Kaiser Gates answered at the other end with a 3-pointer for a five-point lead with 1:29 left.
MWC WYOMING 82, SAN DIEGO
STATE 69: In Laramie, Wyo., senior forward Hayden Dalton scored 36 points as the Cowboys (10-4, 1-0) went on a 31-11 secondhalf run to beat the Aztecs (8-4, 0-1). Malik Pope had 21 points and nine rebounds for San Diego State. BOISE STATE 93, COLORADO STATE 71: In Boise, Idaho, Chandler Hutchison’s 24 points helped give the Broncos (11-2, 1-0) a win over the Rams (7-7, 0-1). UTAH STATE 86, SAN JOSE STATE 72: In Logan, Utah, sophomore guard Koby McEwen had 24 points, seven boards and five assists to lead the Aggies (8-6, 1-0) past the Spartans (3-9, 0-1). NEVADA 80, FRESNO STATE 65: In Fresno, Calif., Kendall Stephens scored 19 points and Caleb Martin added 18 as the Wolf Pack (12-3, 1-0) stopped the Bulldogs (10-4, 0-1).