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The Michigan Wolverines couldn't beat Villanova in the NCAA championship game last April, but they had no trouble with the Wildcats on Wednesday.
The 18th-ranked Wolverines opened on a 22-8 run and added a 17-3 spurt before heading into intermission with a 27-point lead in a 73-46 thrashing of the No. 8 Wildcats at Villanova. Charles Matthews scored 19 points against the Wildcats, who lost four players who were drafted among the first 33 picks in the NBA Draft last summer. Ignas Brazdeikis had 18 points for the 3-0 Wolverines.
Villanova shot just 32 percent and didn't have a player with more than 10 points. The Wildcats' only double-digit scorer was Eric Paschall, who shot 3-for-14.
Also on the top-25 schedule:
Top-ranked Duke rolled to an 84-46 rout of Eastern Michigan, taking command with a 21-1 run and scoring 31 points off the Eagles' 20 turnovers. Zion Williamson finished with 21 points and fellow freshman RJ Barrett added 20 while the duo helped the Blue Devils shoot 47 percent.
Ninth-ranked Auburn scored 35 straight points against Division II Mississippi College in a 103-52 romp. Austin Wiley had 18 points and Bruce Brown added 16 for the Tigers.
PJ Washington set career highs with 25 points and seven rebounds as 10th-ranked Kentucky blew out North Dakota, 96-58. Tyler Herro added 18 points for the Wildcats, who closed the first half on a 27-7 run to take a 39-20 lead.
Cassius Winston scored 14 of his 23 points in the opening minutes of the second half to help No. 11 Michigan State beat Louisiana-Monroe 80-59.
Clemson handled Sam Houston State, 74-59 as Marcquise Reed had a season-high 26 points to lead the 19th-rated Tigers.
Romeo Langford scored 22 points and Evan Fitzner added 16 to lead Indiana to just its second win over a ranked team under second-year coach Archie Miller, 96-73 against No. 24 Marquette.
America East:
Boston University defeated UAlbany 71-61
Vermont topped Lyndon State College 122-56
Thursday Quinnipiac takes on Hartford at 7 p.m.
American
Syracuse takes on UConn at 7 p.m. Thursday
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Syracuse beat Texas A&M 75-65
America East
UAlbany edged Manhattan 60-54
Vermont goes against Norwich Thursday at 7 p.m.
MAAC:
Quinnipiac takes on Providence Thursday at 7 p.m.
NBA
The Philadelphia 76ers showed they may need a little time to adjust to their new lineup.
Jimmy Butler scored 14 points in his Sixers debut, but the Magic rallied to earn a 111-106 victory against Philadelphia. Orlando trailed 92-76 in the fourth quarter before scoring 21 straight points. The Magic iced the victory by holding the 76ers without a field goal over the final 3 1/2 minutes.
Nikola Vucevic had 30 points for the Magic, including two free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining.
Butler was in action for the first time since being traded by the Timberwolves last weekend. He shot 6-for-12 and was 2-for-2 from the line.
Joel Embiid finished with a triple-double of 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the Sixers' seventh loss in nine road games.
Checking out Wednesday's other NBA action:
The Pistons erased a 19-point deficit and beat the Raptors, 106-104 on Reggie Bullock's buzzer-beating basket. Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds as Detroit won for only the third time in nine games since a 4-0 start.
Kyrie Irving's 17 points and seven assists were among the Celtics' highlights in a 111-82 laugher over the Bulls. Jaylen Brown scored 18 points and Jayson Tatum added 14 to help Boston bounce back from a 1-4 road trip.
LeBron James had a season-high 44 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the Lakers' 126-117 win over the Trail Blazers. James contributed 28 points in the second half and vaulted past Chamberlain for fifth on the all-time scoring list on a three-point play with 3:55 to go.
The Jazz absorbed their worst loss since moving to Utah, scoring just 22 points in the second half of a 118-68 romp by the Mavericks. Harrison Barnes scored 19 points and helped Dallas shoot 58 percent, including 43 percent of its 3-point shots.
