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Big East Roundup: Wild week for Wildcats
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Ryan Arcidiacono took the inbounds, heaved the ball and ducked.
Hundreds of Villanova students trampled the court like a bull rush and the game-saving point guard was the target.
One overzealous fan tried to strip him of his No. 15 jersey.
Hey, it's not every day the Wildcats knock off a top-five team -- though they certainly are trying.
Arcidiacono hit the tying 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in regulation, and James Bell hit consecutive 3s in overtime to send Villanova (13-7, 4-3) to its second win against a top-five team this week, 75-71 against No. 3 Syracuse (18-2, 6-1) Saturday in a Big East Conference game at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The Wildcats defeated No. 5 Louisville, 73-64, Tuesday and became the first unranked team to beat two top-five teams in the same season since Florida State in 2011-12, according to STATS LLC.
"What a week for us," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
What an understatement.
Philadelphia's college fans came down with a case of court-storming fever this week after Villanova's win against Louisville and La Salle's 54-53 win the following night against No. 9 Butler. At the Wells Fargo Center, home of the NHL's Flyers, the fans made it a Philadelphia hoops hat trick, rushing the court in celebration of perhaps the biggest regular-season week in Villanova history.
Talk about upset city!
Bell missed a 3 and Mouphtaou Yarou grabbed the offensive rebound. Syracuse decided not to foul, giving Yarou time to kick it out to Arcidiacono. He let go a leaner from just beyond the 3-point line to tie the score at 61-61, force overtime and send the crowd of 18,273 into a frenzy.
Other games
• Georgetown 53, Louisville 51: Otto Porter had 17 points and grabbed the decisive rebound with 1.4 seconds to play as host Georgetown (14-4, 4-3) handed No. 5 Louisville (16-4, 4-3) its third consecutive loss. Trailing by one, Louisville had several chances to take the lead in the final two minutes. After getting the ball back on a disputed held ball ruling, the Cardinals kept the ball for a final shot. Peyton Siva, who didn't score in the game, missed the jumper, Porter grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
• Notre Dame 73, South Florida 65: Jerian Grant scored 18 points and Tom Knight had 17 for No. 24 Notre Dame (16-4, 4-3) in a victory against host South Florida (10-9, 1-6).
• Marquette 81, Providence 71: Vander Blue scored 13 points to lead Marquette (14-4, 5-1) to a victory against visiting Providence (10-10, 2-6).
First Published January 27, 2013 12:00 am
