BUFFALO, N. Jason Kidd Jersey .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. Adrian Dantley Jersey .S. routed Sweden 7-0 Sunday to win its fourth straight title and seventh overall under-18 world championship. Olson earned his third shutout of the tournament and the Americans allowed only four goals in six games to set an International Ice Hockey Federation under-18 record. Dallas Mavericks Store .J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals. https://www.cheapmavericks.com/463l-marquis-daniels-jersey-mavericks.html ." Bach is in Rome for the European Olympic Committees general assembly and meetings with Pope Francis. He also visited with Italian Premier Enrico Letta. "The prime minister appeared to be interested in a bid from Italy for 24, because he has realized that the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country," Bach told The Associated Press on Saturday.PITTSBURGH -- Matt Garza provided the edge, even if it ended his night early. The Milwaukee Brewers took it from there, tightening the NL wild-card race with a contentious 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Garza was ejected in the fifth inning after hitting reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen for a second time. The bullpen stepped in and kept the surging Pirates at bay with 4 1-3 shutout innings. The Brewers scored the games only run on when Elian Herrera sprinted home on Logan Schafers sacrifice fly off Mark Melancon (3-5) in the ninth. Milwaukee drew within 3 1/2 games of the Pirates for the last playoff spot with eight days left in the regular season by winning for just the second time in its last 13 road games. "We knew what we had to do and we know how things have been going," manager Ron Roenicke said. The Brewers celebrated loudly in the hallway leading to the clubhouse, the kind of fire thats been missing during their lengthy September swoon. Garza, however, stoked the fire with 4 2/3 strong innings. His work included two run-ins with McCutchen. Garza hit the Pittsburgh star centre fielder on the left shoulder in the third then grazed McCutchens elbow with the bases empty two innings later. Both plunkings came with two outs and the bases empty, hardly the kind of pitches meant to send a message. "If people think I hit McCutchen on purpose, with a 1-2 count in a game like this, then youre just an idiot," Garza said. Garza had hit just two batters in 158 innings coming in. McCutchen -- who went to the disabled list in August with fractured rib cartilage shortly after getting drilled while playing in Arizona -- figures Garza was just trying to work inside when the pitches got away from him. "He didnt try to hit me but he got it in and Im sure hes thinking its better he hit me than me hit him with a homer or double or something," McCutchen said. Zach Duke (5-1), a former All-Star with the Pirates, picked up the victory after getting the final out of the eighth. Francisco Rodriguez worked a perfect ninth for his 43rd save of the season and 347th of his career, moving him into a tie with Randy Myers for 10th on the all-time list. Herrera reachhed on a forceout off Melancon (3-5) in the ninth and moved to third on Lyle Overbays second double of the night. Steve Nash Jersey. Herrera scored when Schafers fly to left was just deep enough. The Pirates left 10 runners on base and went 0 for 8 with men in scoring position. "The pitchers were out there and kept putting up zeroes," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "We had some opportunities and couldnt push a run across and they got one late." Pittsburgh starter Edinson Volquez retaliated after the first plunking by throwing inside to Milwaukee star Ryan Braun, earning a warning to both benches, making Garzas ejection automatic even as he pled his case to home plate umpire Marty Foster. "He just told me, In this type of situation, my hands are tied," Garza said. "I said, Come on, you know it. Hes like, Yeah, I know and all three umpires over there are like, Youve got to understand the situation." Garzas unexpected departure forced the Brewers to rely on an already taxed bullpen that had blown games on Thursday and Friday. This time a string of six relievers stood firm after letting late leads slip away earlier in the week. The Pirates loaded the bases with one out in the eighth but Starling Marte lined to third and pinch-hitter Gaby Sanchez grounded out to short against Duke. Volquez lacked Garzas crispness early, needing 52 pitches to labour through the first three innings alone, but continued his remarkable bounce back season. The pitcher who went 9-12 with a 5.71 ERA a year ago while pitching for San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers lowered his ERA to 3.15 by keeping the Brewers off the scoreboard before exiting in the seventh.. UP NEXT Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (16-10, 3.70 ERA) makes his 31st start of the season on Sunday. He is 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA in four career starts against the Pirates, all of the starts coming at Miller Park. Pirates: RHP Vance Worley (7-4, 3.18 ERA) returns to the rotation after making a brief move to the bullpen when Charlie Morton was taken off the disabled list. Worley is 0-3 with a 5.48 ERA in four career starts against Milwaukee. He gave up four runs on 12 hits in a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee on Aug. 24. ' ' '