Arizona handles Boise State
Duke overwhelms Utah State 85-52
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Arizona’s long nightmare in a city known as the happiest place on Earth is over.
The 11th-ranked Wildcats finally won at Honda Center in Anaheim, beating Boise State 68-59 in the third-place game of the DirecTV Wooden Legacy on Sunday.
Of course, this event wasn’t nearly as prestigious as the NCAA Tournament — Arizona has lost in all four West Regional title games they’ve played in this same arena, just down the road from Disneyland.
“It’s nice to come to the Honda Center and leave with a victory,” said Wildcats coach Sean Miller, who wasn’t just piling on platitudes. He presided over two of those defeats, while Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson was in charge for the other two.
Allonzo Trier and Kadeem Allen scored 13 points each to lead five Wildcats in double figures on a day when injured starting center Kaleb Tarczewski missed his second straight game. Ryan Anderson added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Gabe York and Mark Tollefsen added 10 points each.
With Tarczewski in the post, Anderson and Allen had seven rebounds each, and Tollefsen and Dusan Ristic had five apiece to help the Wildcats (6-1).
Arizona was upset by Providence 69-65 in the semifinals Friday after narrowly escaping with a 75-73 overtime win against winless Santa Clara on Thursday.
“When you lose a hardfought game like we did against Providence, a lot of times that carries over. These guys did a great job of putting that game behind us,” Miller said.
The Wildcats held Boise State (3-4) to 40 percent shooting.
No. 3 MICHIGAN STATE 77,
PROVIDENCE 64: In Anaheim, Calif., Bryn Forbes scored 18 points and Deyonta Davis had six of his 12 points in a game-ending spurt to help the Spartans (7-0) rally past the Friars (6-1) in the championship game of the DirecTV Wooden Legacy.
No. 6 DUKE 85, UTAH STATE
52: In Durham, N.C., freshman Luke Kennard had the best game of his young career, scoring 22 points to help the Blue Devils (6-1) beat the Aggies (4-1).
“I thought we were extremely
selfish offensively and soft defensively, and (it was) just a performance not to be proud of,” Utah State coach Tim Duryea said. “I didn’t think there was one redeeming quality about our performance.”
No. 7 OKLAHOMA 65, WISCONSIN 48: In Norman, Okla., Ryan Spangler had 20 points and 14 rebounds to help the Sooners (4-0) defeat the Badgers (4-3).
ALABAMA 74, NO. 17 NOTRE DAME 73: In Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Retin Obasohan scored 19 points, including the winning layup with 8 seconds left, in Alabama’s victory over Notre Dame in the fifth-place game at the AdvoCare Invitational.
Shannon Hale also had 19 points for Alabama (4-2). Steve Vasturia led Notre Dame (4-2)
IOWA 84, No. 20 WICHITA
STATE 62: In Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Jarrod Uthoff scored 22 points, Adam Woodbury had 15 and the Hawkeyes (4-2) Iowa beat the Shockers (2-4) in the seventh place game of the AdvoCare Invitational.
No. 23 XAVIER 90, DAYTON 61: In Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Edmond Sumner had 14 points to help the Musketeers (7-0) beat the Flyers (5-1) in the AdvoCare Invitational title game.
No. 25 SMU 77, BROWN 69:
In University Park, Texas, Keith Frazier scored 23 points and made three 3-pointers to break out of his 3-point shooting slump and lead the Mustangs (4-0).
Brown’s Steven Spieth scored 14 points in his Dallas homecoming. He is the brother of top-ranked golfer Jordan Spieth.
Women
No. 8 TEXAS 64, No. 4 TENNESSEE 53: In Knoxville, Tenn., Lashann Higgs scored 18 points and led an efficient 3-point attack as the Longhorns (5-0) ended the Lady Vols’ 27-game home winning streak.
The freshman guard shot 3 of 5 from 3-point range and posted her highest point total of the season for Texas, which went 6 of 13 from beyond the arc.
No. 8 MISSISSIPPI STATE
92, SAVANNAH STATE 25: In Starkville, Miss., Victoria Vivians scored a season-high 27 points to lead Mississippi State (5-0) over Savannah State (1-3).
No. 12 KENTUCKY 92,
JACKSON STATE 24: In Lexington, Ky., Evelyn Akhator had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Kentucky held Jackson State to seven second-half points en route to Matthew Mitchell’s 200th win with the Wildcats (6-0).