Wright gets off deck, helps Colorado sink No. 17 Oregon
McKinley Wright IV recovered from a scary fall to score 21 points, including a game- sealing scoop layup with 27 seconds left, and host Colorado held off No. 17 Oregon for a 79-72 win on Thursday in Boulder.
Jeriah Horne added 17 points for the Buffaloes (83, 2-2 Pac-12), who improved to 10- 0 against the Ducks (8-2, 3-1) all-time in Boulder.
Wright was fouled driving to the basket late in the first half, slid out of bounds and banged his neck on a courtside chair. He pounded the floor in pain before joining the team on the bench and returning to the floor. Struggling before the fall, Wright caught fire after it — scoring all of his points.
The senior point guard also had five assists to move five away from breaking the school record of 562 assists held by Jay Humphries ( 1980- 84). Wright also grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds.
Chris Duarte, the reigning Pac-12 player of the week, scored 27 points for an Oregon team that saw its eight-game win streak halted. Eugene Omoruyi added 18 points.
NO. 1 GONZAGA 86, BYU 69 >> Corey Kispert scored 23 points, and the top-ranked Zags (11- 0, 2- 0 West Coast Conference) won their 45th consecutive home game, the longest streak in the nation. Gonzaga was supposed to play Santa Clara and BYU was scheduled to play Pacific. But both those teams had to drop out because of COVID-19 protocols,
Matt Haarms and Caleb Lohner each scored 13 points for BYU (9-3, 0-1). NO. 5 IOWA 89, MARYLAND 67 >> Luka Garza scored 17 of his 24 points in the decisive first half, and the Hawkeyes kept the host Terrapins (66, 1- 5 Big Ten) for nearly eight minutes in the first
half.
The Hawkeyes (10-2, 4-1) trailed 19-9 before rattling off 20 straight points to take control.
NO. 8 WISCONSIN 80, INDIANA 73, 2OT >> D’Mitrik Trice scored 21 points, and Tyler Wahl made consecutive 3-pointers in the second overtime as the Badgers outlasted the Hooisers. Wahl finished with a careerhigh 12 points as Wisconsin (10-2, 4-1 Big Ten) won for the seventh time in its past eight games.
Trayce Jackson- Davis scored 23 points for the Hoosiers (7-5, 2-3).
USF HALL OF FAMER HARDY DIES >> USF Hall of Famer James Hardy, who came to the Hilltop in 1975 as part of one of the greatest recruiting classes in the program’s history, died Dec. 29. Hardy joined fellow USF Hall of Famers Bill Cartwright and Winfred Boynes in that celebrated class. In 80 career games, Hardy averaged 13.4 points per game while shooting 52.8 percent from the field and averaging 9.7 rebounds per contest. Hardy left as the program’s 10th all-time leading scorer (1,075) and its seventh leading rebounder (772).
He was inducted into the
43rd USF Athletic Hall of Fame Class in 2017.
TOPRECRUITLEAVINGTEXAS TECH AFTER 12 GAMES >>
Texas Tech freshman Nimari Burnett, the program’s first McDonald’s All-American, is leaving the program just 12 games into his career.
Coach Chris Beard made the announcement Thursday, two days after Burnett played a season-low six minutes in the No. 18 Red Raiders’ 82-71 victory over Kansas State.
Burnett, a high school standout in Chicago and consensus top 30 recruit nationally, never cracked the starting lineup in a crowded backcourt while averaging 5.3 points.
COVID CONCERNS
• The Tulsa- Central Florida game scheduled for Saturday at Tulsa has been postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests and subsequent contact tracing among UCF athletes. The American Athletic Conference game has not yet been rescheduled.
• No. 25 Florida State’s visit to Pittsburgh scheduled for Saturday has been postponed due to following COVID-19 testing issues within the Seminoles program. The postpone
ment is the third this week for Florida State.
Women COVID CONCERNS:
• Because of to COVID-19 contact tracing within the Fresno State program, today’s San Jose State-Fresno State game has been postponed. The Mountain West and the schools are working on a reschedule date.
• No. 5 South Carolina has paused team activities and postponed Thursday’s game with Georgia. The team said a combination of a positive coronavirus test, contact tracing and quarantine led them to halt things until further testing is done.
• Ninth-ranked UCLA will not play tonight’s game against Colorado because the Bruins do not have enough healthy players. Coach Cori Close said the Bruins will not meet the Pac-12 Conference’s minimum of seven healthy scholarship players ahead of the game. UCLA is hoping to reschedule the game for later in the season.
The Bruins have had a limited roster all season, suiting only eight players.