SMU stretched its homecourt winning streak to 29 games, the second-longest active streak in the country, on Wednesday night.
#rv/-- SMU 79, New Orleans 66
DALLAS (AP) -- Jimmy Whitt scored 19 points and dished eight assists, leading five players into double-figure scoring as SMU continued its home court dominance, turning away New Orleans, 79-66 on Wednesday night.
The victory makes the Mustangs 7-0 at home this season and pushes their home win streak to 29 games, the second-longest active streak in the nation. SMU (8-3) rebounded from a 94-83 loss at TCU, its third game against a ranked opponent this season after posting wins over then-No. 14 USC and a 66-60 win over then-No. 2 Arizona at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Jarrey Foster drilled a 3-pointer midway through the first half to push the SMU lead to double digits and the Mustangs maintained it the rest of the way. Ethan Chargois scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Foster added 14 points.
Bryson Robinson had 16 points for New Orleans (2-6), which remains winless on the road.
#1/1 Villanova 87, Temple 67
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Jalen Brunson helped Villanova continue its remarkable reign of Philadelphia.
Brunson had 22 of his career-high 31 points in No. 1 Villanova's dominating first half and Omari Spellman scored 27 to help lead the Wildcats to an 87-67 rout of Temple on Wednesday night.
"He was incredible," Villanova coach Jay Wright said of Brunson.
Donte DiVincenzo added 12 points for Villanova (11-0), which won its unprecedented 22nd straight Big 5 game.
The Wildcats, who moved into the top spot in the rankings for the third straight season this week, looked like the best team in the country in a dominating opening 20 minutes.
With his dad Rick -- a former Temple standout and current assistant coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves who played nine seasons in the NBA -- sitting two rows behind the Villanova bench, Brunson led the way.
The 6-foot-2 junior point guard made 8 of 10 shots, including 5 of 7 3-pointers, and added four assists while controlling the opening 20 minutes.
"I try to keep the same mindset, try to set the tone defensively and play my game, be aggressive, try to be a killer," Brunson said. "Today was one of those nights."
Brunson didn't know his dad was making the trip. Rick Brunson coached the host Timberwolves against the 76ers on Tuesday night and will fly home early Thursday morning for that night's game against the Kings. He's glad he squeezed in the trip to see his son.
"I thought he came out and set a tone and the rest of the team followed," Rick Brunson said. "As long as you compete, play hard and get a win, I'm happy."
Jalen Brunson added six rebounds and five assists and ended 11 for 16 from the field and 6 for 10 from beyond the arc in 38 turnover-free minutes.
The performance surely impressed Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown and Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons, who were among the sellout crowd of 10,206 at Temple.
Owls coach Fran Dunphy had high praise.
"He was just spectacular," Dunphy said. "He's just terrific, plays with a great pace, so smart, great toughness. His efficiency is ridiculous."
Quinton Rose scored 27 points for the Owls (6-3), who began the week No. 11 in the RPI rankings. It was the third straight season Temple played Villanova as a No. 1, and the Owls fell to 2-18 all-time against No. 1-ranked opponents.
The Temple student section was fired up in the pregame, hoping to help the Owls end Villanova's Philadelphia dominance, but the Wildcats gave them little for which to cheer.
"You can't make a mistake," Dunphy said. "When you do, they take great advantage of it."
The Wildcats scored the first seven points as Temple came out cold, missing its first five shots and committing three turnovers.
And Villanova went from there.
The Wildcats took their biggest lead of the half on DiVincenzo's 3-pointer that made it 25-5 with 11 minutes left before the break. And the lead reached 20 again on Brunson's 3-pointer that made it 28-8 44 seconds later.
Temple rallied by scoring the next 13 points over 3 1/2 minutes to pull within 28-21 on Josh Brown's jumper with 6:45 left before the break.
But Villanova continued making shots and Brunson, appropriately, finished the first-half scoring with a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left that gave the Wildcats a 46-29 lead.
Villanova shot 59 percent from the field and 50 percent from the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
LSU 80, #rv/rv Houston 77
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Aaron Epps scored a career-high 26 points and Tremont Waters blocked a game-tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds as LSU defeated Houston 80-77 on Wednesday night.
Epps, who also grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, put the Tigers (5-2) ahead by six points on a 3-point play with 57 seconds remaining. Rob Gray pulled the Cougars within three points at 80-77 on a 3-pointer less than 10 seconds later.
Following an LSU turnover, Houston (8-2) had a chance to tie it, but the 5-foot-11 Waters blocked Corey Davis Jr.'s 3-point attempt with six seconds to play. Devin Davis missed a long 3-point shot at the buzzer for the Cougars.
Waters had 17 points and six assists to go along with his first blocked shot of the season for the Tigers, who never trailed during the final 6 1/2 minutes. Mays had 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
Gray and Corey Davis Jr. scored 20 points apiece for Houston, whose winning streak ended at seven games. Devin Davis had 14 points.