Hayward, No. 16 Golden Eagles down Wildcats

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/20/2007 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazar Hayward scored a career-high 18 points, and the 16th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles topped the Villanova Wildcats, 80-67.

Dominic James also scored 18 points for Marquette (22-7, 9-5 Big East), which rebounded nicely from an agonizing last-second loss to Louisville on Saturday, and snapped a three-game losing streak with the win. Wesley Matthews scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Marquette, and Jerel McNeal finished with 15 points and seven boards.

Scottie Reynolds scored 25 points for Villanova (18-9, 6-7), which has now lost two straight after a four-game winning streak. Curtis Sumpter scored 14 points, and Mike Nardi added 10 points for the Wildcats.

A Nardi three pulled 'Nova to within 68-62 with 2:43 left, but the Wildcats could not cut any further into the Marquette lead. Marquette outscored 'Nova 12-5 down the stretch to seal the much-needed win.

With the game seemingly headed for another down-to-the-wire finish, Marquette took control with a 12-3 stretch midway through the second half. A Will Sheridan jumper for 'Nova tied the game at 41 with 15:51 left, but Marquette responded with a run to pull away. A James three and a Hayward layup closed the stretch, pushing the Marquette lead to 53-44 with 10:16 left.

Reynolds led the 'Nova offense in the first half, netting 16 points before the break, and the freshman guard led a surge midway through the half that vaulted the Wildcats to a nine-point lead. Trailing 12-10, Reynolds drilled back-to- back threes, followed by a Dante Cunningham layup, then Reynolds came back to hit another three followed by a two-point jumper. All told, Reynolds scored 11 points on a 13-2 Wildcats surge, and 'Nova led 23-14 with 10:55 left.

Hayward led the Golden Eagles back, though, and his 13 first-half points helped Marquette erase the early deficit. The Golden Eagles outscored 'Nova 19-10 down the stretch, and knotted the game at 33 by the intermission.

Game Notes

Marquette, which made only 64 percent of its free throws entering the game, made 31-of-35 (89 percent), led by Matthews, who made 12-of-12...'Nova's 18 turnovers were one short of its season high of 19.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.