Dominic James

Marquette had lost its last four games, all to ranked opponents, since losing starting point guard Dominic James with a broken foot. Still, the 21st-ranked Golden Eagles (24-8), the fifth seed in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York, advanced into this afternoon's quarterfinals against Villanova with a 74-45 win yesterday over No. 13 St. John's (16-17), which had eliminated No. 12 Georgetown on Tuesday. The 10th-ranked Wildcats (25-6) are the No. 4 seed.

NBA referees will be able to use instant replay on shot-clock and out-of-bounds calls this season. The NBA Board of Governors approved the expanded use yesterday. Referees will be permitted to check replay to see if the 24-second clock expired before a successful shot or a foul. They also can consult video during the last 2 minutes of regulation and any overtime period to determine which player last touched the ball before it went out of bounds. Noteworthy Boston Celtics forward Bill Walker had successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Eric Devendorf scored a season-high 20 points to help Syracuse upset No. 15 Marquette, 70-58, last night in Milwaukee. It was the first victory in four games against ranked teams this season for the Orange (12-4, 1-1 Big East). Marquette (13-4, 0-2) has lost its first two conference games for the first time in eight seasons under coach Tom Crean. Syracuse had only two field goals in the final 9 minutes of the game, but managed to keep pace with the Golden Eagles by going to the free-throw line and holding Marquette's offense in check.

"Must-win" is a don't-say term around Villanova. The Wildcats (18-8 overall, 6-6 conference) refuse to talk about tonight's Big East game at No. 12 Marquette (21-7, 8-5) as a necessary victory, but it could determine their future. "I wouldn't say it's a must-win, but at the same time we want to win," senior Curtis Sumpter said. "We're not saying we've got to win this game to make it to the tournament. We want to win this game for us. The guys understand what we have to do. " Villanova missed an opportunity to stake a claim in the NCAA tournament on Saturday when it lost, 58-55, to No. 14 Georgetown.

Jerel McNeal had a season-high 27 points and Wesley Matthews made some key baskets down the stretch last night to lead No. 8 Marquette to a 71-64 victory over host Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish's fourth straight loss. It was the second loss in a row at home for the Fighting Irish (12-7, 3-5 Big East), who had won 45 straight at the Joyce Center until losing Saturday to No. 2 Connecticut. Matthews had 16 points and Dominic James added 15 for the Golden Eagles (18-2, 7-0), who have won 10 straight.

Jesus Verdejo scored 21 points and Dominique Jones made a driving layup to put South Florida ahead with 15.9 seconds to go, and the host Bulls held on last night for a 57-56 victory over No. 8 Marquette. USF's first win over an opponent ranked in the top 10 snapped Marquette's 12-game winning streak and left the Big East without an unbeaten team in conference play. The Bulls (8-14, 3-7) led by as many as 10, but needed nine points from Verdejo in a five-minute span of the second half to keep the Eagles (20-3, 9-1)

Alando Tucker scored a season-high 28 points and No. 11 Wisconsin withstood a late rally to beat No. 17 Marquette, 70-66, yesterday. "He was on," Marquette guard Wesley Matthews said of Tucker. "He was feeling it, and he had his way. " The game was the 113th meeting of the two teams, but the first matchup in which both were ranked in the top 20. Wisconsin (9-1) led its in-state rival by 10 points with 3 minutes, 55 seconds remaining, but Jerel McNeal cut the lead to four with a steal and slam dunk.

Dominic James scored a season-high 25 points and led a late surge to help No. 13 Marquette beat No. 9 Duke, 73-62, last night in the championship game of the CBE Classic in Kansas City. With the game tied at 56 and 6:23 to go, James scored 10 points in a span of less than 2 1/2 minutes. He was fouled connecting on a fall-away jumper with 3:57 left, and after he made the free throw Marquette led, 67-58. James left the game with 2:04 to go, favoring his right ankle after crumpling to the floor, but returned with 50.8 seconds left, with the game well in hand, after imploring coach Tom Crean to let him back in the game.

Jesus Verdejo scored 21 points and Dominique Jones made a driving layup to put South Florida ahead with 15.9 seconds to go, and the Bulls held on last night for a 57-56 victory over No. 8 Marquette in Tampa, Fla. USF's first win over an opponent ranked in the top 10 snapped Marquette's 12-game winning streak and left the Big East without an unbeaten team in conference play. The Bulls (8-14, 3-7) led by as many as 10, but needed nine points from Verdejo in a five-minute span of the second half to keep the Eagles (20-3, 9-1)

For the first time since Dominic James broke his left foot and saw his senior season come to an early end, Marquette won. And the Golden Eagles snapped the four-game losing streak looking a lot like they did when James was running the show. "We were much better than we had been in the previous four games from a defensive perspective," first-year coach Buzz Williams said after No.21 Marquette (24-8) held St. John's (16-17) to a Big East tournament-record 10 points in the first half on the way to a second-round 74-45 victory yesterday at New York's Madison Square Garden.

