Loyola takes control in Valley
A second-half onslaught propelled No. 22 Loyola to an 81-54 rout of Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake on Saturday.
Aher Uguak was a catalyst for the visiting Ramblers (18-3, 13-1), scoring eight points in a two-minute span and finishing with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting.
“When he’s making baskets, when he finishes, his confidence is through the roof,” Loyola coach Porter Moser said.
The Ramblers shot 70.4% (19for-27) in the final 20 minutes while extended their winning streak to 11.
Drake (19-2, 10-2) was led by Darnell Brodie’s 12 points.
The Bulldogs shot just 30.4% in the second half (7-for-23).
“We have a thing called tough twos,” Moser said of Loyola’s defensive approach. “You’re not going to hold a team scoreless, but are they making tough twos?”
The Ramblers erased Drake’s three-point halftime lead and seized control with an 18-2 run to start the second half.
Braden Norris added 11 points for Loyola. Cameron Krutwig contributed 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Drake was playing without its leading scorer, ShanQuan Hemphill, who underwent surgery for a broken foot sustained last week.
Rutgers 64, Northwestern 50
The visiting Wildcats opened an early 10-point lead but still lost their 11th straight. Ron Harper Jr. (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Myles Johnson (12 points, 14 rebounds) had double-doubles for the No. 25 Scarlet Knights (12-7, 8-7 Big Ten). Anthony Gaines and Chase Audige each scored 11 points for Northwestern (6-12, 3-11), which shot 33%.
Providence 57, DePaul 47
The host Blue Demons scored a season-low 19 points in the second half en route to losing their fourth straight game. David Jones had 10 points for the Blue Demons (3-9, 1-9 Big East). A.J. Reeves had 13 points for Providence (11-10, 7-8).
IUPUI 88, UIC 81
Trevion Kirk had 21 points and six rebounds, but the visiting Flames (8-11, 5-9 Horizon) lost their seventh in a row. Marcus Burk scored 34 points on 12-for-19 shooting for IUPUI (7-8, 6-8).
Ohio State 78, Indiana 59
E.J. Liddell scored 19 points as the No. 4 Buckeyes (17-4, 11-4 Big Ten) routed the visiting Hoosiers (11-9, 6-7) for their sixth consecutive victory. Trace Jackson-Davis scored 23 points for Indiana.
Iowa 88, Michigan State 58
Joe Wieskamp scored 21 points to lead the No. 15 Hawkeyes (15-6, 9-5 Big Ten) past the host Spartans (10-8, 4-8). Iowa’s Luka Garza scored a season-low eight points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Illinois State 80, S. Illinois 55
DJ Horne had 17 points and Emon Washington 11 points and 10 rebounds as the visiting Redbirds (8-14, 3-11 MVC) snapped their sixgame losing streak by downing the Salukis (9-9, 3-9).
Missouri State 80, Bradley 58
Bradley (11-12, 5-9 Missouri Valley) lost on the road hours after announcing two-game suspensions for Elijah Childs, Ja’Shon Henry, Danya Kingsby and Terry Nolan Jr. for “violations of program standards.” Childs, Nolan and Henry are the Braves’ top three scorers.
Initial NCAA seeds released
No. 1 Gonzaga was the No. 1 overall seed followed by No. 2 Baylor in rankings released by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. It was part of a snapshot of the top 16 seeds with a month to go before Selection Sunday.
Third-ranked Michigan and fourth-ranked Ohio State followed as the other two No. 1 seeds, while Illinois was the top No. 2 seed and fifth overall. Iowa was a No. 4 seed.
The Big 12 had the biggest haul in this initial list with five teams. West Virginia and Oklahoma were No. 3 seeds, while Texas Tech and Texas were No. 4s.