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. Byron Jones Jersey . The whole deflation of New England Patriots footballs is like a murder mystery without the violence or significance. On one side, this is a ridiculous issue. Jason Witten Jersey . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. http://www.officialdallascowboysfootball...s-jersey-womens. And while taking highly-touted Simon Fraser offensive lineman Matthias Goossen second overall on Tuesday night will definitely help in an area of need for the club, it was a swap of draft picks that may prove to be his most shrewd move. "When Jesse Briggs started to fall a little bit, you could just see Kyle perk up in his chair. Geoff Swaim Jersey . Despite 11-1 records, theyre out and Big Ten winner Ohio State is into the national semifinals. Michael Gallup Jersey . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. Jill Ellis has been named the U.S. national team coach in the run-up to the womens World Cup next summer in Canada and beyond. Ellis has been the interim coach since Tom Sermanni was surprisingly dismissed in early April after an exhibition victory against China. It was Ellis second stint as an interim coach with the team; she also took over when previous head coach Pia Sundhage resigned in 2012 to become head coach of Swedens national team. Ellis has a 6-0-3 record overall as the teams interim coach. Ellis was an assistant to both Sermanni and Sundhage. She was on the staff of the gold medal-winning U.S. teams at the Beijing and London Olympics. The 47-year-old coach, who is well respected among national team players, has had a lengthy coaching career, including 12 seasons at UCLA. "Not beating around the bush, I know the expectation, embrace the expectation," Ellis said Friday. "I know that we want to win, and I think this group is capable of winning. Thats what we want, it is always the expectation. People ask me if thats intimidating and I say no, because when you work for U.S. soccer its about winning gold medals and standing on the first-place podium." The U.S. womens team, which has been ranked No. 1 for the past six years, next plays a pair of exhibition matches against France in Tampa, Florida, and East Hartford, Connecticut, in mid-June. The United States will host the eight-team CONCACAF qualifying tournament in October for the 2015 World Cup, according to an announcement Friday. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in Mexico but there were "issues" concerning the venues, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said. The venues and schedule for the tournament have yet to be determined. Despite the teams success on the international stage in recent years, the U.S..ddddddddddddwomen havent won a World Cup title since 1999. Japan won the 2011 World Cup in Germany, defeating the United States on a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 draw after extra time. "The job description is to win next summer," Gulati said during a conference call Friday announcing Ellis appointment. Beyond that, the U.S. team will also look to defend back-to-back-to-back Olympic titles in Brazil the following year. Sermanni helped the U.S. to a 13-0-3 record last year, but the Americans went 1-2-1 at the Algarve Cup in March, the last major tournament for the U.S. before qualifying this fall. The seventh-place Algarve Cup finish included a 1-0 loss to Sweden and Sundhage, ending a two-year, 43-game unbeaten streak. That was the first loss following a 16-0-4 start under Sermanni. Ellis led the team to a 3-0 exhibition win in the second match against China after Sermanni was dismissed. "Were comfortable with Jill, we love Jill, we have a lot of respect for Jill, and she didnt really miss a beat. She put the pen on the board and she just started coaching," U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo said following the match. "Im always honoured to be coached by Jill. Every time she has something to say, I always perk up and listen." Ellis will step down from her position as U.S. Soccer womens development director now that she is the head coach, the organization said. "We think Jills got all the right credentials, both in terms of experience, and how she relates to the players -- weve been able to see that firsthand in the two times shed been with the senior team and previously with our youth teams," Gulati said. "She gets top marks in all the work shes been doing on the technical side with all of our programs in the last several years. Its all of those things." 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