Virginia neutralizes North Carolina
Kyle Guy scored 17 points, London Perrantes had 13 and No. 23 Virginia used a small lineup to neutralize No. 5 North Carolina’s size in a 53-43 victory last night in Charlottesville, Va.
Guy connected on five 3-pointers for Virginia (20-9, 10-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) and Perrantes hit three, continuing to emerge from a shooting slump that contributed greatly to a four-game skid for the Cavaliers.
Joel Berry II scored 12 points to lead the Tar Heels (25-6, 134), who snapped a four-game winning streak. ACC player of the year contender Justin Jackson, who arrived averaging 19.9 points in league play, was guarded most of the night by Perrantes and scored just seven points and missed seven of his 10 shots.
Kansas 73, Oklahoma 63 — Frank Mason III scored 23 points in his final game at Allen Fieldhouse, Devonte Graham nailed a series of crucial second-half 3-pointers and the top-ranked Jayhawks (27-3, 15-2 Big 12) came back from a 12-point deficit with 9:50 remaining to drop the Sooners (10-19, 4-13) in Lawrence, Kan.
Graham finished with 16 points and Josh Jackson had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Big 12 champs, who finished the game on a 31-11 run.
Oklahoma was poised to spring a big upset on the day the Jayhawks ascended to No. 1 for the first time this season. But after they took their biggest lead with just over 10 minutes to go, Mason got the comeback started with a nifty basket inside.
Baylor 71, West Virginia 62 — Johnathan Motley scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime and the 11th-ranked Bears dropped the 10th-ranked Mountaineers in Waco, Texas.
Baylor (24-6, 11-6 Big 12) avenged a 21-point loss at WVU (23-7, 11-6) on Jan. 10, which came after the Bears had won their first 15 games and reached No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history.
Virginia Tech 66, Miami 61 — Ty Outlaw netted a careerhigh 24 points, all on 3-pointers, as the Hokies (21-8, 10-7 ACC) dropped the No. 25 Hurricanes (20-9, 10-7) in Blacksburg, Va.
Women’s basketball
UConn 96, South Florida 68 — In Tampa, Napheesa Collier had a career-high 39 points and 12 rebounds to help the No. 1 Huskies (29-0, 16-0 AAC) wrap up another undefeated regular season and extend their NCAA-record winning streak to 104 games with a rout of the Bulls (22-7, 11-5).