Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Battle leads West Virginia to win over No. 3 Kansas
Raequan Battle had 23 points and nine rebounds to lead host West Virginia past No. 3 Kansas 91-85 on Saturday.
Pat Suemnick hit a go-ahead bank shot with 2:06 left and totaled 20 points for the Mountaineers (7-11, 2-3 Big 12), who had lost six straight to the Jayhawks (15-3, 3-2).
Kevin Mccullar Jr. scored 24 points and Hunter Dickinson 19 for Kansas, which trailed for most of the second half until K.J. Adams hit two free throws with 2:41 to go for an 81-80 lead.
West Virginia had a 31-22 edge in rebounds and hit 12 of 21 3-point tries — including nine of its first 11. The Mountaineers entered as the Big 12’s worst 3-point shooting team.
They iced the outcome by hitting nine of 10 free throws in the final 34 seconds. The Jayhawks yielded a season high in points and had a season low in rebounds.
■ No. 1 Connecticut 66, Villanova 65: At Philadelphia, Alex Karaban hit the decisive 3-pointer with 2:43 left for the Huskies (17-2, 7-1 Big East), who got 25 points from Tristen Newton. The Wildcats (11-7, 4-3) trailed 29-24 at halftime.
■ No. 2 Purdue 84, Iowa 70: At Iowa City, Iowa, Zach Edey had 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Boilermakers (17-2, 6-2 Big Ten), who had a 50-24 edge in rebounds. The Hawkeyes (11-7, 3-4) trailed 47-34 at halftime.
■ No. 4 North Carolina 76, Boston College 66: At Boston, the Tar Heels (15-3, 7-0 ACC) trailed for most of the first half in their eighth straight double-digit win. The Eagles (11-7, 2-5) didn’t have a field goal in the final three minutes.
■ No. 5 Houston 57, Central Florida 42: At Houston, the Cougars (16-2, 3-2 Big 12) made up for their 34.5 percent shooting by holding the Knights (11-6, 2-3) to 15.9 percent (7-for-44).
■ No. 6 Tennessee 91, Alabama 71: At Knoxville, Tenn., Dalton Knecht scored 25 points for the Volunteers (14-4, 4-1 SEC), who scored 23 points off 22 turnovers by the Crimson Tide (12-6, 4-1).
■ Pittsburgh 80, No. 7 Duke 76: At Durham, N.C., Blake Hinson shot 7-for-7 on 3-pointers and totaled 24 points for the Panthers (11-7, 2-5 ACC) in their first win at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1979. The Blue Devils (13-4, 4-2) had won eight in a row.
■ No. 8 Kentucky 105, Georgia 96: At Lexington, Ky., Tre Mitchell scored 23 points for the Wildcats (14-3, 4-1 SEC), who shot 61.9 percent. Jabri Adbur-rahim had 34 points for the Bulldogs (13-5, 3-2), who trailed 54-35 at halftime.
■ Texas 75, No. 9 Baylor 73: At Austin, Texas, Tyrese Hunter hit a driving layup at the buzzer and totaled 21 points for the Longhorns (13-5, 2-3 Big 12), who dealt the Bears (14-4, 3-2) their second straight loss.
■ No. 12 Arizona 77, UCLA 71: At Tucson, Ariz., Oumar Ballo had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (14-4, 5-2 Pac-12), who overcame a 19-point first-half deficit. The Bruins (8-11, 3-5) were up by 13 midway through the second half.
■ No. 13 Auburn 82, No. 22 Mississippi
59: At Auburn, Ala., the Tigers (16-2, 5-0 SEC) led by as many as 35 points in their 11th straight win and held the Rebels (15-3, 2-3) to a season-low scoring total.
■ No. 15 Oklahoma 69, Cincinnati 65: At Cincinnati, the Sooners (15-3, 3-2 Big 12) didn’t trail for the final 16:27 in their first league road win. The Bearcats (13-5, 2-3) shot 37.9 percent.
■ No. 17 Marquette 73, St. John’s 72: At New York, Tyler Kolek had 15 points and 11 assists for the Golden Eagles (13-5, 4-3 Big East), who led by 13 with six minutes left. The Red Storm (12-7, 4-4) missed two open 3-point tries in the final 10 seconds.
■ No. 18 Creighton 97, Seton Hall 94, 3OT: At Newark, N.J., Ryan Kalkbrenner had 28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks for the Bluejays (14-5, 5-3 Big East), who halted a five-game win streak by the Pirates (13-6, 6-2) in which they beat two ranked foes.
■ No. 24 Iowa State 73, No. 19 Texas Christian 72: At Fort Worth, Texas, Curtis Jones had 17 points and seven of the 18 steals by the Cyclones (14-4, 3-2 Big 12), who never trailed. The Horned Frogs (13-5, 2-3) had 27 turnovers, their most in eight seasons under coach Jamie Dixon.
■ No. 25 Texas Tech 85, No. 20 Brigham Young 78: At Lubbock, Texas, Coronado product Pop Isaacs scored 23 of his career-high 32 points in the second half for the Red Raiders (15-3, 4-1 Big 12), who overcame a 16-point intermission deficit. Aly Khalifa had 21 points for the Cougars (14-4, 2-3).
■ No. 21 Dayton 96, Rhode Island 62: At Dayton, Ohio, Javon Bennett scored 22 points for the Flyers (15-2, 5-0 Atlantic 10) in their 12th straight win. The Rams (9-8, 3-2) trailed 47-27 at halftime.
Mountain West men
■ No. 16 Utah State 83, Fresno State 62: At Logan, Utah, Great Osobor had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Aggies (172, 5-1), who are 15-1 when scoring at least 70 points this season. The Bulldogs (8-10, 1-4) were outrebounded 40-25.
■ Boise State 67, San Diego State 66: At Boise, Idaho, O’mar Stanley hit a goahead free throw with 7:26 left and totaled 17 points for the Broncos (13-5, 4-1), who dropped the Aztecs (15-4, 4-2) to 3-4 on the road.
■ Wyoming 97, UNR 93: At Laramie, Wyo., Sam Griffin had 26 points and seven assists for the Cowboys (10-8, 3-2), who shot 57.7 percent and didn’t trail in the second half. The Wolf Pack (15-4, 2-3) lost their third straight.
■ New Mexico 85, Air Force 66: At Colorado Springs, Colo., J.T. Toppin had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Lobos (16-3, 4-2), who shot 54.7 percent. The Falcons (7-10, 0-5) trailed 44-24 at halftime.
Top 10 women
■ No. 7 Kansas State 69, Kansas 58: At Manhattan, Kan., the Wildcats (18-1, 7-0 Big 12) took control with an 8-0 secondhalf run. The Jayhawks (9-9, 2-5) trailed 32-26 at intermission.
■ No. 9 Connecticut 88, Depaul 51:
At Storrs, Conn., freshman Ashlynn Shade had 21 points for the Huskies (16-3, 8-0 Big East), who scored 37 points off 27 turnovers by the Blue Demons (10-10, 2-5).