Iowa pounds NIU
Next up for No. 3 Hawkeyes: matchup with No. 1 Gonzaga
Joe Wieskamp and the rest of the starters for No. 3 Iowa got to take a second-half break Sunday.
Luka Garza scored 23 points and Wieskamp added 20 in the Hawkeyes’ 106-53 romp over Northern Illinois.
Garza and Wieskamp left at the 15:22 mark of the second half and didn’t return as coach Fran McCaffery used his reserves for most of the half. Eleven Hawkeyes played 10 or more minutes.
“You did your job when you’re sitting on the bench for 16 minutes in the second half,” Wieskamp said.
The Hawkeyes (6-0) played their third game in six days. After playing No. 16 North Carolina and Iowa State last week, and a game against top-ranked Gonzaga coming up Saturday, a little time off to be a spectator was just fine for Wieskamp.
Iowa had a 25-2 first-half run that included a stretch of 15 consecutive points. The Hawkeyes led 51-27 at halftime and were up 71-32 when McCaffery started sitting his starters.
Adong Makuoi had 14 points and Anthony Crump had 10 for Northern Illinois (0-5).
No. 4 Michigan State 109, Oakland 91 — Michigan State coach Tom Izzo understood the entertainment value of his team’s latest victory — by a final score that more resembled an NBA game.
“That was a game for the media, for TV, for our fans, for our parents, and for our players — because we scored 109 points,” Izzo said. “For the coaches, there were some disappointments defensively.”
Rashad Williams scored 23 of his 36 points in the first half for Oakland, his second straight huge game against a big-name opponent.
The Golden Grizzlies (0-7) trailed by one shortly after halftime before Michigan State (6-0) quickly pushed the lead into double digits.
No. 11 West Virginia 87, No. 19 Richmond 71 — West Virginia coach Bob Huggins knew his team was capable of putting together a solid shooting performance.
It took six games for that to happen.
Miles McBride scored 20 points and the 11th-ranked Mountaineers rode a hotshooting first half to victory.
West Virginia (5-1) made 10 straight shots during an 18-1 run at the end of the first half for a 52-30 halftime lead. The team shot 66% (23 of 35) from the floor in the half. In their previous game, the Mountaineers fell behind by eight points at halftime before rallying to beat North Texas. But West Virginia was determined from the start against Richmond (4-1).
No. 22 Ohio State 67, Cleveland State 61 — Duane Washington Jr. scored 17 points and the Buckeyes (5-0) were coming off a good road win at Notre Dame on Tuesday, but struggled to put away the Vikings (0-3).
C.J. Walker added 16 points and freshman Zed Key had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
D’Moi Hodge had 14 points and Chris Greene scored 12 for Cleveland State.
No. 23 Arizona State 71, Grand Canyon 70 — Remy Martin had a rare quiet night in Arizona State’s previous game, playing with what coach Bobby Hurley called a blank look in his eyes.
Martin’s fire was back against Grand Canyon and the Sun Devils needed every bit of it. Martin hit a 3-pointer with 9 seconds left and scored 23 of of his 31 points points in the second half.
The Sun Devils (4-2) struggled without leading rebounder Marcus Bagley (left calf) in a 12-point loss to No. 24 San Diego State on Thursday. Bagley was still out, but Arizona State made up for it with blistering second-half shooting and a much more aggressive Martin.
Grand Canyon (4-1) rallied from an eight-point deficit to take a 70-68 lead in the final minute on consecutive 3-pointers by Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Alessandro Lever.
Western Kentucky 68, Rhode Island 65 — Josh Anderson scored 15 points and Taveion made two free throws with five seconds left and Western Kentucky held off Rhode Island.
Rhode Island trailed by 11 with 12:51 to play but went on a 15-3 run to take a 52-51 lead with 7:21 to go. Western Kentucky was up five with 90 seconds remaining but Fatts Russell made three free throws and a layup to tie the game with 47 seconds to go.
Charles Bassey put the Hilltoppers back on top with a layup and after Jalen Carey made just one of two free throws, Hollingsworth sealed it. The Rams couldn’t get off a final shot.
Hollingsworth had 14 points and seven rebounds for Western Kentucky (5-2) and Bassey added 13 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
D.J. Johnson had 16 points for the Rams (3-4) and Russell added 14 points.
Women
No. 4 North Carolina State
75, Boston College 69 — North Carolina State forward Kayla Jones was knocked onto her back, out of breath, after a layup that would have cut what had been a 16-point Boston College lead down to four with less than three minutes remaining.
“When she said a charge I said, ‘Oh my goodness.’ I was gassed,” Jones said. “I’m just glad they overturned it.”
After a talk among the officials, the ruling was changed to a blocking foul and the basket counted. Jones missed the free throw but hit a 3-pointer after the Wolfpack got the rebound and No. 4 N.C. State was back on its way to a 75-69 victory over BC on Sunday.
Jones scored 25 points and Elissa Cunane had 23 points with 15 rebounds on Sunday as the Wolfpack (6-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored 25 of the game’s last 29 points to remain unbeaten. Jones had 11 points — including nine in a row as the Wolfpack cut a doubledigit deficit to one point — and Cunane had eight rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Makayla Dickens scored 20 points, and Cam Swartz and Marnelle Garraud had 15 apiece for BC (4-2, 0-2 ACC). The Eagles made just two baskets in the fourth quarter while committing six turnovers.
Boston College led for all but the first basket and took its biggest lead, 65-49, early in the fourth quarter before the Wolfpack ran off eight straight points.
After a layup by Taylor Soule with 4:44 left, N.C. State scored the next 15 points, taking the lead with 1:25 to play.
No. 9 Kentucky 88, Samford 54 — Kyra Elzy didn’t want her team to become complacent.
The Kentucky interim coach challenged the Wildcats to sharpen their offensive skills and her squad did just that on Sunday.
Point guard Chasity Patterson led the Wildcats with 16 points — 13 in the second half — and sank a pair of 3-pointers. Patterson also had seven steals and four assists.
Andrea Cournoyer led the Lady Bulldogs (1-5) with 14 points.
No. 11 UCLA 73, USC 52 — Michaela Onyenwere scored 19 points and Charisma Osborne added 18 for UCLA.
Osborne hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Bruins opened a 27-18 lead. Onyenwere went 5 of 7, making both of her 3s, and scored 14 points in the third quarter when UCLA outscored the Trojans 20-5 to open a 27point lead.
Natlie Chou scored 10 points for the Bruins (4-1, 2-1 Pac-12 Conference).
Jordan Sanders, a graduate transfer from UC Irvine and the only senior for the Trojans (1-3, 0-3) scored 12 points and Desiree Caldwell added 11.
No. 13 Arkansas 105, Central Arkansas 58 — Chelsea Dungee scored 26 points, Destiny Slocum added 22 more and No. 13 Arkansas romped to its fourth-straight win.
Arkansas (7-1) also dominated in the paint, pounding in 48 points to 26 for Central Arkansas.
Jalisa Outlaw led the Bears (1-4) with 22 points and Charlay Conway added 10.
No. 24 DePaul 76, Loyola 67 — Lexi Held scored 10 of her 17 points in the last four minutes, sparking a late rally.
Sonya Morris led the Blue Demons (2-2) with 26 points, hitting 7 of 8 free throws and pulling down six rebounds. Deja Church added 15 points.
The game between the rivals on Chicago’s North Side saw eight ties and 10 lead changes.
Maya Chandler led the Ramblers (1-1) with 14 points, Allison Day added 11 with nine rebounds and Ellie Rice scored 10 with seven boards and six assists.