Virginia too strong in second half for Louisville
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — No matter the outcome, Jim Boeheim needed this.
Three days after the Hall of Fame coach of the Syracuse Orange struck and killed a pedestrian on a darkened highway that leads out of town, he returned to the bench Saturday night. Boeheim's first public appearance since the Wednesday night accident that killed 51-year-old Jorge Jimenez came in a 75-65 loss to top-ranked Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski, a close friend.
The accident happened after the Orange's 20-point victory over No. 18 Louisville. Police say Jimenez was a passenger in a car that apparently skidded out of control on a patch of ice and hit a guardrail. Police say Jimenez was trying to get to safety when he was struck by the 74-year-old Boeheim's SUV. Boeheim had swerved to avoid the disabled car, which was perpendicular across two lanes.
Jimenez was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Another man in the car suffered minor injuries. A moment of silence was observed before the game for Jimenez and his family.
Once the game started, it seemed like just another tilt featuring the two winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history, except for the massive record crowd that made the dome's walls shake every time the Orange scored. The Blue Devils (24-3, 12-2) improved to 7-0 on the road in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
In the first game between the teams, the Orange (18-8, 9-4) pulled off the upset, 95-91 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Freshman forward RJ Barrett scored 30 points to lead Duke and Alex O'Connell had 20. Blue Devils star Zion Williamson sat out with a sprained knee.
Tyus Battle led Syracuse with 16 points.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Zach Norvell Jr. scored 25 points, Rui Hachimura added 23 points and 10 rebounds and Gonzaga beat BYU, clearing the way for the Bulldogs to possibly be ranked No. 1 on Monday.
Josh Perkins had 21 points and seven assists for Gonzaga (27-2, 14-0). The Bulldogs have won 18 in a row, the longest streak in the nation, and have clinched the West Coast Conference regular-season title.
Yoeli Childs and TJ Haws each had18 points for BYU (18-12, 10-5). The Cougars have lost two straight.
NO. 3 VIRGINIA 64, NO. 18 LOUISVILLE 52
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — De'Andre Hunter scored 19 of his career-high 26 points after halftime, and Virginia overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Louisville.
The Cavaliers (24-2, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed early in the second half before regrouping to hold the Cardinals (18-10, 9-6) to 6 of 30 from the field (20 percent) and 31 percent shooting overall. Virginia also found its offense, shooting 59 percent and using a 12-1 run over 4:36 for a 55-48 lead it stretched to 12 for its fourth consecutive victory.
Hunter was perfect after the break, making all six shots to finish 9 of 11 from the field. Mamadi Diakite added 14 points, while Jay Huff came off the bench to score 12. The Cavaliers maintained at least a share of the conference lead in the process.
After making 10 of 16 from long range in the first 20 minutes, Louisville managed just 2 of 17 afterward and lost for the fifth time in seven games.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky coach John Calipari surpassed Joe B. Hall on the school's career wins list and is second behind Adolph Rupp.
Calipari is 298-68 in 10 seasons with the Wildcats. Hall compiled a 297-100 record in 13 seasons and led the Wildcats to a national championship in 1978.
PJ Washington scored 24 points to lead No. 4 Kentucky. Washington led three players in double figures and helped lead the Wildcats to a regular-season sweep of the Tigers. The Wildcats (23-4, 12-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated Auburn 82-80 last month and made things easier the second time around. Tyler Herro followed Washington with 17 points and Ashton Hagans added 14.
Kentucky played without senior forward Reid Travis, who sprained his right ankle in a 66-58 win at Missouri last Tuesday. Travis is expected to miss the next two weeks.
Chuma Okeke led Auburn (18-9, 7-7) with 14 points, followed by Jared Harper with 12 and Anfernee McLemore with 10.
NO. 13 LSU 82, NO. 5 TENNESSEE 80, OT
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Javonte Smart capped a career-best 29-point performance with a crucial rebound and go-ahead free throws in the final seconds for LSU.