NBA referees will be able to use instant replay on shot-clock and out-of-bounds calls this season. The NBA Board of Governors approved the expanded use yesterday. Referees will be permitted to check replay to see if the 24-second clock expired before a successful shot or a foul. They also can consult video during the last 2 minutes of regulation and any overtime period to determine which player last touched the ball before it went out of bounds. Noteworthy Boston Celtics forward Bill Walker had successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

For the first time since Dominic James broke his left foot and saw his senior season come to an early end, Marquette won. And the Golden Eagles snapped the four-game losing streak looking a lot like they did when James was running the show. "We were much better than we had been in the previous four games from a defensive perspective," first-year coach Buzz Williams said after No.21 Marquette (24-8) held St. John's (16-17) to a Big East tournament-record 10 points in the first half on the way to a second-round 74-45 victory yesterday at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Marquette had lost its last four games, all to ranked opponents, since losing starting point guard Dominic James with a broken foot. Still, the 21st-ranked Golden Eagles (24-8), the fifth seed in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York, advanced into this afternoon's quarterfinals against Villanova with a 74-45 win yesterday over No. 13 St. John's (16-17), which had eliminated No. 12 Georgetown on Tuesday. The 10th-ranked Wildcats (25-6) are the No. 4 seed.

With one week left in the Big East regular season, Villanova has put itself in a position for a top-four finish that would entitle the Wildcats to take the first two days off from the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. The top four teams at the end of the grueling 18-game test receive byes through the tournament's first two rounds, meaning any of them would need just three wins to capture the championship. Currently, the Wildcats are in fifth place in the conference at 11-4 with three games left to play.

Jesus Verdejo scored 21 points and Dominique Jones made a driving layup to put South Florida ahead with 15.9 seconds to go, and the host Bulls held on last night for a 57-56 victory over No. 8 Marquette. USF's first win over an opponent ranked in the top 10 snapped Marquette's 12-game winning streak and left the Big East without an unbeaten team in conference play. The Bulls (8-14, 3-7) led by as many as 10, but needed nine points from Verdejo in a five-minute span of the second half to keep the Eagles (20-3, 9-1)

Jesus Verdejo scored 21 points and Dominique Jones made a driving layup to put South Florida ahead with 15.9 seconds to go, and the Bulls held on last night for a 57-56 victory over No. 8 Marquette in Tampa, Fla. USF's first win over an opponent ranked in the top 10 snapped Marquette's 12-game winning streak and left the Big East without an unbeaten team in conference play. The Bulls (8-14, 3-7) led by as many as 10, but needed nine points from Verdejo in a five-minute span of the second half to keep the Eagles (20-3, 9-1)

Jerel McNeal had a season-high 27 points and Wesley Matthews made some key baskets down the stretch last night to lead No. 8 Marquette to a 71-64 victory over host Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish's fourth straight loss. It was the second loss in a row at home for the Fighting Irish (12-7, 3-5 Big East), who had won 45 straight at the Joyce Center until losing Saturday to No. 2 Connecticut. Matthews had 16 points and Dominic James added 15 for the Golden Eagles (18-2, 7-0), who have won 10 straight.

The bell sounded yesterday for Villanova to step up its play against a Big East opponent, but Marquette met the challenge with three experienced guards who made the teams' conference opener a rocky one for the Wildcats. The Golden Eagles' senior trio of Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James controlled the second half, repelled a 'Nova rally, and helped their team to a 79-72 victory over the 15th-ranked Wildcats at the Bradley Center. The Cats (12-2) couldn't quite figure out how to defend the guards.

"Must-win" is a don't-say term around Villanova. The Wildcats (18-8 overall, 6-6 conference) refuse to talk about tonight's Big East game at No. 12 Marquette (21-7, 8-5) as a necessary victory, but it could determine their future. "I wouldn't say it's a must-win, but at the same time we want to win," senior Curtis Sumpter said. "We're not saying we've got to win this game to make it to the tournament. We want to win this game for us. The guys understand what we have to do. " Villanova missed an opportunity to stake a claim in the NCAA tournament on Saturday when it lost, 58-55, to No. 14 Georgetown.

Marquette broke one of Connecticut's big streaks, and, more importantly, the Golden Eagles ended one of their own. Ousman Barro had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Marquette used a 16-2 second-half run to beat No. 24 Connecticut 73-69 last night, snapping the Huskies' 31-game home winning streak. Jerel McNeal had 19 points and Dominic James added 17 for the Golden Eagles (14-4, 1-2 Big East), who lost their previous two games by an average of 13.5 points. "This was a great get-better, stay-together game for us," Marquette coach Tom Crean said.