villanova

CLEVELAND -- Suddenly, Luke Hancock was all alone. Madness still surrounded the bandaged George Mason guard, of course: the shot clock had flicked off, a screaming crowd of thousands was on its feet, and down one to Villanova, 57-56, time circled the drain.

Twenty-two seconds. Twenty-one. Twenty.

Notre Dame put the pressure on Pittsburgh with a win over UConn, but the Panthers won the Big East regular season title with a hard-fought 60-50 win over reeling Villanova.

Omar Samhan was an unstoppable Gael force and played the game of his career, finishing with 32 points and seven rebounds to lead 10th-seeded Saint Mary's past Villanova 75-68 on Saturday and improbably into the NCAA tournament's round of 16.

The Sweet 16 has its first team -- and its first Cinderella. No. 10 seed St. Mary's overwhelmed No. 2 Villanova inside to stun the Wildcats 75-68 and continue the tourney's run of upsets.

Is another upset brewing? No. 2 seed Villanova, which struggled in its opener, is being dominated inside by No. 10 St.

Mary's so far today. The winner becomes the first team in the Sweet 16.

No. 2 seed Villanova was nearly upset in an opening-round thriller. Now, Saint Mary's stands in the way of a Sweet 16 bid.

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Saint Mary's frustrates No. 2 seed Villanova in upset win.

Scottie Reynolds refuses to admit there's trouble stirring with Villanova. Take a look at the record: 25 wins, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, and a second-round game Saturday vs.

Saint Mary's. What's wrong that? On the surface, nothing. Almost any team would take that kind of mark and love to still be playing.

Scottie Reynolds comes off the bench to score a team-high 20 points as Villanova survives scare from Robert Morris in first-round action from the NCAA Tournament.