The Gavitt Tipoff Games began Monday night with No. 3/3 Villanova grabbing a 79-76 road victory against No. 15/15 Purdue in front of 14,804 frenzied fans at Mackey Arena. Josh Hart scored a game-high 24 points and Darryl Reynolds added 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Villanova win capped a 5-0 night for BIG EAST teams. The league is a collective 15-0 in the young season.
No. 11/10 Xavier handled a Buffalo team that has played in the last two NCAA Tournaments by an 86-53 score. The Musketeers’ scoring punch came from guards J.