East Carolina upsets No. 5 Houston, 82-73
Jayden Gardner had 21 points and 15 rebounds to help East Carolina stun fifthranked Houston 82-73 on Wednesday night, securing the Pirates’ first win against a ranked opponent in nearly two decades.
Tremont Robinson-White added 17 points for East Carolina, which defied seasonlong offensive struggles against one of the nation’s top defensive teams. East Carolina shot 47% and made 11 of 24 3-pointers — and more impressively, the Pirates led for the last 12-plus minutes against a Houston team that struggled to make much of anything after halftime.
East Carolina (8-6, 2-6 American Athletic Conference) hadn’t won a game in more than a month between five straight losses and three postponements. But the Pirates found an unforgettable way to end a 33-game losing streak against AP Top 25 teams, though it came with no fans to storm the court in celebration and only a limited number of attendees in Minges Coliseum due to the coronavirus pandemic.
South Carolina 72, No. 22 Florida 66 — AJ Lawson scored 22 points, Seventh Woods added 12 and South Carolina beat No. 22 Florida 72-66 on Wednesday night, potentially making the Gators’ return to the rankings a brief one.
Keyshawn Bryant added eight points for the Gamecocks, including six in a decisive 13-1 run over the final 6:37 to close the game. That spurt turned a six-point deficit into an unlikely road victory.
Bryant scored on two dunks and a putback, a microcosm of Florida’s issues all night. South Carolina (5-6, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) dominated the Gators (10-5, 6-4) inside, outscoring them 50-30 in the paint and getting 13 offensive rebounds.
Florida was playing its first game as a ranked team in more than 14 months. The Gators snuck into the Top 25 after winning four in a row, including victories against No. 6 Tennessee and at No. 11 West Virginia.
UMass 60, Fordham 54 — T.J. Weeks recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds helping UMass held off Fordham at the Mullins Center.
Weeks also added five assists.
Javohn Garcia paced the Minutemen (6-4, 5-2) with 14 points while Carl Pierre added 10.
Tre Mitchell and Noah Fernandes missed the game for UMass with injuries.
Josh Navarro scored a game-high 17 points for the Rams (1-9, 1-9), who lost their seventh straight game.
Pittsburgh 83, No. 16 Virginia Tech 72 — Xavier Johnson scored a career-high 32 points and Pittsburgh beat No. 16 Virginia Tech 83-72 on Wednesday night to end a three-game skid.
Johnson had been slumping, scoring a total of 26 points in the three losses, and was held out of Pitt’s starting lineup for the first time this season and second time in his three-year career. He shot 11 of 17 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, as the Panthers (9-5, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) had their way against a usually stingy Virginia Tech defense.
Pittsburgh beat a ranked opponent for the first time since January 2019.
Keve Aluma scored 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 4 of 6 from long range, for the Hokies (13-4, 7-3), who were coming off a win over then-No. 8 Virginia. Justyn Mutts added 17 points.
No. 10 Alabama 78, LSU 60 — Jaden Shackelford scored 19 points and No. 10 Alabama beat LSU 78-60 on Wednesday night, widening its lead in the Southeastern Conference standings.
The Crimson Tide held a six-point lead at halftime and opened the second half on an 11-2 run, and the Tigers could not catch up.
After setting a league record with 23 made 3-pointers in their previous matchup on Jan. 19, Alabama (15-4, 10-0 SEC) showed it has multiple ways to win, this time by holding LSU (11-5, 6-4) to its lowest scoring output of the season.