ROSEMONT, Ill. Corey Crawford Youth Jersey . -- Villanova worked the ball around until it found an open shot, all night long. Darrun Hilliard and Ryan Arcidiacono led the charge from outside, while JayVaughn Pinkston cleaned up the interior. It was all business for the sixth-ranked Wildcats. Now they can move on to their Big East showdown with Creighton. Hilliard scored 22 points, Pinkston had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Villanova beat DePaul 87-62 on Wednesday for its sixth straight win. The Wildcats made a season-high 15 3-pointers and had five players score in double figures in an efficient tuneup for Sundays game against the 18th-ranked Bluejays. James Bell had 16 points and Arcidiacono finished with 14, including four 3s. "We just want to get better throughout the year and play our best basketball at the end of the year," Hilliard said. Villanova (22-2, 10-1) opened a three-game trip with its eighth consecutive victory against DePaul. The Wildcats, who lost 96-68 to Creighton on Jan. 20, lead the Big East by one game over the idle Bluejays. Hilliard said his team was focused on lowly DePaul, even with the big game coming up this weekend, and coach Jay Wright had faith that the Wildcats would bring the right approach to the matchup with the Blue Demons. "I have great confidence in these guys," Wright said. "Its James Bell, Tony Chennault, Arcidiacono, are the leaders. I just constantly talk to them about just looking at one game at a time and they take care of it. As a coach you always worry about it a little bit but really, with this team, no." Brandon Young had a season-high 27 points for DePaul (10-15, 2-10), which has lost seven in a row. Sandi Marcius added 10 points and seven rebounds. "I didnt think that we played real well tonight but Villanova had everything to do with it," Blue Demons coach Oliver Purnell said. "Theyre playing at a high level. They shot the ball extremely well. " Villanova led 48-31 at halftime and then put it away with a 13-3 run to begin the second half. Daniel Ochefu found Bell for a strong alley-oop dunk and Hilliard made a 3-pointer to make it 61-34 with 16:14 to go, leading to a timeout for DePaul. The Wildcats had impressive ball movement while shooting 55 per cent from the field, including a 15-of-26 performance on 3-point attempts. Hilliard was 5 for 7 from long range and Arcidiacono made each of his four 3-point attempts. "We just like playing with each other," Hilliard said. "Its just a testament to what weve been through and coach Wright coaching us and us listening and just sticking to what we do." It was DePauls first game since the school announced Monday that senior Cleveland Melvin was no longer enrolled at the university. Melvin, who ranks among DePauls career leaders in several categories, including scoring and rebounding, was suspended last month for violating team rules. The Blue Demons are winless in five games since Melvin had 25 points in an 84-74 loss to Xavier on Jan. 20 in his final game with DePaul. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 16.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in 20 games this season. "Sad. Thats a brother that I came in here with my freshman year," Young said. "Since hes gone somebody else has to step up, fill his spot, but every game weve got to focus on our opponent and try to get a win." Villanova began to pull away midway through the first half, scoring 11 straight points to open a 37-22 lead with 5:27 to go. Bell started the run with a 3-pointer and Dylan Ennis closed it out with another 3. It was more of the same for the rest of the half. Chennault had a steal that led to a nice fast-break pass by Hilliard to Pinkston, who ran down the middle of the lane for a soaring dunk that made it 46-27 with 1:14 left. Pinkston was 5 for 7 from the field and 4 for 4 at the line in his second double-double of the season. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 74-67 win at St. Johns on Jan. 11. Corey Crawford Green Jersey . Whether starting or coming off the bench, Johnson has always accepted his role in stride, part of whats made him the Raptors unsung hero for the better part of the last three seasons. Patrick Sharp Green Jersey . The Italian came from behind to overtake Jarlinson Pantano in the final 50 metres and edge out Dario Cataldo on the line after a climb to the sanctuary of Oropa, the scene of Marco Pantanis memorable victory in 1999.SYDNEY, Australia -- Ange Postecoglou has been hired as head coach of the Socceroos in a five-year deal that could involve two World Cups. The 48-year-old Postecoglou, who led Brisbane Roar to two domestic A-League titles before moving to Melbourne Victory last year, is the first Australian head coach of the Socceroos since Frank Farina in 2005. Holger Osieck, a German, was fired earlier this month after back-to-back 6-0 defeats to Brazil and France, despite helping Australia qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy confirmed the widely expected appointment of Postecoglou on Wednesday, announcing a deal running through the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Asian Cup and qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. Postecoglou, who migrated to Australia from Greece with his family when he was five and played four times for the Socceroos, will be in charge for the international friendly against Costa Rica on Nov. 19. "I was proud to represent my country as a player and I have the same immense feeling of pride today," Postecoglou said. "The Socceroos belong to the people of this nation. Its my job to make sure we represent all thats good in Australian football." Australia narrowwly missed out on qualifying for the 2002 World Cup and then, with Dutchman Guus Hiddink at the helm, qualified for Germany 2006 and reached the second round before a contentious defeat to eventual champion Italy. Corey Crawford White Jersey. Pim Verbeek was the next full-time coach, but his tenure ended with Australias disappointing first-round exit at South Africa 2010. Osieck got the Australians through qualifying for Brazil, but the Socceroos playing stocks and rankings have plummeted since the so-called "golden era" in 2006 and theres been constant criticism domestically about a lack of regeneration in the national team. Lowy made no secret of the fact an Australian candidate would be preferred to replace Osieck and drew up a shortlist including Postecoglou, who was national youth coach from 2000-2007, and Graham Arnold, who was interim Socceroos coach in 2007 between the contracts of Hiddink and Verbeek. "I have never taken the view that the coach should be an Australian for the sake of having an Australian," Lowy said Wednesday. "I have always believed we should get the best person we can for the job. "The fact that Ange is the best qualified, and an Australian, achieves our objective." wholesale jerseys ' ' '
