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Villanova pushing for No. 1 in polls

Duke could be the only team standing between Villanova and the No. 1 ranking this week.

Randy Foye scored 22 points, Allan Ray had 20 and the starters scored every point in the fourth-ranked Wildcats' 10th straight victory, a 75-65 win over No. 17 Georgetown on Sunday.

Last Monday, the Wildcats beat top-ranked Connecticut and likely knocked the Huskies from their spot in the next AP poll.

"Being No. 1 in the country would definitely be a great accomplishment for the school and the fans and everyone," Ray said.

The Wildcats (21-2, 11-1 Big East), who also opened the season with 10 straight wins, have two such streaks in the same season for the first time in school history. They have also won 17 of their last 18 Big East games to move into first place in the conference, a game ahead of UConn.

Villanova is now one win away from matching the best start in school history, set in 1937-38, and coach Jay Wright told his players to ignore the distractions, including talk about the No. 1 ranking.

"We hear it all the time, so you think about it because everybody talks about it around here," Wright said. "We spend all our time with each other talking about, `Forget about it.' It's such a mythical thing and everybody talks about it."

No. 2 Duke did its part to claim the top ranking, as J.J. Redick scored 30 points to break Johnny Dawkins' school record and help the Blue Devils beat Miami 92-71.

Redick finished 10-for-15 from the field and hit six 3-pointers for the Blue Devils (25-1, 13-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), passing Dawkins, now an assistant coach at Duke, by one point on the career list with 2,557 points.

Just like the Huskies, the Hoyas (17-7, 8-5) boasted a big front line that could have caused Villanova trouble. No matter. Kyle Lowry picked it apart with five straight points late in the second half that helped turn a two-point lead into a comfortable margin in about 11/2 minutes.

Even with a size advantage at nearly every position, visiting Georgetown was outrebounded 31-30 while losing its third straight.

Roy Hibbert led the Hoyas with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Ashanti Cook had 16 points and Jeff Green 15. Brandon Bowman, who averaged a team-high 11.9 points, was held to four.

"Where we are right now, we need everyone to play well to win," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "Hopefully in a couple of years, we won't need everyone to play well to win."

At Durham, N.C., Redick said he felt blessed to set the record. He also sounded relieved to move forward after weeks of hearing fans count down his pursuit of history or scream for him to shoot practically every time he touched the ball.

"I've tried to stay focused on the team all year, but these last two games as they've approached it's been tough," Redick said. "It is nice to take care of the record and get back to focusing on the team, which is the most important thing."

It was just the latest in a growing list of milestones for Redick.

He set the NCAA record for career 3-pointers in Tuesday's win against Wake Forest, and followed that with his school-record 13th 30-point game of the season.

Shelden Williams added 17 points and 15 rebounds for Duke, which was ranked No. 1 through the first 11 polls before falling to No. 2 with a loss at Georgetown on Jan. 21. The Blue Devils have won eight straight since.

JamesOn Curry scored 22 points as host Oklahoma State rebounded in impressive fashion following the chaos surrounding coach Eddie Sutton.Fans stormed the court after the win, the Cowboys' second this season against a ranked opponent. Oklahoma State (14-12, 4-8 Big 12) had lost seven of its previous eight games, but gave Sutton his 795th career win.As the clock wound down, Oklahoma State interim coach Sean Sutton — Eddie Sutton's son — worked his way down the bench, hugging his players. It was the third game that Sean Sutton guided the team.

James Augustine scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Illinois (22-4, 8-4 Big Ten) over visiting Indiana in Mike Davis' first game since announcing he would quit as the Hoosiers' coach after the season.Augustine was 7-of-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He had four dunks on his way to his ninth double-double of the season.Indiana (13-10, 5-7) lost its fifth straight, and seventh of its last eight.

At Winston-Salem, N.C., Reyshawn Terry had 24 points, Tyler Hansbrough added 17 and North Carolina gave Wake Forest its eighth ACC loss in a row.David Noel finished with 13 points despite foul trouble and Danny Green scored 10 for the Tar Heels (17-6, 8-4), who improved to 5-1 on the road in the conference.Justin Gray needed 22 shots to get 20 points for the Demon Deacons (13-13, 1-11), and Eric Williams had 15 of his 19 points in the first half.

At Los Angeles, Nick Young had 15 points and six rebounds, reserve Dwayne Shackleford scored all 12 of his points in the second half, and short-handed Southern California upset No. 15 UCLA.Lodrick Stewart scored 13 points, Ryan Francis had 12, and Abdoulaye Ndiaye added 10 for the Trojans (16-9, 7-7), who snapped a season-high three-game losing streak.Jordan Farmar had 21 points and five assists, Arron Afflalo scored 19 points, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Bruins (20-6, 10-4).

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