No. 1 Syracuse beats Notre Dame 61-55
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Trevor Cooney scored a career-high 33 points, matching a school record with nine 3-pointers, and top-ranked Syracuse beat Notre Dame 61-55 on Monday night in another matchup of former Big East foes.
Syracuse (22-0, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which moved to No. 1 earlier in the day after its scintillating 91-89 overtime victory against Duke on Saturday night, extended its school record for most consecutive wins to start a season. Notre Dame (12-11, 3-7) has lost seven of nine.
Two days after one of the most emotional wins in Boeheim's 38 years as head coach, Syracuse played its first game as the nation's top team since the 2011-12 season. Two years ago, the Orange were unbeaten and ranked No. 1 when they went to South Bend and Notre Dame upset them 67-58.
It didn't happen again Monday night.
Bell leads No. 6 Villanova past Xavier 81-58
VILLANOVA, Pa. -- James Bell hit six 3-pointers and scored 27 points and Darrun Hilliard had 17 to lead No. 6 Villanova to an 81-58 win against Xavier on Monday night.
The Wildcats (20-2, 8-1 Big East) never trailed and have won four consecutive games since a 28-point loss to No. 12 Creighton on Jan. 20.
Bell made 6 of 10 and 3s was 10 of 14 overall from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds. He scored 21 points in the second half to the Wildcats hit the 20-win mark at the second fastest point in program history. The 2009-10 team opened 20-1.
Semaj Christon led Xavier (15-7, 5-4) with 17 points and Matt Stainbrook had 14. The Musketeers have lost three in a row.
No. 16 Iowa St. beats No. 19 Oklahoma St. in 3OT
STILLWATER, Okla. -- DeAndre Kane had 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to help 16th-ranked Iowa State defeat No. 19 Oklahoma State 98-97 in triple overtime on Monday night.
The win was Iowa State's first in Stillwater since March 2, 1998 -- a span of 18 games.
Melvin Ejim had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Georges Niang scored 17 points and Dustin Hogue added 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Cyclones (17-4, 5-4 Big 12), who have beaten six ranked teams this season.
Le'Bryan Nash scored 26 points, Marcus Smart had 20 points and eight assists and Markel Brown added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma State (16-6, 4-5), which lost its third in a row.
Monte Morris hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 43 seconds left in the third overtime to put Iowa State up 96-95.
Nash misconnected on a pass to Williams, and Oklahoma State turned the ball over with 22 seconds left. Naz Long made two free throws with 21.8 seconds to play, extending Iowa State's lead to three.
Brown dunked, then Williams stole the ball to give the Cowboys a shot at the win. Smart missed a fadeaway, and Oklahoma State retained possession on a tie-up on the rebound. Nash missed a baseline jumper as time expired, and the Cyclones celebrated.
