Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Kentucky bows at home to Gonzaga
Anton Watson scored 17 points, including a go-ahead three-point play with 3:49 left before adding two key layups in the final 91 seconds, as Gonzaga withstood a second-half rally to beat No. 17 Kentucky 89-85 on Saturday in Lexington, Kentucky.
Graham Ike had 23 points for the Bulldogs (18-6), who dealt the Wildcats (16-7) a third straight loss at Rupp Arena for the first time. Rupp opened in 1976. Kentucky hadn’t lost three in a row at home since 196667 when it played at Memorial Coliseum.
Reed Sheppard scored 21 points for the Wildcats, who trailed 42-32 at halftime before storming back to force a backand-forth contest the rest of the way.
Sheppard’s three-point play with 4:07 left tied the game at 75, but Watson provided the go-ahead layup and ensuing free throw to put Gonzaga ahead for good, at 78-75.
Watson followed Ryan Nembhard’s two free throws and Ike’s layup with a tip-in with 1:31 left for an 84-80 edge and another basket 36 seconds later for a four-point cushion.
Ben Gregg stole a Kentucky lob pass and made one of two free throws with five seconds to go, and Nolan Hickman made two with one second left for Gonzaga.
Hickman finished with 17 points. Antonio Reeves scored 17 for the Wildcats.
■ No. 1 Connecticut 89, Georgetown 64: At Washington, Alex Karaban scored 25 points for the Huskies (22-2, 12-1 Big East), who had 9-0 and 11-0 runs in the first 10 minutes. The Hoyas (8-15, 1-11) were outscored 4824 in the paint.
■ No. 2 Purdue 79, Indiana 59: At West Lafayette, Ind., Zach Edey hit his first career 3-pointer and totaled 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2 Big Ten), who notched a second 20-point win over the Hoosiers (14-10, 6-7) in a season for the first time since 1993-94.
■ No. 3 North Carolina 75, Miami 72: At Coral Gables, Fla., R.J. Davis scored 25 points for the Tar Heels (19-5, 11-2 ACC), who didn’t trail after opening the second half with an 18-7 run. Norchard Omier and Nijel Pack each had 20 points for the Hurricanes (15-9, 6-7).
■ No. 4 Kansas 64, No. 13 Baylor 61: At Lawrence, Kan., Hunter Dickinson scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half for the Jayhawks (19-5, 7-4 Big 12) in their 18th straight home win. Yves Missi had 21 points for the Bears (17-6, 6-4), who missed two 3-point tries in the final 14.2 seconds.
■ No. 5 Houston 67, Cincinnati 62: At Cincinnati, J’wan Roberts had a gamesealing dunk with six seconds left and totaled 20 points for the Cougars (21-3, 8-3 Big 12) in their 10th straight win over the Bearcats (15-8, 4-6).
■ Texas A&M 85, No. 6 Tennessee 69: At College Station, Texas, Tyrece Radford scored 27 points and Wade Taylor IV 25 for the Aggies (158, 6-4 SEC), who never trailed and led by 20 or more for most of the second half. Dalton Knecht hit six 3-pointers and totaled 22 points for the Volunteers (17-6, 7-3), who shot 37.1 percent.
■ No. 7 Marquette 86, St. John’s 75: At Milwaukee, Tyler Kolek scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half and had 13 assists for the Golden Eagles (185, 9-3 Big East), who overcame a 15-point first-half deficit. Daniss Jenkins had 22 points and six assists for the Red Storm (14-10, 6-7), who trailed for the final 5:58.
■ No. 9 Duke 80, Boston College 65: At Durham, N.C., Mark Mitchell scored 17 points for the Blue Devils (18-5, 9-3 ACC) in their 14th straight home win over the Eagles (13-10, 4-8), who missed 21 of 26 3-point tries.
■ Michigan State 88, No. 10 Illinois 80: At East Lansing, Mich., A.J. Hoggard had 23 points and no turnovers for the Spartans (15-9, 7-6 Big Ten), who overcame an eight-point deficit in the final seven minutes. Terrance Shannon Jr. scored 28 points for the Illini (17-6, 8-4).
■ Rutgers 78, No. 11 Wisconsin 56: At Piscataway, N.J., Jeremiah Williams scored 18 points for the Scarlet Knights (13-10, 5-7 Big Ten), who hit 10 of 17 3-point tries and didn’t trail while handing the Badgers (16-8, 8-5) their fourth loss in a row.
■ Florida 81, No. 12 Auburn 65: At Gainesville, Fla., Riley Kugel scored 22 points and Walter Clayton Jr. 20 for the Gators (16-7, 6-4 SEC), who led by 29 in the second half of their 15th straight home win over the Tigers (19-5, 8-3).
■ No. 14 Iowa State 71, Texas Christian 59: At Ames, Iowa, UNLV transfer Keshon Gilbert had 13 points and seven assists for the Cyclones (185, 7-3 Big 12), who shot 50.0 percent. The Horned Frogs (16-7, 5-5) had a seven-minute firsthalf scoring drought.
■ No. 15 South Carolina 75, Vanderbilt 60: At Columbia, S.C., Collin Murray-boyles scored 31 points on 14-for-17 shooting for the Gamecocks (21-3, 9-2 SEC) in their seventh straight win. The Commodores (6-17, 1-9) led 32-28 at halftime.
■ No. 16 Alabama 109, Louisiana State 92: At Baton Rouge, La., Mark Sears scored 23 points for the Crimson Tide (17-7, 9-2 SEC), who didn’t trail after erasing a 73-72 deficit with a 16-4 run. Will Baker had 24 points for the Tigers (12-11, 4-6), who yielded 23 points on 12 turnovers.
■ No. 19 Creighton 78, Xavier 71: At Cincinnati, Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 28 points for the Bluejays (17-7, 8-5 Big East), who avoided their first threegame league skid since 2019 and halted a three-game win streak by the Musketeers (13-11, 7-6).
■ No. 23 Texas Tech 66, Central Florida 59: At Lubbock, Texas, Darrion Williams had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Raiders (17-6, 6-4 Big 12), who never trailed. The Knights (13-9, 4-6) missed 19 of 24 3-point tries. Mountain West men
■ Fresno State 68, Air Force 66: At Colorado Springs, Colo., Xavier Dusell scored 29 points for the Bulldogs (11-13, 4-7), who went ahead to stay on Jalen Weaver’s basket with 1:13 left. Jeffrey Mills had 20 points for the Falcons (8-15, 1-10) in their fifth straight loss. Top 10 women
■ No. 7 Texas 65, Texas Christian 43: At Fort Worth, Texas, Shay Holle scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half for the Longhorns (22-3, 9-2 Big 12), who expanded on a 29-27 lead with an 18-1 third-quarter run. The Horned Frogs (15-8, 2-10) shot 29.2 percent.
■ No. 8 Kansas State 69, Oklahoma State 68:
At Manhattan, Kan., Brylee Glenn scored 23 points for the Wildcats (21-3, 10-2 Big 12), who overcame a seven-point secondhalf deficit and went ahead to stay with 26 seconds left. Quincy Noble had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Cowgirls (11-12, 4-8).