Clemson’s consolation prize is upset of No. 3 Blue Devils
CLEMSON, S.C. >> Clemson gave its weary fans something to celebrate a night after losing the national championship game in football, getting a career-high 25 points from Aamir Simms in a 79-72 upset of No. 3 Duke Tuesday night.
It was the highest-profile upset for the Tigers since beating No. 1 North Carolina on their home court in February 2001. And just like that day, students rushed the court at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Blue Devils (15-2, 5-1 ACC) came into the game a 101/2-point favorite and leading the nation with an average margin of victory of 21.5 points. Duke had not lost since a stunning home defeat to Stephen F. Austin in November.
The Tigers completed one of the rarest of ACC doubles. They beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill for the first time in program history Saturday, ending a 59-game losing streak on the Tar Heels’ home court.
“I’m so proud of my teammates and I love my school,” Simms said.
“Everybody on our team came out to play tonight. That was coach’s game plan. We were going to try to rotate a lot of guys. Everybody was ready to play. We’re just all excited.”
Clemson (9-7, 3-3) has now beaten North Carolina and Duke in back-to-back games twice. The other time came in 1990, when the Tigers won their only regular-season title in 67 ACC seasons.
Less than 24 hours earlier, The Tigers’ football team fell short in its bid for a third national championship in five seasons, losing 42-25 to LSU in the College Football Playoff championship game at the Superdome in New Orleans. No one expects the Tigers to make a run to the title in basketball, but for one night, they showed they could thump one of the country’s best teams.
(11) LOUISVILLE 72, PITTSBURGH 68 >> Pittsburgh forward Terrell Brown thought he had a game-tying tipin with 21 seconds to play, but he was called for a foul on the play, allowing Louisville to escape Pitt’s upset bid.
Pitt guard Trey McGowens’ driving layup attempt bounced off the rim, and Brown put it back, appearing to tie the game, but he was whistled for an over-the-back foul against Louisville’s Malik Williams.
Williams hit both free throws to put Louisville up by two possessions, securing the final margin of victory.
Louisville star junior Jordan Nwora was limited by Pitt’s defense, leading the Cardinals with
14 points, which tied for his secondsmallest output of the season.
Pitt led for over 33 minutes, but never by more than nine points. The entire second half was a back and forth affair, with the Cardinals gradually closing the gap. Louisville tied the game at 61 with under a minute remaining on a Johnson free throw.
(21) OHIO STATE 80, NEBRASKA 68 >> C.J. Walker scored 18 points to help Ohio State (12-5, 2-4 Big Ten) snap a four-game losing streak with a win over Nebraska (7-10, 2-4).
The Buckeyes hadn’t won since before Christmas, but they took charge early and rolled over the
Cornhuskers, whose transferheavy lineup is still learning to play together.
Ohio State played typically good defense and finally knocked down some shots, even without suspended guards Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington Jr. available. That put the pressure on guards D.J. Carton and Walker, both of whom played most of the game. Carton finished with 13 points to go along with five assists.
Ohio State had started the season 11-1 and was ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 before losing to West Virginia, Wisconsin, Maryland and Indiana in a woeful two-week period. They had failed to score 60 points since beating Kentucky 7165. They reached that total before the mid-way point of the second half Tuesday during 12-0 run.
Women
(4) CONNECTICUT 68, MEMPHIS 56. >> Crystal Dangerfield scored 24 and fourth-ranked UConn used a late run to pull away from Memphis.
The Huskies (14-1, 5-0 American Athletic Conference) escaped in the final quarter to remain undefeated in league play.. They have not lost a conference game since joining AAC in the 2013-14 season and are 11-0 all-time against Memphis (9-8, 0-4).
Megan Walker added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies and Christyn Williams scored 16 points.