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Villanova alone atop Big East

CINCINNATI - Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points and No. 6 Villanova clinched the outright Big East championship for the first time in 32 years by holding off undermanned Xavier 77-70 on Thursday night.

JayVaughn Pinkston added 15 points - eight in the last 3:20 - James Bell finished with 12 and Ryan Arcidiacono chipped in with 11 as the Wildcats (27-3, 15-2 Big East) extended their school record for regular-season victories with their fifth consecutive and 11th in their last 12 games.

The Wildcats went into the night with a 1 ½ game lead over No. 13 Creighton in the Big East and two games remaining. The Bluejays have one game to play.

Villanova, which last won the title alone in 1981-82, is scheduled to wrap up its regular season Saturday at home against Georgetown.

Justin Martin had 20 points for Xavier (20-11, 10-8) while Semaj Christon added 18 points and Isaiah Philmore finished with 15. The Musketeers ended the regular season with consecutive losses.

Xavier struggled from three-point range finishing 6 of 23, while Villanova was 9 for 23.

The game was Xavier’s first without 6-10 junior center Matt Stainbrook, who started each of the Musketeers’ previous 30 before straining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in their 71-62 loss at Seton Hall on Monday. Stainbrook watched the game from the bench wearing a tan suit and bow tie.

Hilliard, averaging 14.1 points per game, had 15 to help the Wildcats take a 41-36 halftime lead.

Martin, who went into the game averaging 11.2 points, scored 12 in the first half for Xavier.

NO. 15 CINCINNATI 97, NO. 20 MEMPHIS 84

CINCINNATI - Sean Kilpatrick scored a season-high 34 points in his final home game, and a trio of senior starters steadied No. 15 Cincinnati to a victory over No. 20 Memphis that left the American Athletic Conference race tied with a game to go.

The Bearcats (25-5, 14-3 AAC) remained tied atop the first-year league with No. 11 Louisville. The Cardinals won 84-71 at No. 18 Southern Methodist on Wednesday night and finish at home against No. 19 Connecticut. The Bearcats close the regular season at Rutgers.

With a chance to break the race open, the Tigers (22-8, 11-6) fell apart in the opening minutes and never fully recovered. Cincinnati’s seniors kept the Bearcats ahead the whole game.

Forward Titus Rubles had a career-high 24 points, and forward Justin Jackson added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Joe Jackson scored 21 points for Memphis.

NO. 22 MICHIGAN ST. 86, NO. 24 IOWA 76

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Keith Appling scored in double figures for the first time in more than five weeks and No. 22 Michigan State looked healthier than it had in months in a victory over No. 24 Iowa.

Appling showed his old aggressiveness before hip and wrist injuries and scored 12 points for the Spartans (23-7, 12-5 Big Ten). Travis Trice, Appling’s backup, was 3 for 4 from three-point range and had 16 points, while Adreian Payne added 14 points in his final home game.

Denzel Valentine had 13 points and nine assists for Michigan State, which looked a lot like the team that is 19-2 with a healthy Branden Dawson in the lineup.

Roy Devyn Marble had 24 points for Iowa (20-10, 9-8).

Sports, Pages 24 on 03/07/2014

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