Reaves, Sooners survive in 2 OTs
TOP 25 MEN NO. 12 OKLAHOMA 91, NO. 14 WEST VIRGINIA 90, 2OT
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Austin Reaves helped No. 12 Oklahoma pull off an impressive win on the road.
Reaves (Cedar Ridge High School) scored four of his 28 points in the final minute of the second overtime and the Sooners held off No. 14 West Virginia 91-90 on Saturday.
Oklahoma (13-5, 8-4 Big 12) squeaked out a win 1,000 miles from home after losing three of its last four games on the road.
“Just a heck of a ballgame,” Coach Lon Kruger said. “There wasn’t much margin either way throughout. Guys on both teams were fighting like crazy, making big-time plays, big-time stops.”
The Sooners couldn’t hold on to a 66-57 lead with six minutes left in regulation and had to depend on Reaves to pull this one out.
Reaves went 10 of 20 from the floor in his second game back since missing two games while in covid-19 protocols. He also had nine rebounds and seven assists.
“Austin’s a big-time competitor,” Kruger said. “He wants the ball in late-game situations. He doesn’t shy away from anything.”
Derek Culver had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Mountaineers (14-6, 7-4). He had averaged 6.5 points in six previous games against the Sooners.
West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins said his players were tired after returning late from a win at No. 7 Texas Tech on Tuesday and never fully regained their focus and concentration.
“We have to play with an edge, and we didn’t,” Huggins said.
West Virginia’s Sean McNeil added 21 points, all after halftime, and McBride scored 19.
Umoja Gibson added 21 points for the Sooners. Harmon scored 13, Elijah Harkless had 12 and Brady Manek 11.
NO. 1 GONZAGA 100, SAN FRANCISCO 61
SAN FRANCISCO — Drew Timme scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Gonzaga blasted San Francisco, lifting the Bulldogs to at least 20 wins for the 24th consecutive season.
Aaron Cook, Joel Ayayi and Corey Kispert each scored 12 points for Gonzaga (20-0, 11-0 West Coast), which won its 24th consecutive game dating to last season. This was their fifth straight road game.
Khalil Shabazz and Jamaree Bouyea each scored 14 points for San Francisco (10-10, 4-6), which lost for the 21st consecutive time to Gonzaga since its last victory in 2012.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 78, INDIANA 59
COLUMBUS, Ohio — E.J. Liddell scored 19 points and Justin Sueing had 16 as No. 4 Ohio State pulled away to rout Indiana for its sixth consecutive victory.
The Buckeyes (17-4, 11-4 Big Ten) have won nine of their last 10. They shot 48% against Indiana.
Trace Jackson-Davis scored 23 points and Jerome Hunter added 10 to pace Indiana (11-9, 6-7), which saw a twogame winning streak snapped.
NO. 19 CREIGHTON 86, NO. 5 VILLANOVA 70
OMAHA, Neb. — Marcus Zegarowski scored a season-high 25 points, Mitch Ballock had 17 of his 20 points in the second half and Creighton’s offense was at its high-tempo best in a rout of Villanova.
Creighton (16-5, 12-4 Big East) won for the sixth time in seven games and knocked off a top-five opponent for the first time since beating Villanova in February 2018.
The Wildcats (13-3, 8-2) sustained their most lopsided loss since a 25-point defeat to Ohio State in November 2019.
The Bluejays pulled away early in the second half of the meeting of the Big East’s top two teams. They had their best shooting first half of the season (65.4%) and finished at 59.3%.
NO. 9 VIRGINIA 60, NORTH CAROLINA 48
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Jay Huff had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Virginia took control early and beat North Carolina for the seventh consecutive time.
Sam Hauser added 17 points for Virginia (15-3, 11-1) and Trey Murphy III had 12 as the ACC-leading Cavaliers won their fourth in a row.
The Cavaliers led 21-4 midway through the first half as the Tar Heels missed 13 of their first 15 shots. North Carolina (12-7, 7-5) closed to within 2718 by halftime, but never threatened.