Smart, a freshman who grew up near Baton Rouge, began to take over the game with about six minutes left in regulation, scoring 11 straight Tigers points to prevent Tennessee from pulling away.
Skyler Mays added 23 points, including a game-tying 3 with 1:16 left in regulation for LSU (22-5, 12-2 Southeastern Conference), which pulled into a tie with Tennessee and Kentucky atop the Southeastern Conference despite playing without its leading scorer, point guard Tremont Waters.
Admiral Schofield had 27 points and Grant Williams 18 for Tennessee (24-3, 12-2), which has lost two of three after spending about a month ranked first in the nation.
Waters was ruled out with an undisclosed illness shortly before the game, and the challenge only got tougher for LSU when starting forward Naz Reid committed two early fouls. Reid never found his rhythm, missing all nine shots he attempted from the floor. He scored his only point when he hit the second of two free throws in the final minute of overtime.
NO. 6 NEVADA 74, FRESNO STATE 68
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Caleb Martin scored 24 points and Nevada avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Wolf Pack trailed 62-60 with 4:34 left, but went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to grab its largest lead.
Jordan Caroline added 17 points, Tre'Shawn Thurman had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Jazz Johnson scored 10 points in his first start of the season for Nevada (25-2, 12-2 Mountain West).
Deshon Taylor led Fresno State (19-8, 10-5) with 30 points.
NO. 8 NORTH CAROLINA 77, NO. 16 FLORIDA STATE 59
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Cameron Johnson had 18 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina, Luke Maye added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman Nassir Little scored 18 points .
The Tar Heels (22-5, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won 10 of 11 to remain in a first-place tie.
They shot 48 percent in the second half while holding Florida State to 25 percent shooting after halftime, following their victory at No. 1 Duke three nights earlier by snapping the ACC's longest active winning streak.
David Nichols scored 16 points and Terance Mann added 10 for the Seminoles (21-6, 9-5), who had won eight straight but were held to 31 percent shooting in their first loss in more than a month.
NO. 9 HOUSTON 71, SOUTH FLORIDA 59
HOUSTON (AP) — DeJon Jarreau scored 17 points, Corey Davis Jr. added 15 and Houston won its 11th straight.
Houston (26-1, 13-1 American Athletic Conference) shot 48 percent and never trailed in its 33rd straight home victory.
David Collins had 12 points on 2-of-14 shooting from the field and grabbed eight rebounds for USF (18-9, 7-7). The Bulls shot 31 percent from the field.
NO. 11 MARQUETTE 76, PROVIDENCE 58
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Sam Hauser had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Sacar Anim scored 18 points for Marquette.
The Golden Eagles (23-4, 12-2 in the Big East) led by 11 points at halftime and showed no signs of letting up, shooting 53.6 percent in the second half to finish at 54.9 percent for the game. Anim went 8 for 12 and Hauser 7 for 10 for Marquette, which got only 14 points on 2-of-12 shooting from leading scorer Markus Howard.
Alpha Diallo had 19 points and six rebounds for the Friars (15-13, 5-10 Big East). Providence went from shooting 27.6 percent in the first half to 50 percent in the second half, yet Marquette was too tough a cover on a day that the Golden Eagles had five players in double figures.
NO. 14 TEXAS TECH 91, NO. 12 KANSAS 62
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Jarrett Culver scored 26 points and was one of six Texas Tech players to make multiple 3-pointers.
The Red Raiders (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) never trailed, scoring the game's first five points. They made a season-high 16 3s while winning their fifth game in a row.
When Davide Moretti made their eighth 3-pointer with 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half, it was already 37-17, the largest deficit to that point for Kansas this season. The margin grew to as large as 33.
Texas Tech took over sole possession of second place in the Big 12, one game behind Kansas State (21-6, 11-3) with four regular-season games remaining.
It was most lopsided Big 12 loss for the Jayhawks (20-7, 9-5) since an 86-53 loss at Oklahoma State on Feb. 7, 2000. Dedric Lawson led Kansas with 14 points.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Matt Haarms scored 17 points and Grady Eifert beat the shot clock for two huge baskets down the stretch for Purdue.
