Garza lifts Iowa over Ohio State
Star gets 24 points, 11 rebounds in win
Luka Garza had 24 points and 11 rebounds as No. 9 Iowa bounced back from a midweek loss to take down No. 4 Ohio State 73-57 on Sunday.
Joe Weiskamp added 19, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range, for Iowa (18-7, 12-6 Big Ten). The Hawkeyes have won five of six with two games remaining in their regular season.
E.J. Liddell had 15 points and Justice Sueing added 10 for the Buckeyes (18-7, 12-7). Recently being projected as a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed, they’ve lost three games in eight days.
Butler 73, No. 8 Villanova 61:
Chuck Harris scored 20 points and Jair Bolden added 15 to lead Butler. The Bulldogs (9-13, 8-11 Big East) have won two straight and beaten the Wildcats in four of the last five in Indianapolis. Jeremiah Robinson-earl finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead Villanova (15-4, 10-3), which had won 13 of its previous 15 and was favored by 101⁄2points.
No. 12 Houston 98, South Florida 52: Quentin Grimes scored 22 points, all in the first half, for Houston. Grimes had 16 straight points at one point. Dejon Jarreau added 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. MAAC
Marist 76, Quinnipiac 67: Ricardo Wright had 13 points and seven rebounds for Marist.
America East
Umass-lowell 72, New Hampshire 64: Kalil Thomas nailed a high-arching corner 3 with 19 seconds left to close the door on New Hampshire and send Umass Lowell onto the America East Conference semifinals for the first time in program history. The River Hawks will face No. 1-seeded UMBC on Saturday.
Women
No. 3 Texas A&M 65, No. 5 South Carolina 57: Aaliyah Wilson scored 17 points and N’dea Jones added 16 to lead No. 3 Texas A&M over fifth-ranked South Carolina to give the Aggies their first regular-season Southeastern Conference title. It’s the 10th straight victory for the Aggies and their ninth win over a ranked opponent this season, which leads the nation.
No. 2 North Carolina State 68, Syracuse 61: Elissa Cunane had 17 points and nine rebounds, Jada Boyd added 16 points and North Carolina State win its fifth straight. The Wolfpack (17-2, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won their last four games against the Orange and handed Syracuse (12-7, 9-7) its first loss of the season in the Carrier Dome. The game had special meeting for both teams because it was part of the Play4kay campaign. The Orange donned pink uniforms to honor former N.C. State coach Kay Yow, who battled breast cancer for 22 years until her death in 2009. It also marked the first time Orange star guard Tiana Mangakahia wore the pink uniform since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2019 and missed all of last season after a bilateral mastectomy and several rounds of chemotherapy.
No. 4 Stanford 72, California 33: Kiana Williams scored 12 points in her final home game for the fourth-ranked Cardinal. Hannah Jump had 14 points with four 3-pointers for Stanford (22-2, 19-2 Pac-12), which won its 11th straight game.
No. 6 Louisville 78, Notre Dame 61: Dana Evans and Louisville took care of business quickly and wrapped up their fourth straight regular-season ACC title. Evans, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, had 26 points and five assists for the Cardinals (21-2, 14-2 ACC), who prevented No. 2 North Carolina State from overtaking them for first place.
No. 8 Maryland 62, Northwestern 50: Mimi Collins had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lift Maryland. Diamond Miller added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Arizona State 66, No. 9 Arizona 64 (OT): Taya Hanson scored 19 points, including hitting five 3-pointers, and Jaddan Simmons added 15 points for Arizona State. Maggie Besselink had seven points and 13 rebounds for the Sun Devils (11-9, 6-9), who lost 65-37 at Arizona on Dec. 10. Aari Mcdonald scored 30 points for the Wildcats (15-4, 13-4), who have their first two-game losing streak of the season.
Oregon State 88, Oregon 77: Aleah Goodman scored 20 points as Oregon State knocked off No. 14 Oregon in the annual rivalry.
Arkansas 94, Alabama 76: Amber Ramirez scored a careerhigh 35 points with eight 3pointers for No. 16 Arkansas.
No. 17 Georgia 95, Florida 80: Jenna Staiti scored 30 points, Maya Caldwell added 27, both career highs, for Georgia. Combined with No. 19 Kentucky’s loss to Ole Miss, Georgia (18-5, 10-5 SEC) secured a top-four seed and a double-bye in next week’s Southeastern Conference tournament. Floor Toonders, Jordyn Merritt and Kiara Smith all scored 16 for the Gators (10-12, 3-11) and Nina Rickards added 14. They have lost four straight since leading scorer Lavender Briggs (19.5) was lost for the season with a foot injury.
Mississippi 73, No. 19 Kentucky 69: Shakira Austin had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Madison Scott also had a double-double and Mississippi upended Kentucky for the second time this season. Two subpar offensive performances against the Rebels, who won just four conference games, dropped the Wildcats to the fifth-seed — with only one bye — for the Southeastern Conference tournament next week. Rhyne Howard scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds for Kentucky.
No. 20 Tennessee 88, Auburn 54: Rennia Davis scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Tennessee clinched the third-seed in the Southeastern Conference tournament next week. Fellow senior Kasiyahna Kushkituah added a career-high 19 points for the Lady Vols.
Missouri State 59, Loyola Chicago 45: Jasmine Franklin scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds off the bench for No. 23 Missouri State.
No. 25 Rutgers 60, Penn State 55: Tyia Singleton and Tekia Mack led a fourth-quarter rally in No. 25 Rutgers’ seventh straight win. Singleton had a pair of baskets and Mack two 3pointers in a 10-0 run that gave Rutgers (12-3, 8-3 Big Ten) a 52-45 lead with four minutes remaining. The Lady Lions (9-12, 6-11) got within three on Shay Hagans’ 3-pointer with 19 seconds to go but then had to foul twice to get Arella Guirantes to the line with 5.4 left. Guirantes made the first free throw and missed the second but Singleton got the offensive rebound.