UConn falters
Lose to No. 9 Creighton in OT in first game back in Big East
STORRS, Conn. — No. 9 Creighton had already lost two close games this season and was facing a third defeat before rallying on Sunday to beat UConn in overtime.
Christian Bishop scored 19 points and the Bluejays used a 9-0 run in the extra frame to secure a 76-74 win over the Huskies in Connecticut’s first conference game since returning to the Big East.
Mitch Ballock added 13 points for the Bluejays (6-2, 2-1 Big East). Denzel Mahoney had 10 points and 13 rebounds and Marcus Zegarowski scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
James Bouknight scored a career-high 40 points for the Huskies (3-1, 0-1), who were playing for the first time in 17 days because of coronavirus-related issues.
“We knew not the entire team can score like he can,” Bishop said. “So, by making him beat us by himself, that’s what you’ve gotta do.”
This was UConn’s first Big East game since a 63-59 win over Providence on March 9, 2013, a span of 2,834 days.
Creighton led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but trailed by four points with 21 seconds left and had to rally to send the game to OT.
Zegarowski, who shot 4 of 14, made a layup with just over 13 seconds left to make it a two-point game at 66-64.
UConn’s R.J. Cole, who scored 12 points, had a chance to ice the game for the Huskies, but missed a pair of foul shots on the other end.
Damien Jefferson hit a jumper in the lane just before the buzzer to tie the game.
Northwestern 79, No. 4 Michigan St. 65 — Boo Buie scored a career-high 30 points and Northwestern beat Michigan State for the first time in almost a decade.
Pete Nance added 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in Northwestern’s biggest victory since its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. Freshman Ty Berry had 12 points in the Big Ten opener for each school, including three of the Wildcats’ 10 3-pointers.
Northwestern (4-1) stopped a 12-game slide in the series with its first victory over Michigan State since Jan. 14, 2012. It also was the Wildcats’ first win over a top-five team in the AP poll since an 83-65 victory over Magic Johnson and then-No. 4 Michigan State on Jan. 27, 1979.
No. 6 Houston 88, Alcorn State 55 — Quentin Grimes had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Reggie Chaney added 18 points and six rebounds for No. 6 Houston.
Houston (5-0) was limited to nine players because of COVID-19 protocols and injuries. The Cougars played without second-leading scorer Marcus Sasser, preseason American Athletic Conference player of the year Caleb Mills, reserve guards Cameron Tyson and Ryan Elvin and center Caleb Broodo.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and son, assistant coach Kellen Sampson, returned after missing the Cougars’ last game Dec. 5 due to COVID-19 and contact tracing protocols.
Jamal Shead added 10 points for Houston. The Cougars shot 50% and had a 48-29 rebounding advantage, including 21-10 on the offensive boards. Houston turned that into a 23-8 edge in second-chance points.
No. 19 Rutgers 91, No. 13 Illinois 88 — Ron Harper Jr. scored 28 points, Jacob Young added 24 and No. 19 Rutgers overcame a doubledigit first-half deficit to beat No. 13 Illinois 91-88 on Sunday.
Illinois (5-3, 1-1 Big Ten) quickly jumped out to an 8-0 lead, leading by as many as 11 in the first half before going into the break up 41-37.
Rutgers (6-0, 2-0) would get to within one a couple of times in the second half before Harper hit a 3-pointer to give Rutgers its first lead of the game at 49-47 five minutes into the second half. Harper would finish the game 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.
However, the lead wouldn’t last, as Illinois tied it on the following possession on a dunk by Giorgi Bezhanishvili. The teams would trade leads before Harper had a dunk on a fastbreak midway through the half to make it 54-53. The Scarlet Knights would never give up the lead, going up by as many as 12.
No. 11 Texas 77, Oklahoma State 74 — Freshman Greg Brown scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help Texas beat Oklahoma State in its Big 12 opener.
Brown made four free throws during the final 37 seconds as Texas (7-1) survived a late Oklahoma State rally that included two 3-point baskets by Bryce Williams in the final 11 seconds. Brown made a pair of 3-pointers during a 17-0 Texas run in the second half. He also had three blocks in the game.
