Tuesday's roundup: No. 1 Villanova gets past La Salle

Philadelphia — Jay Wright led Villanova on a tour around the concourse of the Palestra, the basketball shrine that has served as the hardwood home for many of the game’s greats.

Wilt Chamberlain played high school ball here. Kobe and LeBron, too.

There’s even a spot dedicated to the greatest Villanova team of all — at least, at the time the display was installed — the 1985 national champions. The Palestra curators might want to clear space for ‘Nova’s 2016 title team — and maybe even prep a new wing for this year’s Wildcats.

Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Josh Hart had 21 to help No. 1 Villanova hold off La Salle 89-79 on Tuesday night.

“I just wanted to remind them of the history, remind them of the tradition, of what happens in here,” Wright said.

La Salle (4-3) came oh-so close to making an upset happen.

Johnnie Shuler and Pookie Powell made late 3-pointers that kept the deficit at seven. La Salle, which has never defeated a No. 1 team, got more late help from long range when Jordan Price popped a 3 that made it a four-point game.

La Salle fans went wild. The Wildcats seemed shaken.

But the great city teams that decorated the 89-year-old walls of the ol’ gym nestled on Penn’s Ivy League campus don’t really lose to unranked underdogs.

And the national champs weren’t going down to La Salle.

No. 3 Kansas 105, (at) UMKC 62: Frank Mason scored 30 points to match his career high, Devonte Graham and Josh Jackson also had big games and Kansas rolled over Missouri-Kansas City to give coach Bill Self career win No. 600.

No. 5 Duke 84, No. 21 Florida 74: At New York, Amile Jefferson had career highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead Duke over Florida in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

(At) No. 14 Virginia 76, East Carolina 53: Kyle Guy scored 13 points to lead five Virginia players in double figures, and the Cavaliers used strong perimeter shooting to beat East Carolina.

(At) No. 20 Arizona 79, UC Irvine 57: Dusan Ristic and Lauri Markkanen scored 18 points apiece, and Arizona bounced back from its loss to Gonzaga by beating outmanned UC Irvine.

(At) No. 23 Notre Dame 87, IPFW 72: Bonzie Colson had his sixth straight double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, leading Notre Dame past Fort Wayne.

Big Ten

No. 18 Purdue 97, Arizona State 64: At New York, Isaac Haas and Vincent Edwards had 16 apiece for Purdue (7-2) in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Florida Atlantic 79, (at) Ohio State 77 (OT): Nick Rutherford's layup with one second left in overtime sealed the victory for the visitors. Adonis Filer scored 23 for Florida Atlantic (3-5). Trevor Thompson had 16 points for the Ohio State (7-2).

(At) Rutgers 79, Central Connecticut 37: Nigel Johnson scored 16 points and Rutgers beat Central Connecticut for coach Steve Pikiell’s 200th win.

(At) Minnesota 74, NJIT 68: Akeem Springs came off the bench to score 19 points and Nate Mason added 18 for Minnesota (8-1), which came from behind in the second half.

(At) Illinois 85, IUPUI 77: Malcolm Hill scored 23 of his 32 points in the second half to help Illinois (7-3) hold off IUPUI.

State men

(At) Central Michigan 107, Wisconsin-Green Bay 97: Marcus Keene had 40 points and 11 assists for the Chippewas (7-2). Braylon Raysom scored 30.

State women

Michigan State 71, (at) Quinnipiac 54: Tori Jankoska had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Spartans (7-2).

Detroit Mercy 77, (at) Eastern Michigan 64: Rosanna Reynolds scored 30 for the Titans (4-4). Sasha Dailey scored 31 for the Eagles (3-5).

(At) Purdue 62, Central Michigan 51: Tinara Moore and Presley Hudson finished with 12 points apiece for the Chippewas (6-2).

(At) Western Michigan 62, Fort Wayne 35: Marley Hill finished with 23 points for the Broncos (6-2).