Curbelo helps Illini hold off Purdue
True freshman Andre Curbelo doesn’t start for Illinois, but he makes quite an impact.
Curbelo, the Big Ten leader in assists, added six more Saturday as the No. 15 Fighting Illini beat Purdue 66- 58 in Champaign.
Kofi Cockburn had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Illinois ( 8- 3, 4- 1 Big Ten), while Ayo Dosunmu and Da’Monte Williams each scored 12. Adam Miller added 10 points.
Curbelo has shown flashes of brilliance with his passing skills during the young season. Three of his six assists were perfect alleyoops to Cockburn for dunks.
“You should see him practice,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said of Curbelo. “It’s pretty cool. Passes between the defender’s legs — he does it all. On the court during the game, he is finding his balance. He’s out there probing things and figuring it out.”
Asked why Curbelo doesn’t start but usually enters the game after the four- minute mark during the first media timeout, Underwood laughed and said: “The floor just opens up out there when he comes in. He changes the game, and tonight he did it on both ends of the court.”
Brandon Newman scored 14 points and Trevion Williams had 14 points and eight rebounds for Purdue ( 7- 5, 2- 3).
N. Carolina 66, Notre Dame 65
Freshman Day’Ron Sharpe had a season- high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Leaky Black hit the go- ahead jumper in the closing seconds and North Carolina ( 6- 4, 1- 2 ACC) beat visiting Notre Dame ( 3- 6, 0- 3).
Nate Laszewski led the Fighting Irish with 25 points, including a career- high seven three- pointers, and nine rebounds.
Loyola 57, North Texas 49
Aher Uguak had a career- high 26 points as Loyola beat North Texas at Gentile Arena for its fourth straight win.
Cameron Krutwig had 12 points
for Loyola ( 7- 2). Javion Hamlet had 14 points for the Mean Green ( 4- 4).
Iowa 77, Rutgers 75
Luka Garza had 25 points, 15 in the second half, and No. 10 Iowa ( 9- 2, 3- 1 Big Ten) beat No. 14 Rutgers ( 7- 2, 3- 2) on the road. Hawkeyes guard Connor McCaffrey, the son of Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey, missed most of the game after suffering an ankle injury and is “dayto- day,” according to his father.
Jacob Young had 17 points for
Rutgers, which made just 4 of 12 free throws.
Michigan St. 84, Nebraska 77
Aaron Henry scored a careerhigh 27 points as No. 17 Michigan State ( 7- 3, 1- 3) ended a three- game losing streak and sent host Nebraska ( 4- 7, 0- 4) to its 21st straight Big Ten loss. Teddy Allen’s 23 points led the Cornhuskers.
Gonzaga 85, San Francisco 62
Corey Kispert scored 26 points
on 9- for- 11 shooting as top- ranked Gonzaga ( 10- 0, 1- 0 West Coast) won its 44th straight home game, the longest streak in the nation.
Texas 84, Kansas 59
Courtney Ramey scored 18 points to lead five Texas players in double figures, and the No. 8 Longhorns ( 8- 1, 2- 0 Big 12) routed thirdranked Kansas ( 8- 2, 1- 1) to match the most lopsided win by an opponent in the history of the Jayhawks’ Allen Fieldhouse.
COVID postponements
Saturday’s game between DePaul and host St. John’s was postponed due to a COVID- 19 issue within the Red Storm program. The Blue Demons are next scheduled to play Tuesday at Wintrust Arena against Villanova.
Sunday’s scheduled game between Wisconsin and host Penn State was postponed “due to health and safety concerns,” the schools announced.