Monmouth upsets No. 17 Notre Dame

Justin Robinson scored 22 points, including two free throws with 3.6 seconds left, as Monmouth upset No. 17 Notre Dame, 70-68, in the first round of the AdvoCare Invitational last night in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

"I'm very excited that our kids believed in each other, that they felt like they belonged on the court," Monmouth coach King Rice said. "When you believe in each other, anything can happen."

Monmouth (3-1) also got 15 points from Micah Seaborn. Demetrius Jackson had 20 points for Notre Dame (3-1).

In another AdvoCare first-round game, freshman Bennie Boatright had 22 points as USC (5-0) beat No. 20 Wichita State, 72-69.

Syracuse 79, UConn 76: Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney each had 17 points as Syracuse beat No. 18 Connecticut to advance to the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Tyler Lydon added 16 points off the bench for Syracuse (5-0). Gbinije had seven assists. Daniel Hamilton led UConn (4-1) with 18 points.

In the other semifinal game, Danuel House scored 19 points as No. 25 Texas A&M (6-0) beat No. 10 Gonzaga, 62-61.

Michigan State 99, Boston College 68: Denzel Valentine had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as No. 3 Michigan State cruised in an opening-round game at the DirectTV Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, California, giving coach Tom Izzo his 500th career victory. Eli Carter, a graduate transfer from Florida, led the Eagles with 22 points.

Villanova 59, Stanford 45: Jalen Brunson scored 18 points for eighth-ranked Villanova (5-0) in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center. The Wildcats will meet Georgia Tech, which earned an 83-73 victory over Arkansas in the other semifinal. Adam Smith and Marcus Georges-Hunt had 19 points each for the Yellow Jackets (4-1).-- AP