No. 1 Villanova Beats No. 23 Notre Dame, 74-66
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Josh Hart scored a career-high 37 points and No. 1 Villanova rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat No. 23 Notre Dame, 74-66, on Saturday at the Prudential Center.
Hart was the only Villanova (10-0) player to score double figures. He was 10 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 4 from behind the arc, and he made all 14 of his free throw attempts.
Matt Farrell and Steve Vasturia had 18 points each for Notre Dame (9-1), which entered the game as one of eight remaining Division I teams.
Villanova took its first lead of the game on a 57-56 after Eric Paschall blocked Vasturia's 3-pointer with 9:15 left. Hart assisted on a layup by Jalen Brunson at 9:09 to give the Wildcats the lead.
The teams exchanged the lead from there until Villanova pulled away in the final minute.
Farrell, a Bridgewater, New Jersey native, made his first six shots including a driving layup at the halftime buzzer that gave Notre Dame a 41-36 lead.
BIG PICTURE
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish were off to their best start of coach Mike Brey's tenure, which began in 2000-01.
Villanova: Dating to their national championship run last season, the Wildcats are tied for the longest winning streak in school history at 16 games. Villanova won 16 straight games in the second half of the 2014-15 season before losing to N.C. State in the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish get a week to rest before hosting No. 18 Purdue next Saturday night.
Villanova: The Wildcats will complete their circuit with the Big 5 when they host Philadelphia rival Temple on Tuesday night.
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