NEWARK, N.J. -- Jay Wright doesnt follow who is in the running for national player of the year. However, the Villanova coach thinks he has the best player in the country in senior guard Josh Hart.After Saturdays career-best performance, it would be hard to argue.Hes as good as any player in the country is and hes so complete. He will do whatever it takes to win a game and he has the ability to do it and at the right time, Wright said. He got big rebounds at the end of the game. He got offensive rebounds, he scored, he made passes, he made free throws, he defended. He did everything. Hes as complete a player as weve ever had.Hart scored a career-high 37 points and No. 1 Villanova rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat No. 23 Notre Dame 74-66 on Saturday at the Prudential Center.I honestly didnt know how many points I had. I was just trying to make the right play, Hart said, later adding, I want to be great. I want to be as good as Josh Hart can be, and I have no idea how good that is, but Im going to try and figure out.Hart was the only Villanova (10-0) player to score in double figures. He was 10 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 4 from behind the arc, and he made all 14 of his free throw attempts.Matt Farrell and Steve Vasturia had 18 points each for Notre Dame (9-1), which entered the game as one of eight remaining unbeaten Division I teams.Villanova took its first lead of the game at 57-56 after Eric Paschall blocked Vasturias 3-pointer with 9:15 left. Hart assisted on a layup by Jalen Brunson at 9:09 to give the Wildcats the lead.The teams exchanged the lead from there until Villanova pulled away in the final minute.Farrell, a Bridgewater, New Jersey native, made his first six shots including a driving layup at the halftime buzzer that gave Notre Dame a 41-36 lead.It was a blast playing here. I think last year I wasnt able to play that much, so I wasnt able to play my game, Farrell said. I was playing a different kind of role.Which includes being a leader on the team, both vocally and statistically.Hes a fighter, coach Mike Brey said. Hes one tough Jersey guy.Down 35-24 with 3:52 left in the first half, Villanova chipped away at the lead.We were trying to stop them in the first half. We really were. . They make the right play every time, but we just were not doing a good job in the first half for whatever reason, Wright said. And theyre good. Thats the other reason. Theyre really good. Nothing different at halftime. We just said we got to try to do what our game plan is. Were trying and theyre beating us. We have to try harder.BIG PICTURENotre Dame: The Fighting Irish were off to their best start of Breys tenure, which began in 2000-01.Villanova: Dating to their national championship run last season, the Wildcats are tied for the longest winning streak in school history at 16 games. Villanova won 16 straight games in the second half of the 2014-15 season before losing to N.C. State in the NCAA Tournament.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Wildcats should stay No. 1 as they remain undefeated. Given Notre Dames effort, theres a chance they stay in the poll following its first loss of the season.NOT SO NEUTRAL COURTWhile the game was played in Newark as part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic, the packed Prudential Center was filled with Wildcat fans.It was a road atmosphere, Brey said. I loved how we handled it. We were poised.SLAYING THE CHAMPIONSNotre Dame is no stranger to defeating national champions. Under Brey, Notre Dame had played the defending champion 11 times, winning seven of those games. The most recent win came last season when they defeated 2015 champion Duke 95-91 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.FORMER BIG EAST FOESBefore Notre Dame left the Big East for the ACC, it played Villanova regularly. The schools have played 36 times with Villanova holding a 19-17 lead.UP NEXTNotre Dame: The Fighting Irish get a week to rest before hosting No. 18 Purdue next Saturday night.Villanova: The Wildcats will complete their circuit with the Big 5 when they host Philadelphia rival Temple on Tuesday night.Jose Cruz Jr. Astros Jersey . 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. Kyle Tucker Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. https://www.cheapastros.com/1173o-brad-peacock-jersey-astros.html . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Mike Cuellar Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Joe Pepitone Astros Jersey . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.OAKLAND, Calif. -- As much as Kevin Durant might try to downplay the drama, when he steps on the court against his former Oklahoma City team for the first time Thursday night emotions will be flying high for both sides.And theres more: Durants new Golden State team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals just more than five months ago.I wouldnt say weird. Ill just be locked in to follow the game plan, and just playing, Durant said. But once you step on the court and see the different jersey Im sure it will hit me.Durant vs. old buddy Russell Westbrook, who opted to stay put and sign an extension. Oh yes, this game has been circled on many an NBA schedule for months. At least since Durant departed as a free agent to join the Warriors in July.New teammate and fellow Olympian Draymond Green knows Durant will be extra motivated for this matchup.I think it will be a lot of emotions. Theyre going to want to beat him really bad, hes going to want to beat them really bad, Green said. In turn, were going to want to beat them really bad because we want him to beat them really bad. So I think it will be a fun game to play in. Its always a high intensity game against them and I expect nothing less.Yes, this could be a tense reunion when the tip goes up. Westbrook went into Wednesday nights game against the Clippers in Los Angeles leading the league in scoring averaging 38.7 points, while Durant was sixth at 28.5.Golden State had Wednesday off from practice following a 127-104 win Tuesday night at Portland.Im going to enjoy myself and get away from basketball, Durant said. At shootaround well think about going over the game plan and stuff and how were going to try to win the game.Durant has scored 20 or more points in 68 straight regular-season games for the longest such streak since Michael Jordan did so in 69 consecutive outings in 1990-91.ddddddddddddCoach Steve Kerr has insisted all along his team will need time to come together and really click. Durant has made strides learning the system each day, leading the Warriors in scoring slightly ahead of two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry.KD is meshing with us beautifully. He fits right into what we want to do. Hes a playmaker. Hes perfect for what we already do, Kerr said.Im sure hes going to be excited. Every player is excited when he plays against his former team. I used to get excited all the time because I played on so many teams. Its a little different for Kevin because hes a superstar and the spotlight is on him, everybodys going to be asking him questions, the TV cameras will be on him and Russ. Im sure it will be nice for both players to get this one behind them so they can go on with their season.For Golden State, winning at Oracle Arena would mean a lot regardless of the opponent. The Warriors took a 29-point beating at the hands of San Antonio in their season opener Oct. 25 -- prompting fans to flood the exits with more than five minutes remaining in the rare blowout loss by the home team -- but have a three-game winning streak since.Ive played Oklahoma City plenty of times so I know what its like. He doesnt, Curry said of Durant. We havent won at home in a while, so thats all Im really worried about. Just getting a home win.---AP Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report. ' ' '