BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament. Now, the seventh-seeded Huskies are off to the East Regional semifinals in New York City to see how much more bracket busting they can do a year after being barred from the post-season because of academic sanctions. Second-seeded Villanova became the highest seed to fall so far after Napier scored 25 points in leading UConn to a 77-65 victory Saturday night. The win came on the heels of another upset in Buffalo, where Dayton, the 11th seed in the South, beat third-seeded Syracuse 55-53. "I guess it means something to you guys but at the end of the day, just because theyre No. 2 and were No. 7, they dont get extra points to start the game off," Napier said. "Everybodys the same." UConn was better thanks to Napier, who scored 24 points two days earlier in an 89-81 overtime win against Philadelphias other tournament entry, Saint Josephs. Napier had 21 points in the second half and helped put the game away by hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Huskies a 54-45 lead with 6:08 remaining. The star guard was limited to 8 minutes in the first half by foul trouble, and he avoided a major scare when he briefly left the game after hurting his right shin with 4:01 left. "The pain was excruciating. I couldnt put any pressure on it," Napier said. "Our trainer told me to mentally stay strong. ... He put that Bio-freeze on it, and I was ready to go." The freeze didnt cool him down once Napier returned after missing only about 40 seconds of action. Holding the ball atop the 3-point arc, he blew past a defender while driving into the paint and flipped in an underhanded reverse high off the backboard to put UConn ahead 60-51 with 2:19 remaining. Lasan Kromah scored 12 points for the Huskies, while DeAndre Daniels, Ryan Boatright and Terrence Samuel each had 11. Connecticut (28-8) advanced to face the winner of Sundays game between third-seeded Iowa State and No. 6 seed North Carolina. "Its unbelievable," UConn athletic director Warde Manuel said. "Its extra special, given what this team went through last year. Extra special." Manuel was referring to the academic sanctions that essentially rendered the Huskies 20-10 finish meaningless last year in Kevin Ollies first season as coach. Ollie has improved to 2-0 in his tournament debut, two years since taking over after Jim Calhoun stepped down because of health issues. Ryan Arcidiacono scored 18 points for Villanova (29-5) in a matchup of former Big East rivals. James Bell had 14 and Darrun Hilliard added 13. "Certainly a tough way to end the season," Wildcats coach Jay Wright said. "I didnt want to let this put a damper on what this group has done all year." Villanova fell one win short of matching the school record set in 2009, when the Wildcats lost to North Carolina in the national semifinals. Napiers performance played a significant role. "He was just awesome," Wright said. "There was a period where he hit three 3s, and it just created a separation." Wright was referring to a surge during which UConn took control in a span of 1:32 as Napier made three consecutive 3-pointers to build a 51-40 advantage. Kromah started it and Napier struck a pose for the cameras after hitting the second 3 with 8:59 left. "He led us to victory," Ollie said. "He was just unbelievable in that second half: 21 points, crucial 3s, dagger 3s. He was 30 feet out and he was making them." The Huskies are marching on to Madison Square Garden in their first season as members of the American Athletic Conference after the Big East was realigned following a series of defections. Villanova remained a Big East holdover, but wound up being bounced by a familiar foe. The teams traded leads four times in the opening 5:25 of the second half, with Daniels putting UConn ahead for good, 37-36, with a layup. Poor shooting continued to haunt the Wildcats, who were coming off a 75-53 win over Milwaukee on Thursday. After hitting five of their first eight attempts through the first 6:11, the Wildcats closed the half going 2 of 15. Their offence went stone cold after Hilliard hit a 3 to put them up 19-9 with 11:30 left. Villanova went 11:24 without a field goal, missing 10 straight shots before Arcidiacono hit a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left in the first half that cut the Huskies lead to 25-24. Villanova was down 42-36 with 11:48 left when Hilliard drove into an opening on the right wing and, as he went up to shoot, the ball slipped out of his hands and bounced out of bounds. Matt Judon Jersey .C. -- Eric Staal kept his focus after his apparent breakaway goal was waived off early in the third period. Joe Flacco Jersey . The 23-year-old Poland international is back as first choice at Arsenal after losing his regular spot in the team on occasions over the last three seasons. http://www.officialbaltimoreravensfootba...h-jersey-womens. -- Augusta James of Bath, Ont. Justin Tucker Jersey . Less than 24 hours after the Wolves lost at home to the Mavericks, 100-98, NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced Tuesday that Kevin Love was fouled on his right arm by Shawn Marion in the closing seconds and should have been awarded two free throws. Morgan Cox Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 3pm et/Noon pt. The Thunder reclaimed the home-court advantage LA took with a Game 1 win on Friday night with a 118-112 road win in Game 3. SOCHI — Carey Price will play in goal for Team Canada in its Olympic opener against Norway on Thursday, while Roberto Luongo will get the call against Austria on Friday. Its up the two of them to determine which goalie will start against Finland on Sunday. Canadian mens head coach Mike Babcock said there was no reason for his decision. Babcock informed his goalies, including the teams third goalie, Mike Smith, of the decision in face-to-face meetings on Wednesday morning. "Im really thrilled and ready to go," Price said. "Our preparations have been really good so far. All three of knew that if we were called upon, wed be ready to get in there." Price enters the Olympics on a roll. He won his final three starts with the Montreal Canadiens before the break, stopping 100 of 103 shots, including a 5-2 victory over Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks in Montreal on Feb. 6. Luongo and the Canucks, meanwhile, have struggled with seven straight losses. Luongo has been in goal for five of those defeats and has won only three of his last 10 starts. The Canucks netminder was in goal when Canada won gold in Vancouver four years ago. "Oh, it didnt matter," said Luongo, when asked about the decision to start with Price. "I think right now its just focusing on Norway, thats the first challenge for our team. Ive got to be ready, you never know what can happen in the gaame.dddddddddddd I dont want to look too far ahead right now. I just want to focus on tomorrow, making sure that as a group, not only myself, that were ready to play." Price was asked to look down the road to possibly getting the start against Finland "All Im concerned about is our game tomorrow," he said. "Thats all that matters." Because of Canadas roster size, Smith will be joined on the sidelines by a defenceman and forward. But Babcock would not divulge who the two scratches will be. Canada practiced for the third time and once again kept their lines the same as they prepare to open the competition on Thursday. Here are Wednesdays practice lines with extra players in parenthesis: FORWARDS Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Jeff CarterPatrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews - Rick NashPatrick Marleau - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey PerryJamie Benn - John Tavares - Patrice Bergeron(Martin St. Louis, Matt Duchene) DEFENCE Duncan Keith - Shea WeberJay Bouwmeester - Alex PietrangeloMarc-Edouard Vlasic - Drew Doughty(P.K. Subban, Dan Hamhuis) Team Canada also practiced 5-on-3 on Wednesday with Crosby, Kunitz and Perry up front with Getzlaf and Weber on the point of the first unit and Carter, Tavares and Marleau up front with Keith and Doughty on the point of the second unit. 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