Paul George led the Thunder to its ninth win in 10 games by pouring in a season-high 35 points in a 128-103 pounding of the Knicks. Steven Adams had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Dennis Schroder added 15 points and 12 assists as Oklahoma City improved to 4-1 since Russell Westbrook was sidelined with a sprained left ankle.
Marc Gasol scored 29 points and Mike Conley added 26 in the Grizzlies' 116-113 comeback at Milwaukee. Memphis put together a late 15-2 run to hand the Bucks their first home loss.
The Timberwolves were 107-100 winners at New Orleans behind Karl-Anthony Towns' 25 points and 16 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins dropped in 23 points and Jeff Teague (teeg) added 14 with 14 assists as Minnesota won its second straight since dealing Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia.
T.J. Warren scored 16 of his 27 points in the first half of the Suns' 116-96 win against the Spurs. Deandre Ayton furnished 17 points and 10 boards in helping Phoenix halt a four-game skid.
Tyler Johnson scored a season-high 24 points in the Heat's first win in four games, 120-97 at Brooklyn. Goran Dragic had 21 points and Josh Richardson added 15 for Miami, which led by as many as 23 against the short-handed Nets.
The Wizards picked up their third straight win as Bradley Beal scored 20 points and Otto Porter added 15 in a 119-95 romp over the Cavaliers. Washington pulled away with a 15-0 run early in the second quarter and led by 21 at halftime.
Curry to miss Texas trip:
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will remain sidelined during their three-game swing through Texas, although he is traveling with the team.
Curry has missed three games since injuring his left groin during a game against the Bucks on Nov. 8. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated in 10 days.
The 30-year-old Curry is averaging 29.5 points, 6.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 49.2 percent from 3-point range.
MLB
Jacob deGrom and Blake Snell have become first-time winners of the Cy Young Award.
DeGrom took National League honors after going 10-9 with 269 strikeouts and a major league-leading 1.70 ERA for the Mets. He finished the season with 29 consecutive starts of allowing three runs or fewer, shattering the previous major league-record streak of 26.
Although deGrom's victory total is the lowest for any starter in his Cy Young season, he captured 29 of 30 first-place votes and 207 points to easily outdistance Washington ace Max Scherzer. Philadelphia's Aaron Nola was third in the voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Scherzer went 18-7 with a 2.53 ERA, leading the majors with 220 2/3 innings and 300 strikeouts.
DeGrom is the fourth Met to win the award, joining Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden and R.A. Dickey.
The writers also liked Snell, who was 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA and 221 strikeouts in 180 2/3 innings for the Rays. The left-hander claimed the American League Cy Young Award by pacing the majors in victories and posting the AL's top earned run average.
Houston's Justin Verlander was second to Snell in the balloting after leading the AL with 290 strikeouts and going 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA.
Indians ace Corey Kluber was a distant third in the balloting despite a 20-win season.
Cora gets extension:
The Boston Red Sox have rewarded manager Alex Cora for winning a World Series in his first year as a major league skipper.
Cora has received a new contract with an additional guaranteed year through the 2021 season and a club option for 2022.
He guided the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 victories and the team's fourth championship in 15 seasons.
Also around the majors:
The Indians have shipped utility infielder Erik Gonzalez and two minor league pitchers to the Pirates for outfielder Jordan Luplow and infielder Max Moroff. Gonzalez saw action in 81 games for the Indians this year, hitting .265 with one home run and 16 RBIs. The Pirates receive right-handers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza while parting with Luplow and Moroff, who shuttled between the majors and minors last season.
NHL
The Winnipeg Jets are 3-0 on their four-game homestand following a win over the defending Stanley Cup champs.
Ben Chiarot scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:09 left in the Jets' 3-1 victory over the Capitals. Mark Scheifele had a power-play score and Kyle Connor added an empty-netter in support of Connor Hellebuyck's 27-save performance.
Hellebuyck was perfect after Jakob Vrana beat him 13 minutes into the opening period.
The Capitals have dropped three of their last four games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
Nathan MacKinnon notched the tiebreaking goal with 10:58 remaining while the Avalanche scored four times in the third period of a 6-3 comeback win over the Bruins. Colorado's top unit of Gabriel Landeskog, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen combined for six points to give them a league-leading 75 for the season.
