Tyson Walker scored 12 of his 21 points inside the last four minutes to help Michigan State pull away and beat Minnesota 76-66 on Thursday night, giving coach Tom Izzo his 698th career win with the Spartans.

NEW YORK – Villanova is the pick to win the Big East again, according to the league's coaches. The Wildcats, who shared the regular-season title last year with Creighton and Seton Hall, received nine first-place votes on Wednesday. Creighton, led by preseason player of the year Marcus Zegarowski, was picked second. UConn, which returns to the conference after a seven-year absence, was predicted to come in fourth — just ahead of Seton Hall. The Golden Eagles are expecting big things out of first-year power forward Dawson Garcia, who was chosen as the preseason conference freshman of the year.