Gonzaga stays perfect; UNC rolls
SPOKANE, Wash. — Nigel Williams-Goss had 18 points and seven assists as No. 1 Gonzaga beat Pacific 82-61 on Saturday to remain the only undefeated team in Division I.
Johnathan Williams had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and five players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, whose 28-game winning streak is the longest in the nation. The Bulldogs have two games left in their quest to become the first team since Kentucky in 2014-15 to finish the regular season undefeated.
Jack Williams scored 16 points for the Tigers (10-19, 4-12), who played the Zags tough at home on New Year’s Eve. The Tigers played without secondleading scorer T.J. Wallace, out with a foot injury.
The Tigers were undone by 33.8 percent shooting, compared to 46 percent for the Bulldogs, and a poor rebounding performance.
Neither team shot well in the early going, and the Bulldogs held a 21-18 lead midway through the first half.
The Bulldogs closed out the half with a 22-12 run, the last eight points by Williams-Goss, to take a 43-30 lead.
The Zags opened the second half with a 10-3 run to extend its lead to 20 points. The lead later grew to 70-43 and the Tigers did not threaten again. NORTH CAROLINA 65 VIRGINIA 41
Justin Jackson scored 20 points to help the No. 10 Tar Heels beat the No. 14 Cavaliers in Chapel Hill, N.C., keeping North Carolina alone in first in the ACC.
Kennedy Meeks had all of his 13 points and seven rebounds after halftime for the Tar Heels. They shot 47 percent and led by double figures nearly all night against the Cavaliers.
The Tar Heels led 34-22 at halftime, never let the Cavaliers closer than nine then ran off 10 straight points to take a 25-point lead and send Virginia to its first three-game skid in a single season in six years. DUKE 99, WAKE FOREST 94
Luke Kennard scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum added 19 and the No. 12 Blue Devils held on to beat the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Amile Jefferson had 16 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 59 percent and hit 13 3-pointers while winning their seventh straight. ARIZONA 76 WASHINGTON 68
Lauri Markkanen had 26 points and 13 rebounds, Allonzo Trier scored a season-high 21 points and the No. 5 Wildcats held off a challenge from the Huskies for a victory in Seattle. KENTUCKY 82, GEORGIA 77
De’Aaron Fox scored 16 points, including six free throws in the final 45 seconds, and the No. 13 Wildcats overcame J.J. Frazier’s 36 points to beat the Bulldogs in Athens, Ga.
Frazier’s seasonhigh effort helped keep Georgia close after the Bulldogs lost top scorer Yante Maten with a right knee injury less than two minutes into the game. VILLANOVA 92 SETON HALL 70
Jalen Brunson had 22 points and a career-high 10 assists and the No. 2 Wildcats clinched a tie for an unprecedented fourth straight Big East Conference regular-season title with a victory over the Pirates in Newark, N.J.
The Wildcats used a 22-1 spurt bridging the halves to take command in winning their seventh straight game, and handed the Pirates a loss that leaves them on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. LOUISVILLE 94 VIRGINIA TECH 90
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points to lead the No. 8 Cardinals past the visiting Hokies for Louisville’s 1,800th win.
Mitchell connected on his first six shots, including three 3-pointers en route to going 8 for 13 from the field and 5 of 7 from the beyond the arc.
From wire reports