The fact that weve limited it somewhat to this point has him feeling fresh

Villanova withstood a furious rally by Big 5 rival La Salle in its last game before pulling away for an 89-79 victory at the Palestra.The next challenge promises to be even tougher for the No. 1-ranked Wildcats -- a matchup against No. 23-ranked Notre Dame Saturday at noon ET in the inaugural Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.Villanova (9-0) is off to a fast start in its quest to become the first program to repeat as national champions since Florida in 2006-07.La Salle came in with a good game plan against us and played with a little more energy than us, Villanova head coach Jay Wright said after the win over the Explorers on Tuesday night. They played really well against us. We didnt have our best game because of them and we found a way to grind it out. Any game you get in like this is valuable, win or lose. Its more fun to win and learn from it.Sophomore guard Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 26 points against La Salle. Brunson knocked down 10 of 17 shots, including a pair of clutch jumpers down the stretch.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 of Brunson.National Player of the Year candidate Josh Hart scored 21 points as the Wildcats won their first game as the top-ranked team in the country. Villanova spent three weeks atop the Top 25 last February on its way to the schools second national championship.Notre Dame also enters this game at 9-0, the best start of head coach Mike Breys era dating to the 2000-01 season. The Fighting Irish opened the 1973-74 season at 12-0.Since Brey took over, Notre Dame has faced the defending national champion 11 times, coming away with a victory seven times.Last season, Notre Dame defeated 2015 national champion Duke 95-91 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 16, 2016. Notre Dame then defeated the Blue Devils 84-79 in overtime at the ACC quarterfinals on March 10.This season, the Fighting Irish have been led by junior forward Bonzie Colson, who earned his first ACC Player of the Week Award on Dec. 5. Colson currently owns a personal six-game streak of double-doubles.Against Iowa in the he ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Colson scored a game-high 24 points, swept a career-high 17 rebounds and shot 12 for 12 from the free throw line.Colson had 17 points and 14 rebounds in Notre Dames most recent victory, 87-72 over Fort Wayne.Its staying composed and coming to play early, Colson told the South Bend Tribune. As a team, we try to get off to good starts. I feel like were doing that really well. Excited what we did tonight.Senior guard Steve Vasturia paced Notre Dame with 21 points against Fort Wayne.Villanova will be a much more daunting opponent than Fort Wayne.Its just the thing you look forward to, these types of games, sophomore guard Rex Pflueger told the South Bend Tribune. Its going to be strictly business when we get there.Villanova leads the all-time series with Notre Dame, 18-17. Air Max Schuhe Sale . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Nike Air Max Günstig Kaufen . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. http://www.airmaxschweiz.ch/ .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Nike Air Max Billig Kaufen . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Air Max Schweiz . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- An Atlanta Falcons defense already having to adjust to losing its top cornerback for the season now also must compensate for the loss of one of its top pass rushers.Coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who is second on the team with 4+ sacks, will miss at least two weeks after having surgery on his left knee. Clayborn suffered the injury in Sundays 38-19 win over Arizona .The loss of Clayborn came after cornerback Desmond Trufant was placed on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle that forced him to miss the past two weeks.Quinn said the good news is Clayborn didnt have to join Trufant on IR as the Falcons prepare for Sundays game against Kansas City.We are very encouraged that we dont see it as a long-term injury, Quinn said. You never like to see a player have a surgery, but in this case it was good news because he thought it was going to be a season-ender. So when it wasnt he was thrilled, and we were, too.The defense already has lost linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and defensive end Derrick Shelby to season-ending injuries and has had linebackers DeVondre Campbell and Deion Jones and safety Keanu Neal miss time.The losses are beginning to mount for a defense which ranks only 27th in yards allowed. Atlanta is last in the league in pass defense.Clayborn posted on his Twitter feed on Tuesday night that the surgery went well.Surgery went great. Time to attack this recovery so I can get back out there with my brothers! Clayborn wrote on his Twitter account.The Falcons depth chart lists Clayborn as the top backup to Brooks Reed.Quinn said veteran pass rush specialist Dwight Freeney will be given more snaps, as will Reed and Courtney Upshaw.Freeney was held out of Wednesdays practice, which isnt unusual, even though he is not on the injury report.ddddddddddddThe Falcons have tried to protect Freeney, 36, by limiting his snaps in games and practice.Freeney has three sacks and now may have more chances to build on that modest total.The fact that weve limited it somewhat to this point has him feeling fresh, Quinn said.Jalen Collins already has had two games to adjust to his new starting role as Trufants replacement. Collins had six tackles and defended three passes against Arizona.I believe we have a great ability to overcome adversity, Collins said. Weve been through a lot the first half of the season. Weve come a long way. Were continuing to grow. Its always bad when you lose guys, but were always going to prepare and get those guys as ready as possible so that we dont have any drop-off.Quinn said he wont let the injuries on defense affect the play-calling on offense. He said the offense would continue to attack instead of worry about holding the ball to protect the defense.Were comfortable with the guys were going into battle with, he said.Game notes The team waived punter Matt Wile as starter Matt Bosher is ready to return from his hamstring injury. The team signed center Trevor Robinson and cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson. Wreh-Wilson started in 14 of his 34 games the past three years for Tennessee and was waived before the season. Robinson has spent time with the Bengals and Chargers. The Falcons also signed offensive lineman Kevin Graf to their practice squad.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '