BUFFALO, N.Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. Darrun Hilliard scored 16 points, JayVaughn Pinkston added 13 and the Wildcats beat Milwaukee 73-53 on Thursday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Villanova (29-4), the No. 2 seed in the East Region, will play seventh-seeded Connecticut (27-8) in the third round Saturday. The Huskies held off Saint Josephs 89-81 in overtime. No. 15 seed Milwaukee (21-14), the surprise champion of the Horizon League, made it a game all the way, leading much of the first half before fading late. Villanova was eager to get back on the court after being upset last week by Seton Hall in the Big East quarterfinals, but the effect of that loss seemed to linger. A 14-point run spanning halftime gave the Wildcats a nine-point lead early in the second half and they held on. Hilliards long 3-pointer from the top of the key with 8:10 left gave them a 53-42 advantage, and the Panthers couldnt recover. James Bell had 12 points for Villanova on 5-of-14 shooting and missed all eight 3s he attempted. Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart each scored 11. Austin Arians had 17 points to lead Milwaukee and Matt Tiby scored 10. Jordan Aaron, Milwaukees leading scorer, finished with six points, all in the second half, on 1-of-15 shooting. Kyle Kelm, second in scoring, had eight points, all after the break. The Panthers rags-to-riches march into the tourney ended, but not without a fight. Villanova outscored Milwaukee 46-20 in the paint and had 19 fast-break points to overcome a woeful 4-for-23 shooting performance from behind the arc. After struggling mightily, Villanova scored the final nine points of the first half and the first five of the second. Pinkstons three-point play and follow gave Villanova a 32-23 lead. Kelms first basket of the game, a layup off the glass, stopped a scoreless skid that had lasted more than 6 minutes and cut the lead to seven. After Aaron missed an open 3, Hart countered with a three-point play for Villanova and Jenkins followed with a 3 in transition after blocking a shot by JeVon Lyle at the other end. That gave the Wildcats a 42-33 lead midway through the half. Villanova extended the margin to 55-44 on Harts layup with 7:19 left, and the Panthers never got closer than nine the rest of the way. Milwaukee closed the season with five straight wins, including a surprising overtime win over preseason favourite Green Bay in the Horizon Conference tournament, to surpass the 20-win plateau. Not bad for a team that finished 8-24 a year ago. Milwaukees 13-win increase was the best year-to-year improvement in the country, and the Panthers were the only team in the NCAA tournament that finished last in its league a year ago. They showed they belonged on the big stage, too, leading a team ranked in the top 10 for much of the first half. Both defences swarmed right from the opening tip. The Panthers missed their first six shots, getting one of them blocked, and fell behind 6-0. Even high attempts off the glass on drives misfired as the Wildcats tried to set the tone early despite faltering from the field. Halfway through the first half, Villanova led 10-8, the teams were a combined 6 for 29, and the Wildcats were scoreless on five tries from behind the arc. Clearly, the Panthers werent intimidated by the Big East regular-season champions, and J.J. Panoske hit an open 3 from the left wing to give Milwaukee a surprising 13-10 lead with 8 minutes left in the period. The Panthers play in the Wisconsin style that coach Bo Ryan brought to Milwaukee before he took over the Badgers, whipping the ball around looking for the open man. After Bells steal and slam gave Nova a 16-15 lead, a wide-open Arians hit consecutive 3-pointers from the right side for a 21-16 lead with 4:52 left as the Panthers fans cheered. The Wildcats finally settled down, holding the Panthers scoreless for the final 4:05 of the period. Hilliards three-point play tied it at 23, and a driving layup by Bell and a slam dunk by Pinkston put Villanova back on top. Villanova went into the break with a 27-23 lead despite missing all 12 attempts from behind the arc, six by Bell. Villanova averaged nine 3s per game this season and shot 36.1 per cent from long range, but the Wildcats allowed opponents to hit 35.4 per cent of their 3-pointers and the Panthers took advantage, hitting five before the break to stay in the game. Milwaukee relies a lot on Aaron, its leading scorer at 15 points per game. He had four assists and four rebounds but failed to score in the first half, missing seven shots. Kelm, averaging 12.6 points, also went scoreless. John Gant Cardinals Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney was mired in a shooting slump, and his woes coincided with a late-season swoon by the Orange. Dominic Leone Cardinals Jersey . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/ . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. Stan Musial Cardinals Jersey . The NFL says Wednesday that the game between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions at Wembley on Oct. 26 will start at 1:30 p. Stan Musial Jersey . Players suspended during the season for a performance-enhancing drug violation will not be eligible for that years post-season. In addition, discipline will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban. MIAMI -- UFC fighter Thiago Silva is in jail after being accused of threatening his wife with a gun. Broward County jail records show that Silva, 31, was being held without bond following his arrest Thursday on charges that included attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and obstruction without violence. But his attorney, Scott Saul, told The Associated Press that the charges were downgraded during a Friday court appearance to aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Saul said he entered a not guilty plea on Silvas behalf. Authorities said Silva took a gun to a mixed martial arts academy in Oakland Park and threatened to shoot his estranged wife, Thaysa, and her now-boyfriend, who called police and Silva drove away. Authorities tracked him down to his home where he was holed up for hours until he surrendered. Authorities used a stun gun on him before he was taken into custody. Ultimate Fighting Championship said on its website that it has terminated the Silvas contract, effective immediately. A message left with UFC was not immediately returned Saturday. Broward Circuit Judge John Hurley noted during the court appearance that there was no probable cause to support the attempted murder charges but ordered Silva held without bond after expressing concern about the nature of the allegations and said Silva, a Brazilian mixed martial artist, posed a flight risk. "Hes upset because hes been humiliated and hes in jail," Saul said of Silva. "Hes been very unfairly treated as some type of aggressive animal just because hes a professional athlete. There are no marks on this womans body. Hes not accused of ever hitting her. When Im dealing with him, Im dealing with the perfect gentleman." But a probable cause affidavit shows Silva had threatened his estranged wife on several occasions. Thaysa Silva told deputies on Jan. 30 that she and her husband had been arguing over an eextra marital affair when Thiago pointed a gun at her and said he was going to kill her, the report stated.dddddddddddd. He then placed the gun in her mouth. The same day, Thaysa Silva obtained a temporary injunction of protection against him. On Wednesday, police say he sent her a text message in Portuguese that said "...you are going to die. I am going to hire someone to kill you." The next day Thiago Silva "had been drinking and extremely intoxicated" when he drove to the gym and threatened to kill his wife and her now-boyfriend who owns the gym, the report said. "I will go in the gym and start shooting everyone," Silva said. There were 25 people in the gym at the time, the report noted. The boyfriend went outside and Thiago threatened to kill him and his wife, the report said. The boyfriend eventually called police and Silva drove off. He was later arrested at his home and appeared to be intoxicated and "uttered that he did not know what was going on," the report said. The report said Silva and his wife had been married for 13 years, but Saul said the two were separated. Silva (16-3 with two no contests) has had a checkered history in mixed martial arts. In November 2012, he tested positive for marijuana following a win over Stanislav Nedkov in Macau. The fight was declared a no contest and Silva was banned for six months. He agreed to participate in an approved drug-rehabilitation program. The former light-heavyweight contender admitted to doping and tampering with his urine at a UFC 125 drug test. He said he did it because he injured his back in advance of the January 2011 fight against Brandon (The Truth) Vera. Silva won the fight, which was turned into a no contest after the failed drug test The Nevada State Athletic Commission had alleged he submitted a specimen that was "inconsistent with human urine" before the bout. Silva was banned for a year and fined US$33,750. ' ' '