College basketball roundup,
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Purdue 55, No. 23 Mich. State 54
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Trevion Williams knew no one doubted he would get the ball when Purdue had a chance to score a go-ahead basket against Michigan State.
The Spartans certainly thought the pivotal inbounds play would go to Williams. They just couldn’t stop him from getting the ball — or the bucket.
Williams made a short jumper with 4.5 seconds left and scored 22 of his 26 points after halftime, rallying the Boilermakers over the Spartans on Friday night after trailing by 17.
“Everybody knew the ball was going to me,” the 6-foot-10, 265-pound power forward said. “I just wanted to take my time with it.”
Aaron Henry, who scored 13 points, missed a runner from the left side of the lane just before the buzzer to seal the stinging setback for the Spartans.
“One of the more disappointing losses,” coach Tom Izzo said. “Give Purdue credit.”
Williams, in particular. He made 9 of 14 shots and 8 of 12 free throws and grabbed nine rebounds for the Boilermakers (8-5, 3-3 Big Ten) to end a two-game losing streak.
“He was the difference in the game,” Izzo said.
The Spartans (8-4, 2-4) missed 11 of their last 13 shots and connected on just 39% overall.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Izzo said. “They deserved to win. They made winning plays.”
Liberty 69, Kennesaw State 63
LYNCHBURG — Blake Preston scored 17 points to spark the Flames (10-4, 2-1 Atlantic Sun) past the Owls (3-8, 0-3) in the opener of a two-game series.
Liberty extended its home winning streak to seven games. Chris Parker had 13 points for Liberty, while Darius McGhee added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Spencer Rodgers scored a career-high 31 points and had six rebounds for the Owls, who have now lost six games in a row.
Postponements: Clemson’s games at North Carolina and Syracuse, scheduled for tonight and Tuesday, respectively, were postponed because of the Tigers’ COVID-19 concerns. Syracuse’s game at UNC was rescheduled for 9 p.m. Jan. 12 — 10 days later than originally planned — on ACC Network.
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No. 1 Stanford 70, No. 11 Oregon 63
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Haley Jones had 18 points and six rebounds in her hometown, and Stanford used an explosive third quarter to win Friday. The Cardinal were playing in Northern California for the first time in nearly a month.
Francesca Belibi’s three-point play with 17 seconds remaining in the third capped a second decisive 9-0 run that period by the short-handed Cardinal (10-0, 7-0 Pac-12).
Oregon (8-2, 6-2) was coming off a home defeat to UCLA that ended the Ducks’ national-best 27-game winning streak.
Stanford senior Anna Wilson, who grew up in Richmond and whose older brother Russell quarterbacks the Seattle Seahawks said, “It just meant a lot to me and the team. It’s amazing to be down three people — three important people, too, whether it’s a leader, a scorer, a 3-point shooter, rebounder — to not have those big pieces and understand that our team is playing for them and just how close our team is.”
The game was played at Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors’ G League affiliate. The Cardinal haven’t been able to play or practice on campus since Santa Clara County’s restrictions came down Nov. 28 and the team left town Dec. 2.
Postponements: James Madison’s two-game home series against UNC Wilmington, planned to start today, was postponed because Dukes coach Sean O’Regan tested positive for coronavirus. He said he has no symptoms and is isolating. Meanwhile, Virginia’s women’s team remains on pause because of COVID-19 protocols, meaning that Tuesday’s scheduled home game against Wake Forest has been postponed indefinitely.