Vanderbilt topples A&M; No. 1 Gonzaga improves to 27-0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Luke Kornet scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Vanderbilt rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit in beating Texas A&M 72-67 on Thursday night.
With the win, the Commodores snapped a four-game home skid in Southeastern Conference play. They also swept the Aggies after winning at Texas A&M 68-54 on Jan. 31.
Vanderbilt used its 3-point shooting prowess as the SEC’s best team outside the arc to overcome the Aggies’ dominance inside the paint.
Texas A&M (13-12, 5-8) announced before tipoff that sophomore guard DJ Hogg will miss the rest of the season with an injured foot. Tyler Davis scored 25 points, and Robert Williams added 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Aggies outscored Vanderbilt 42-22 inside the paint.
Vanderbilt led 35-34 at halftime but never pushed that past five in the second half. The Aggies last led 55-54 with 9:12 left on Davis’ final bucket of the game, though Tonny TrochaMorales tied it at 65 with 4:17 to go on back-to-back buckets. A&M didn’t hit another field goal.
GONZAGA 96 SAN FRANCISCO 61
Nigel Williams-Goss scored 30 points as the No. 1 Bulldogs defeated the Dons in Spokane, Wash., extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 27 games.
Przemek Karnowski added 23 points and seven rebounds for Gonzaga (270, 15-0 West Coast), which is seeking to become the first team since Kentucky in 2015 to go undefeated in the regular season.
Chase Foster had 15 points for San Francisco, which has dropped 11 straight to Gonzaga and 28 in a row in Spokane dating to 1989.
OREGON 79, UTAH 61
Dillon Brooks scored 20 points, and the seventh-ranked Ducks beat the short-handed Utes to extend their home winning streak to 41 games.
Jayce Johnson had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Utah, playing without top scorer Kyle Kuzma because of a sprained ankle.
ARIZONA 78 WASHINGTON ST. 59
Lauri Markkanen scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds to help the fifth-ranked Wildcats overcome an early deficit and breeze past the Cougars in Pullman, Wash.
MICHIGAN 64 WISCONSIN 58
Moe Wagner scored 21 points, and Zak Irvin has 18, helping the Wolverines upset the No. 11 Badgers in Ann Arbor, Mich.
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 70 LAMAR 61
TJ Holyfield scored 17 points, and the Lumberjacks (14-11, 9-4 Southland) beat the visiting Cardinals (15-11, 7-6) in the schools’ only regularseason matchup.
GOTTFRIED WON’T RETURN AT NORTH CAROLINA ST.
North Carolina State says men’s basketball coach Mark Gottfried won’t return for a seventh season but will coach the remainder of this season.
The school announced the decision less than a day after the Wolfpack (14-13, 3-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell by 24 points to No. 10 North Carolina in the team’s sixth consecutive loss as a once-promising season continues to unravel.
Gottfried had a 122-82 record with the Wolfpack, including NCAA Tournament trips in his first four years that included two Sweet 16 appearances.
But North Carolina State has slid to 30-30 over the last two seasons — including 8-24 in ACC play — and struggled to maintain continuity amid transfers, players leaving early to pursue professional careers, and staff turnover.