College Basketball Tight Finishes
February 17 college games featured multiple overtime thrillers, including Villanova's 92-89 OT win over Xavier. Other close results included N Illinois 72-70 over Buffalo and Kent State 78-71 over Bowling Green as teams battle for conference tournament seeding.
- Villanova's victory improved their overall record to 21-5 and their Big East conference record to 12-3. Acaden Lewis led the Wildcats with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals. - Xavier's Tre Carroll recorded a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort. A layup by Carroll with four seconds left in regulation tied the game to force overtime. - Bryce Lindsay's three-pointer with 2:49 remaining in overtime gave Villanova the lead for good. The win was Villanova's eighth on the road for the season, against just two losses. - In the Mid-American Conference, Kent State's win over Bowling Green clinched a berth for the Golden Flashes in the 2026 MAC Tournament. The victory was Kent State's 14th consecutive win against Bowling Green. - The Kent State vs. Bowling Green game was a foul-heavy contest, with a total of 55 fouls called and 76 free throws attempted between the two teams. Three starters for Bowling Green fouled out of the game. - Morgan Safford was the leading scorer for Kent State with 27 points, while Javontae Campbell led Bowling Green with 22 points. - Northern Illinois's win over Buffalo came down to the final possession. The Huskies' victory was an upset on the road, as they entered the game with a 9-16 record compared to Buffalo's 15-11 record. - Angelo Brizzi of Buffalo led all scorers in that game with 25 points, while teammate Ryan Sabol contributed 24 points, including six three-pointers.