Purdue (20-7, 13-3 Big Ten) won its second straight close road game, having beaten Indiana 48-46 on a tip-in with 3 seconds left Tuesday. Ryan Cline's 3-pointer to end the first half gave the Boilermakers a two-point lead, and they never trailed again.
Their 14th win in 16 games pulled them into a brief three-way tie for first in the Big Ten with Michigan and Michigan State. The tie will be broken Sunday when those two teams meet in Ann Arbor.
Glynn Watson Jr. scored a season-high 25 points and James Palmer added 15 points and a season-high eight assists for Nebraska (15-13, 5-12), which lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
TCU 75, NO. 19 IOWA STATE 72
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Kouat Noi had 20 points with 13 rebounds and TCU ended a three-game losing streak.
TCU, which had blown a 10-point lead it built before halftime, finally went ahead to stay when Desmond Bane hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with just under two minutes left to snap a 68-68 tie. JD Miller later drove hard for a layup, knocking down one defender without a call and getting fouled by another to make it 73-70 in the final 41 seconds. He missed the free throw.
Iowa State (19-8, 8-6 Big 12) was within 73-72 when Marial Shayok found a gap and drove for a layup with 22 seconds left. Noi added two free throws before the Cyclones got to attempt two 3-pointers in the final three seconds, the last after a TCU turnover while the buzzer sounded before a lengthy review that added .4 seconds on the clock.
The Frogs (18-9, 6-8) hadn't won since a 92-83 victory at Iowa State two weeks ago, which was their first road win over a ranked team in 21 years.
NO. 20 VIRGINIA TECH 67, NOTRE DAME 59
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 22 points and 14 rebounds to help Virginia Tech beat Notre Dame.
The Hokies (21-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) raced to a 14-4 lead.
The Fighting Irish (13-14, 3-11), who got as close as six points on three occasions in the second half, lost their third straight game and their ninth in their last 11 outings.
T.J. Gibbs led Notre Dame with 18 points.
NO. 22 WISCONSIN 69, NORTHWESTERN 64
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Brad Davison scored 16 points, D'Mitrik Trice and Ethan Happ added 14 points apiece and Wisconsin held off Northwestern.
Khalil Iverson added 11 points for the Badgers (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten). Happ scored nine of his points in the second half, and Trice shot 4-for-9 from 3-point range.
Vic Law had 24 points for the Wildcats (12-15, 3-13), and Dererk Pardon added 21. They have lost eight straight.
NO. 23 KANSAS STATE 85, OKLAHOMA STATE 46
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Balanced offense, stellar defense and good shooting propelled Kansas State.
The Wildcats had no problems as Xavier Sneed and Austin Trice led the team with 12 points each and Kamau Stokes had 11. K-State had 10 players score.
The Wildcats (21-6, 11-3 in Big 12 play) shot 62 percent and held the Cowboys to 31 percent. Oklahoma State (10-17, 3-11) was led by Yor Anei, who had 12 points as the Cowboys struggled the entire game to find the basket.
Barry Brown led the Wildcats in rebounding with seven as the team outrebounded the Cowboys 36-23.
NO. 24 MARYLAND 72, OHIO STATE 62
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 19 points, while Bruno Fernando had 14 points and 10 rebounds and No. 24 Maryland remained unbeaten at home in the Big Ten.
The Terrapins (21-7, 12-5) used a 13-0 run to take a 52-36 lead. Although the margin dwindled to two points with 5:27 left, Maryland held on to improve to 14-2 at home, including 7-0 in the conference.
With three Big Ten games left, including two at home, the Terrapins are in fourth place and in position to secure a double bye in the conference tournament.
Fernando scored all of his points after halftime, and reserve freshman Serrel Smith Jr. contributed a career-high 14 points for Maryland. Despite a slow start, Fernando secured his ninth double-double in his last 10 games.
Duane Washington Jr. scored 15 and Andre Wesson had 13 for Ohio State (17-10, 7-9). The Buckeyes have lost three of four and nine of their last 14.