Cody Eakin scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury turned back 29 shots as the Golden Knights blanked the Ducks, 5-0. Nick Holden and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist to back Fleury's third shutout of the season and 51st of his career.
The Blackhawks' eight-game losing streak is over after Corey Crawford handled 28 shots in a 1-0 triumph against St. Louis. Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester accidentally kicked a puck into his own net early in the second period, allowing Jeremy Colliton to get his first NHL coaching victory.
Thursday on the ice:
The New York Rangers take on the New York Islanders at 7 p.m.
The Philadelphia Flyers host the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m.
Penguins extend Rutherford, swap forwards with Kings:
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has signed a contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2021-22 season.
The 69-year-old Rutherford is the only general manager to win Stanley Cups with multiple teams since the league expanded in 1967.
Rutherford also pulled off a trade on Wednesday, sending forward Carl Hagelin (HAG'-lihn) to the Kings for forward Tanner Pearson. The deal comes a day after the Pens lost for the sixth time in seven games to fall to seventh in the NHL's Metropolitan Division at 7-6-3.
In other NHL news:
Predators forward Austin Watson has been reinstated after serving an 18-game suspension for domestic abuse. Watson issued a statement apologizing to everyone for the June incident that cost him the start of the season.
NFL
Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback Joe Flacco missed practice Wednesday because of a hip injury, and his status for Sunday's game against Cincinnati is uncertain.
Flacco hurt his hip early in a 23-16 loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 4. He had the bye week to recover, but is still receiving treatment.
If Flacco can't go, Coach John Harbaugh likely will turn to rookie Lamar Jackson.
Elsewhere around the NFL:
In Thursday’s NFL action The Green Bay Packers take on the Seattle Seahawks at 8:20 p.m.
Joey Bosa could possibly make his season debut Sunday after missing the first half of the season with a foot injury. Chargers Coach Anthony Lynn said he was excited to see Bosa practicing with his teammates Wednesday for the first time since Sept. 5.
The Lions have put guard T.J. Lang on injured reserve with a neck injury. Lang has missed three games this season, including last weekend's loss at Chicago.
Falcons’ linebacker Deion Jones has been moved to the active roster and is eligible to play for the first time since breaking his right foot in Week 1. Coach Dan Quinn said the team will see how he looks in practice before deciding if Jones will be in uniform Sunday against the Cowboys.
The Dolphins have signed former Cowboys receiver Brice Butler following injuries to wideouts Jakeem Grant and DeVante Parker. Butler has 73 career receptions for 1,177 yards and eight touchdowns for Dallas and Oakland.
The Bills continued shuffling their roster during their bye week by signing wide receiver Deonte Thompson, who was released by the Cowboys a week ago. Thompson returns for his third stint with Buffalo a year after he had 27 catches for 430 yards and a touchdown in 11 games.
A lawyer says a manslaughter conviction should be overturned for the man who fatally shot retired New Orleans Saints star Will Smith in 2016. Louisiana's 4th Circuit Court of Appeal heard arguments Wednesday in the case of Cardell Hayes, who is serving a 25 year sentence for killing Smith and wounding Smith's wife during a confrontation following a traffic collision. Hayes insisted he fired in self-defense, and prosecutors say there were no witnesses or physical evidence to indicate Smith ever held or fired a gun.
NCAA
The NCAA has announced that graduation rates for NCAA athletes have reached a record high of 88 percent, a one-percentage point increase from 2017.
The graduation rates have increased by three percent for men's basketball players, one percent for FBS football players and two percent for black athletics. Graduation rates for athletes have increased from 78 percent to 88 percent since a series of academic reforms were passed by the NCAA from 2003-07.
TENNIS
Former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska says she is retiring from tennis after a 13-year career.
The 29-year-old Pole reached a career-high ranking of No. 2. She says she is "no longer able to train and play the way I used to."
Radwanska won 20 WTA titles in her career. She reached the Wimbledon final in 2012, losing to Serena Williams in three sets.
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