PHILADELPHIA -- Jay Wright led Villanova on a tour around the concourse of the Palestra, the basketball shrine that has served as the hardwood home for many of the games greats.Wilt Chamberlain played high school ball here. Kobe and LeBron, too.Theres even a spot dedicated to the greatest Villanova team of all -- at least, at the time the display was installed -- the 1985 national champions. The Palestra curators might want to clear space for `Novas 2016 title team -- and maybe even prep a new wing for this years Wildcats.Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Josh Hart had 21 to help No. 1 Villanova hold off La Salle 89-79 on Tuesday night.I just wanted to remind them of the history, remind them of the tradition, of what happens in here, Wright said.La Salle (4-3) came oh-so close to making an upset happen.Johnnie Shuler and Pookie Powell made late 3-pointers that kept the deficit at seven. La Salle, which has never defeated a No. 1 team, got more late help from long range when Jordan Price popped a 3 that made it a four-point game.La Salle fans went wild. The Wildcats seemed shaken.But the great city teams that decorated the 89-year-old walls of the ol gym nestled on Penns Ivy League campus dont really lose to unranked underdogs.And the national champs werent going down to La Salle.Donte DiVincenzos late dunk and a handful of free throws sealed the win for Villanova (9-0) in its first game of the season as the top-ranked team in the country.Powell scored 27 points. La Salle just didnt have enough to get past Villanova and earn its biggest win since it reached the 2013 Sweet 16.Brunson, whose father, Rick, starred at Temple, made 10 of 17 shots and hit a pair of big buckets down the stretch to give Villanova a 10-point cushion.Hes one of those guys that you know at any point that you need a bucket, he can go get one for you, Wright said.Brunson just might find his image stamped on the Palestra wall a decade or so from now.It gave us time to bond, Brunson said of the tour. We realized what games are played here, what teams played here, who was from the area.Mikal Bridges scored 16 points and national championship game star Kris Jenkins had 12.When the balls bouncing around, they seem to get it and make a 3, La Salle coach John Giannini said. The reason for their excellence on a national level is their intangibles. They dont let up. I dont care if theyre playing us, playing Kentucky, anybody. That is the same team every single second of every single game they play.BIG PICUTRELa Salle: The Explorers lost three times to No. 1 teams in the 1950s, once each in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. La Salle last lost to a No. 1 team 90-65 to Kansas on Dec. 12, 2009. They are 0-8 vs. No. 1 foes.We just had a lot of lapses and breakdowns, Powell said.Villanova: The Wildcats went 5-1 as an AP Top 25 No. 1 last season. They were the top team in the country for three weeks and proved they were worthy of the ranking with the programs second national championship. The Wildcats are trying to become the first repeat champs since Florida in 2006-07.POLL IMPLICATIONSVillanova was 5-1 last season at No. 1 and is trying to better that mark this year to stay in the top spot.We didnt really handle it a certain way last year, Hart said.BIG 17Villanova continued to dominate the Philadelphia city series known as the Big 5. The Wildcats extended their series-record win streak to 17 against La Salle, Penn, Saint Josephs and Temple. The Wildcats go for the 4-0 sweep Dec. 13 against Temple.UP NEXTLa Salle faces another Big East team Saturday in Georgetown.Villanova gets its toughest test in weeks when it plays No. 23 Notre Dame in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Cheap Jordans From China .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Wholesale Authentic Jordans China . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. http://www.cheapjordansauthentic.com/ . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Cheap Authentic Jordans Wholesale .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Cheap Authentic Jordans Free Shipping .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. With Mitchell Starc now extending his impressive form from the Tests into the ODIs, Sri Lanka have settled on a batting plan: see Starc out safely.Starc was already miserly during the first ODI. He did not concede a boundary in his 10 overs, which cost only 32. But he was also penetrative, taking three wickets. Each of those dismissals, however, was the result of an expansive drive gone awry. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said his team would seek to shelve the ambitious strokes against Starc, even if the pitch for the second ODI is better for batting than the previous surface.We have a clear plan for him - to refrain from attacking him, so that we dont give him wickets, Mathews said. If we can score 40 or 50 runs off him, we feel that we can catch up against the other bowlers. Because hes bowling well, we should give him that respect. But at the same time we also have to put his loose balls away.Starc became the fastest bowler to 100 ODI wickets on Sunday, but did not return the best figures of the evening. James Faulkner took 4 for 38 in his ten overs, and used slower balls to excellent effect.With James Faulkner, his variations were excellent on that pitch, because of how dry it was, Mathews said. We struggled with those variations, so well come with a plan tomorrow.As far as Sri Lankas bowlers are concerned, left-arm wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan took two wickets in his debut match but, as in the Tests, proved exppensive as well, giving away 33 runs in five overs.dddddddddddd Like in the Tests, Mathews brought him on to bowl relatively late in the innings. His first over was the 25th of the chase.I wanted to spread the field a bit and bring Sandakan in with that protection - I didnt want to bowl him in the Powerplay. We also have Amila Aponso, who bowled brilliantly, and also Dilruwan Perera, whos very experienced in international cricket. I wanted to bring Sandakan on against guys like Matthew Wade and Faulkner, who havent seen him much. He didnt bowl that well in the last Test, so hes a bit low on confidence. I wanted to make sure to bring him on later and give him that protection.Sri Lankas XI for the first ODI did not feature a specialist quick, with allrounders Thisara Perera and Mathews himself the only seam options. An injury to Nuwan Pradeep has now ruled yet another quick out of contention, but the hosts have named a batsman in Pradeeps place. Coach Graham Ford said newcomer Angelo Perera may play at some point in the series.The selectors felt that Angelo Perera played really well in England, Ford said. Hes a very capable player. I remember him from the first time I was involved with the team. He has a chance of playing. He had a good net today, so theres a chance that he could be considered. ' ' '