Huff, who also blocked four shots, hit three of the Cavaliers’ 12 three-pointers.
NO. 13 TEXAS 70, TCU 55
AUSTIN, Texas — Andrew Jones scored 19 points to lead No. 13 Texas to a victory over TCU as the Longhorns got their first home win in nearly a month.
Matt Coleman added 15 points and Jericho Sims had 11 points and eight rebounds for Texas (13-5, 7-4 Big 12), which had lost three of its last four at home, including the last two.
TCU (11-8, 4-6) pulled within 43-41 before consecutive turnovers set up layups by Jones. The Longhorns were back in control when Greg Brown used a quick baseline burst for a dunk and TCU never threatened the lead again. Brown finished with 13 points.
NO. 15 IOWA 88, MICHIGAN STATE 58
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Joe Wieskamp scored 21 points to lead No. 15 Iowa’s balanced offense in a victory over Michigan State.
The Hawkeyes (15-6, 9-5 Big Ten) had three players score 10 or more points and Luka Garza wasn’t one of them. Garza had a season-low eight points on 3 of 11 from the floor.
Jack Nunge m atched a career high with 18 points and Connor McCaffery had 16 points, making 4 of 6 three-pointers. Wieskamp made 5 of 7 three-pointers, helping his team connect on 13 of 25 shots beyond the arc.
The staggering Spartans (10-8, 4-8) are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997.
NO. 17 FLORIDA STATE 92, WAKE FOREST 85, OT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — RaiQuan Gray scored 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as No. 17 Florida State defeated Wake Forest in overtime in the Seminoles’ first game in two weeks.
The Seminoles tied it at 80 with under a second to go in regulation when Scottie Barnes drove the length of the floor and made a reverse layup. That set up Florida State (11-3, 7-2 ACC) in the extra period; the Seminoles have won 11 consecutive overtime games.
Florida State has now won 23 consecutive home ACC games, a streak that dates to a 77-68 win over Clemson on Jan. 22, 2019.
Jonah Antonio scored a career-high 23 points, drilling 7 of 8 shots from three-point range, for Wake Forest (69, 3-9).
NO. 20 S. CALIFORNIA 76, WASHINGTON STATE 65
PULLMAN, Wash — Tahj Eaddy scored a season high 29 points, Evan Mobley had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocked shots and No. 20 Southern California beat Washington State for its 10th consecutive victory over the Cougars.
The Trojans (17-3, 11-2 Pac-12) have won six in a row and 12 of their last 13 games.
Eaddy’s previous season high was against the Cougars on Jan. 16 when he scored 21 points.
Dishon Jackson had 18 points for the Cougars (12-9, 5-9), and Isaac Bonton added 17.
NO. 22 LOYOLA-CHICAGO 81, DRAKE 54
DES MOINES, Iowa — Aher Uguak scored 20 points while leading No. 22 Loyola Chicago to a victory over Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake.
Loyola (18-3, 13-1) extended its winning streak to 11 and gained sole possession of first place in the standings. Drake (19-2, 10-2) was led by Darnell Brodie’s 12 points.
NO. 23 OKLAHOMA STATE 67, KANSAS STATE 60
STILLWATER, Okla. — Cade Cunningham scored 15 points to help No. 23 Oklahoma State defeat Kansas State.
Rondel Walker scored 10 points in his first start of the season and Bryce Williams added 10 for the Cowboys (136, 6-6 Big 12).
Antonio Gordon scored 15 points and Nijel Pack added 14 for Kansas State (517, 1-12), which lost its 12th in a row. The Wildcats haven’t won since Dec. 29.
NO. 25 RUTGERS 64, NORTHWESTERN 50
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Ron Harper Jr. had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Myles Johnson controlled the paint with 12 points and 14 rebounds and No. 25 Rutgers (12-7, 8-7 Big Ten) beat Northwestern (6-12, 3-11).