Brown, one of the top 10 ranked recruits in the country, scored 18 and 17 in his previous two games after not having more than 11 in his first five. Andrew Jones matched his career best with 22 points, and Matt Coleman scored 15 for Texas.
Oklahoma State (6-2, 0-2 Big 12) freshman Cade Cunningham scored 25 points, including 13 of 14 for the Cowboys as they tried to erase what was once a 13point deficit.
Texas trailed 34-29 after a dismal first half of half-court offense against Oklahoma State’s zone. The Longhorns shot 32.4% and missed 13 of 16 3-point attempts. They committed nine turnovers. Old Dominion 66, Northeastern 62 — Kalu Ezikpe had 17 points as Old Dominion narrowly defeated Northeastern. Joe Reece added 11 points for the Monarchs, and Malik Curry chipped in 10 points.
Shaquille Walters had 17 points for the Huskies (1-3).
Coleman Stucke added 12 points. Tyson Walker had 10 points.
Old Dominion (3-2) plays Virginia Wesleyan at home on Tuesday. Northeastern plays Georgia on the road on Tuesday.
Hartford 65, Maine 50 — D.J. Mitchell had a career-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range for Hartford.
The Hawks edged the Black Bears 63-60 on Saturday.
Miroslav Stafl had 17 points and eight rebounds for Hartford (5-2, 2-0 America East Conference), which earned its fifth consecutive victory. PJ Henry added seven assists and Moses Flowers had seven rebounds.
Vilgot Larsson had 11 points for the Black Bears (0-2, 0-2).
Women
No. 4 N.C. State 78, Miami 47 — Elissa Cunane scored 13 of her 18 points during No. 4 North Carolina State’s explosive first quarter.
Kai Crutchfield added 14 points and Jakia BrownTurner and Kayla Jones each had 10 points for N.C. State (8-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Cunane, a junior center, hit three 3-pointers in a span of about 5 1/2 minutes of the first quarter and finished 7 of 11 from the field. The Wolfpack led 31-11 after the first 10 minutes.
Kelsey Marshall scored 14 points and Taylor Mason had 10 points to lead Miami (4-2, 1-2), which was playing its first road game. No. 6 Arizona 77, Utah 60 —
Arizona has made a habit of starting games slow this season. Aari McDonald did everything possible to keep it from happening against Utah.
McDonald, the NCAA career scoring leader among active players, tallied 19 points to lead the Wildcats. She also chipped in six rebounds and six assists in a strong all-around effort that kept the Wildcats (6-0, 5-0 Pac-12) undefeated.
Cate Reese and Sam Thomas added 11 points apiece for the Wildcats. As a team, Arizona forced Utah to commit 22 turnovers and scored 29 points off those turnovers.
Niyah Becker scored 13 points to lead the Utes. Brynna Maxwell added 11 points. Peyton McFarland chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Utes (2-4, 1-4 Pac-12) shot just 38% from the floor.
No. 10 Texas A&M 57, Rice 53 — Aaliyah Wilson scored 16 points, including a key basket late.
Nancy Mulkey made two free throws to get the Owls within 1 with less than a minute left. But Wilson made a jumper soon after that to make it 56-53 and Ciera Johnson added a free throw with 3 seconds left to secure the victory.
Jasmine Smith had 18 points to lead Rice (4-1) as the Owls lost for the first time this season.
The win is the eighth straight victory in the series for Texas A&M (8-0).
No. 13 Mississippi St. 72, Central Arkansas 49 — Jessika Carter scored a careerhigh 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Mississippi State.
Carter was 12-of-16 shooting.
The Bulldogs (5-1) had a 17-3 run in the first quarter, taking a 22-10 lead after Jalisa Outlaw knocked down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the Bears.
Outlaw led Central Arkansas (2-6) with 19 points. She was 2 of 9 from the field but 14 of 15 from the foul line. The Bears finished at 23% (12 of 53) from the field but 22 of 24 from the line.
No. 15 Indiana 81, Nebraska 45 — Aleksa Gulbe scored 18 points with 12 rebounds for Indiana in the Hoosiers’ Big Ten Conference opener.
Mackenzie Holmes scored 16 for the Hoosiers (3-2, 1-0) who scored almost half their points (38) on the inside.