ROSEMONT, Ill. Trevor Ariza Kings 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. Peja Stojakovic Jersey . - Gary Kubiak is John Elways No. Richaun Holmes Jersey . Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season. https://www.kingslockerroom.com/Trevor-Ariza-City-Edition-Jersey/ . A veteran of 16 NHL seasons, Prospals career was highlighted by him ranking fourth in points scored, third in assists and sixth in games played among all Czech Republic born players in NHL history.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Steve Nash, the Spirits handling of Terry Traffords passing, Ralph Krueger and NHL shootouts. Bruce Arthur, the National Post: My thumb is up to Steve Nash, who was shut down this week with nerve pain, which has been limiting him since a harmless-looking collision early last year. Hes only played 10 games for the Lakers this season and he looked like himself once. If this isnt the end of his 18-year career, then were getting close. So why thumbs up? Because of how hes facing it. Nash is making short films for ESPNs Grantland that are incredibly honest - jarringly so, at times - about what its like to face your athletic mortality and was incredibly honest again when I spoke to him this week. Nash and I are the same age; we both came from B.C.; we both played basketball and thats where the comparison ends. And again, hes showing me what it would be like. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is down to the eerie silence that has engulfed the Saginaw Spirit in the tragic wake of the passing of 20-year-old Terry Trafford.There are questions here – but, to date, no answers coming from the prominent junior hockey people, coach Greg Gilbert or general manager Jim Paliafito. We know, from Traffords father, that the Spirit sent Terry home for what Roy Trafford calls “disciplinary reasons.” And we know, from the same conversation, that the time away from the team was supposed to be temporary, a few days. Then something changed. What changed? We dont know. Telephone messages were left informing Trafford that he was no longerr welcome to return to the team. Caleb Swanigan Jersey. What we dont know and may never know - is why. To date, the only people who have those answers arent sharing them. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: Forget the Dos Equis guy. My thumb is up to the truly most interesting man in the world, Ralph Krueger. Less than a month after being the big-ice guru for the Canadian mens Olympic hockey team, Krueger has switched continents and sports. He is now chairman of Southampton FC, having jumped to the rarified world of English Premier League soccer without prior experience in the game. Krueger can match resumes with anyone. The Manitoban played pro hockey in Germany, built the Swiss national program, coached the Edmonton Oilers before his premature firing and boosted Team Canada. He also is an active member of the World Economic Forum. Now, soccer. Bartender, Ill drink what Kruegers drinking. Dave Hodge, TSN: Thumbs down to the NHL and its inability to deal with its dislike of the shootout. At the GMs meetings in Florida, the NHL continued to look for ways to decrease the number of shootouts. One way would be to change overtime from four-on-four to three-on-three, but if youre making a list of ideas that are less popular than the shootout, start there. The NHL will consider a change of ends for overtime to put skaters farther from their benches, as they are in the second period, which, statistically, is the highest-scoring of the three periods. Okay. Keep trying. The easy solution would be for the NHL to give up and decide it likes the shootout. Oh, but as with visits from grandpa, it does - there just shouldnt be too many of them. ' ' '