Villanova a No. 1 seed at the moment

VILLANOVA PLAYED as well in February as any team in the country. In the first few hours of March, across the country in Spokane, Wash., BYU ended Gonzaga's 41-game homecourt winning streak and put the streaking Wildcats squarely in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

If the selections had been yesterday instead of 2 weeks from yesterday, the Wildcats very likely would have been on the 1 line with Kentucky, Virginia and Duke. It is clear the Wildcats will open NCAA play at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on March 19, regardless of what else happens. What is less clear is where the 'Cats would play the regional rounds if they win two games.

Kentucky is going to play in the Cleveland regional, which leaves Syracuse, Houston and Los Angeles. The higher seeds are given site preference, but, with potentially three Eastern teams on the top line, only one can go to Syracuse. The committee will rank the teams 1 through 68. Again, if the selections were today, the top four in order would likely be Kentucky, Virginia, Duke and Villanova. Which means Virginia would go to Syracuse, Duke to Houston and Villanova to Los Angeles.

But much can and will still happen. UK is locked into Cleveland, no matter what. Duke or Virginia has to lose at least once more because they will both be in the ACC Tournament. So, if Villanova wins at Creighton tomorrow, at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday against St. John's and then wins the Big East Tournament next week in New York, the Wildcats likely will move even higher on the 1 line.

Wisconsin and Arizona are most likely just behind Villanova in the overall rankings. Villanova's overall resumé is a bit better and those two have far tougher roads to the finish line.

After overcoming a nine-point, early second-half deficit at Xavier on Saturday to win, 78-66, the 'Cats (27-2, 14-2 Big East) have won 10 straight. It is not just that they are winning; it is how they are winning. Most of the games have not been close.

Xavier (18-12, 8-9) seemed in control at the half after shooting 16-for-27, and 7-for-13 from the arc. Villanova very calmly and decisively owned the second half, holding "X" to just 8-for-25 shooting and 1-for-9 from three while running its incredibly efficient offense to perfection.

Darrun Hilliard had a rare off day, but it did not matter. Starters Dylan Ennis and Ryan Arcidiacono had 16 and 15 points, respectively. Kris Jenkins came off the bench to hit four treys and score 14 points. And freshman Phil Booth, getting major late-game run, was the coolest guy in the Cintas Center, scoring eight points and making one smart play after another.

The Wildcats, who won their second consecutive Big East regular-season title, had just nine turnovers in one of the league's tougher environments. They shot 13-for-29 from the arc, continuing a monthlong shooting display that is quite incredible. In February, they shot 91-for-198 (46 percent) from the arc, the equivalent of 69 percent on two-point shots. They have made 10 or more threes in 11 of 16 league games. They scored 1.24 points per possession against Xavier and are third nationally in offensive efficiency behind Wisconsin and Duke.

Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said the worst thing about the most recent injuries was that he had no time to change tactics and get his team ready to play. Well, the coach had exactly 41 hours and a bus ride to Williamsburg, Va., to get his team ready to play William & Mary, arguably the most talented team in the CAA.

Using only six players, with four playing all 40 minutes, Drexel played a near-perfect game, overwhelming W&M, 80-66. It had to be one of the great wins of Flint's coaching career.

Senior Freddie Wilson had a career-best 24 points, Tavon Allen a season-best 22 and Rodney Williams a career-best 18 as Drexel (11-19, 9-9 CAA) shot 24-for-49 (49 percent), 11-for-21 from the arc and 21-for-26 from the foul line while committing just four turnovers. The Dragons scored an unreal 1.43 points per possession on the road against a really good team.

No star Damion Lee, no top sub Sammy Mojica, really no chance on paper. They played this game on the court, however, and Drexel found a way to a victory that was as improbable as it was memorable.

The Dragons open CAA Tournament play Friday night (8:30) in Baltimore as the No. 7 seed against No. 10 College of Charleston. If they win, they would play No. 2 seed UNCW at 6 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals.

St. Joe's looked out of it against Richmond at Hagan Arena, trailing 43-29 with 15 minutes left. The Hawks came all the way back to tie the score at 54 with 3 minutes left, but could not get the lead and eventually lost, 63-57.

The Hawks (12-16, 6-10 Atlantic 10) shot just 3-for-17 from the arc and, in a low-possession game, had 14 turnovers. Still, behind 15 points off the bench from Aaron Brown and despite a bad shooting night from star DeAndre' Bembry (3-for-14, six points, 12 rebounds), SJU actually had a chance - until it didn't. Richmond (17-12, 10-6) made the big shots and winning plays in the final minutes.

La Salle senior big men Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack were terrific against Rhode Island at Gola Arena. They did not have nearly enough help.

La Salle (15-14, 7-9 A-10) trailed 41-26 early in the second half. They closed to 53-52 with 6 minutes left and had two chances to lead and two to tie. They converted none and lost, 59-56.

Wright had 23 points and eight rebounds, Zack 13 and eight. It was almost enough against URI (20-7, 12-4), but La Salle scorers Jordan Price and Cleon Roberts combined to shoot 1-for-15 and 0-for-9 from three. The teams combined to shoot 5-for-27 from the arc and 24-for-44 from the foul line.

Penn led at Yale for 37 minutes. Yale did not get the lead until barely 2 minutes were left, but once the Bulldogs got it they did not give it up, winning 55-50.

Penn (7-18, 2-9) has lost seven straight. If you want to be optimistic, consider that Penn outplayed one of the league's two best teams most of the way with freshmen scoring 30 points. Penn had just nine turnovers, but, after finally giving up the lead, finished by shooting just 1-for-6 (all threes) and 0-for-3 from the foul line. Again, for the optimists, the Quakers lost to Yale and Brown by a combined 41 points at home earlier in the month and just 11 on the road at the end of the month. They finish with three games at home - Columbia, Cornell and Princeton, Friday, Saturday and Tuesday.

Yale (21-8, 10-2) plays at Harvard (also 10-2 in the league) Friday with the Ivy title on the line. Penn, last in the league, is just trying to play better.