Cincinatti ? Pick. Pass. Layup. Villanova’s winning basket came just that easy.

Nothing else did.

Randy Foye had 25 points and Dante Cunningham scored off an inbounds play with 3.2 seconds left, leading No. 2 Villanova to its 11th straight win Thursday night, 74-72 over Cincinnati.

The Wildcats (22-2, 12-1) wasted a 12-point lead down the stretch before pulling out a win that kept them in control of the Big East and gave them a taste of what comes next.

Playing with a No. 2 ranking for the first time in 10 years, Villanova also extended a few notable streaks. The Wildcats matched the best start in school history – they also did it in 1937-38 – and set a school record with their 11th straight win in the Big East.

“Teams play at another level against us, and we’re learning to handle that,” coach Jay Wright said.

They had to fight off the temptation to look past this one. The Wildcats go to Connecticut on Sunday for a rematch with the third-ranked Huskies, the team they beat on Feb. 13 to take control of the Big East.

With a late 16-4 run led by power forward Eric Hicks, the Bearcats (18-10, 7-7) showed they had enough to keep up, not quite enough to pull it out.

“Either they’re overrated or we’re underrated, one of the two,” Cincinnati point guard Devan Downey said.

Hicks, playing on two sprained ankles, made a pair of free throws and a putback that gave Cincinnati its first lead since the opening minutes, 72-70. Foye’s free throws tied it with 53.9 seconds left, and Downey was called for a charge on Shane Clark.

On an inbounds play under the basket, Cunningham broke free and made an uncontested layup from the right side for only his second basket of the game.

He came off a pick and had no one guarding him.

“It was a simple screen and we handled it poorly,” interim coach Andy Kennedy said.

Hicks’ three-pointer at the buzzer was too hard. He finished with 21 points. Allan Ray added 19 points for Villanova.

No. 17 Washington 75, Stanford 57

Seattle – Forward Mike Jensen made six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 18 points, leading the Huskies and keeping their hopes alive for a Pac-10 regular season title.

Washington (21-5, 10-5) remained one game back of California and UCLA in the Pac-10.

The loss dealt a serious blow to Stanford’s hopes of making a 12th straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Cardinal (13-11, 9-6) lost for the fourth time in their last five games.

No. 19 UCLA 78, Oregon St. 60

Los Angeles – Jordan Farmar scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the Bruins maintained a first-place tie in the Pac-10.

UCLA (21-6, 11-4) trailed by double digits in the first half but went on a 20-0 run midway through the second and led by as many as 19 down the stretch.

Nick DeWitz scored 14 and Marcel Jones had 12 for the Beavers (11-16, 4-12).