Returning to his hometown, freshman Acaden Lewis scored a career-high 26 points to propel Villanova to an 80-73 Big East Conference victory over Georgetown on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

Duke Brennan put up 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (18-5, 9-3 Big East) who won their third straight and completed a regular season sweep of the Hoyas.

Tyler Perkins added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Malachi Palmer scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Villanova which trailed by six points early in the second half before rallying for the victory.

Lewis fueled the comeback with 17 of his points coming in the final 11 minutes. His consecutive 3-pointers just 47 seconds apart gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game 77-69 with 1:46 left.

Lewis’ performance helped compensate for subpar showing by Villanova’s top scorer Bryce Lindsay, who missed all eight of his shots, while going 0 of 6 from 3-point range as he failed to score for the first time in two seasons.

Malik Mack scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half for the Hoyas (13-11, 5-8) who were gunning for their fifth straight conference win, a feat they had not accomplished since 2013.

Vince Iwuchukwu came off the bench, adding 15 points with 12 rebounds and KJ Lewis added 13 points for Georgetown, which committed 14 turnovers and were outscored off turnovers 23-3.

Early in the second half, Villanova started a 17-4 run which was ignited by a pair of 3-pointers by Palmer. Perkins added a triple and a jumper from the paint as the Wildcats surged to a 61-54 lead with 10:21 left.

A 3-pointer by Mack with 5:41 tied it 64-all. A slam by Iwuchukwu tied it again at 66-66, before Lewis answered with all but one of the points in an 11-3 spurt which put Villanova in command for good.

Georgetown led through most of the first half but never by more than six points. Villanova gained a pair of one-point advantages, but both were brief as they went into halftime down 40-37.

After Villanova opened the second half with 3-pointers from Matt Hodge and Perkins to take a 43-40 lead, Georgetown answered with a 10-1 run.

The spree was bookended by 3-pointers from Caleb Williams and Mack as the Hoyas grabbed a 50-44 advantage.

– Field Level Media

Efficient shooting and ball security have boosted Iowa to a five-game winning streak entering Sunday’s game against Northwestern in Iowa City, Iowa.

A road trip to Oregon and Washington last week showcased the trends anew, as the Hawkeyes combined to shoot 59.3% with only nine turnovers.

“We’ve got unselfish kids,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said. “We’ve been working on it constantly. Just our drive to the basket reads and coming to stops and attacking when we don’t have a ball screen — those kind of things.”

Iowa (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) is looking for its 11th straight home win against Northwestern. To get there, the Hawkeyes figure to be reliant on top scorers Bennett Stirtz (19.2 points per game), Tavion Banks and Alvaro Folgueiras while reading and reacting to create opportunities for the rest of the rotation.

“We’re just taking what the defense gives us,” Stirtz said. “Sometimes, they take away (Folgueiras). Sometimes, they take away the pocket. Sometimes, they take away me or the shooter. So it’s different every game because we see a lot of different coverages. But it’s the coaches’ job to put us in the right positions and just us adapting.”

Northwestern (10-13, 2-10) will aim to be more competitive than its most recent game as the Wildcats conclude a two-game road trip. Fifth-ranked Illinois thumped the Wildcats 84-44 on Wednesday, limiting Northwestern to 29.2% shooting that included a 4-for-25 effort from long range.

“Right now, we’re struggling. We’re playing a lot of young kids that aren’t really ready for this level right now,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said. “Sometimes, you’ve got to take some lumps and go through it to figure things out.”

Collins is calling on newcomers including Tyler Kropp, Tre Singleton and Jake West — all freshmen who started against Illinois — to be more resilient, especially in games when the team slumps from the floor from the outset.

Wednesday’s contest fit that bill.

With Big Ten leading scorer Nick Martinelli limited to four points amid swarming defense from the Illini, Collins pledged to help Martinelli “get his pop and verve back.”

“The last couple games, I’ve felt like he’s played a little bit tired, and that’s on us,” Collins added. “We can help. And we need some of those guys to help him, too, because he’s seeing two and three guys on every possession.”

–Field Level Media

Sananda Fru scored 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting to lead No. 24 Louisville, which extended its winning streak to three Saturday by beating a pesky Wake Forest squad 88-80 in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Cardinals (17-6, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) never trailed as they feasted against one of the ACC’s poorer defensive teams, shooting 52.9% (27 of 51) against the Demon Deacons (11-12, 2-8). However, Wake Forest battled back from a 15-point deficit four minutes into the second half to tie it twice.

Juke Harris scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half to lead the Demon Deacons, who lost their fifth straight contest. The sophomore also pulled down 11 rebounds but missed his last five shots from the field.

Fru, a 6-foot-11 junior, was one of six Cardinals to score in double figures. J’Vonne Hadley finished with 15 points, and Khani Rooths added 13. Mikel Brown Jr. made six free throws in the final 5:06 as part of a 12-point, eight-assist game for the freshman point guard.

Louisville listed Hadley, who left Wednesday’s game against Notre Dame after just three minutes due to a back injury, as a game-time decision Saturday. The sixth-year guard started and scored Louisville’s first five points.

He also scored six points in 33 seconds to give the Cardinals a 54-39 lead, their biggest in the game, with 15:56 remaining.

Hadley made five of his seven shots.

Louisville also made 40% (10 of 25) of its 3-pointers. Isaac McKneely made three of his four, and Ryan Conwell hit two of his four. Both scored 11 points.

The Demon Deacons, however, shot 14 of 21 over an 11-minute stretch. A pair of Sebastian Akins free throws tied the game at 80 with 4:44 remaining. However, Wake Forest missed their last 11 shots, allowing Louisville to pull away by making 10 of its 12 free throws in the final 5:06.

Omaha Biliew added 14 points off the bench for the Demon Deacons, who also got 12 points from Akins and 10 from Myles Colvin.

–Field Level Media