Iowa defeats Ohio State
Luka Garza had 24 points and 11 rebounds as No. 9 Iowa bounced back from a midweek loss to take down No. 4 Ohio State 73-57 on Sunday.
Dominated by No. 3 Michigan 79-57 on Thursday, the Hawkeyes pulled away in the second half.
Joe Weiskamp added 19, including five-for-nine shooting from three-point range, for Iowa (18-7, 12-6 Big Ten). The Hawkeyes have won five of six with two games remaining in their regular season.
E.J. Liddell had 15 points and Justice Sueing added 10 for the Buckeyes (18-7, 12-7). Recently projected as a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed, they’ve lost three games in eight days.
After Liddell hit a jumper to open the game, the Buckeyes never led again.
Duane Washington Jr.’s three-pointer cut the Iowa lead to seven points with 3:29 left in the first half, but a 10-3 Iowa run made it 42-28 at the break. Garza had 15 points in the first half, and Weiskamp had 13 on three-for-four shooting from three-point range.
The Buckeyes mounted a 14-2 run to open the second half and got back within two with 16:49 left. But a threepointer from Weiskamp and a couple of baskets in the paint by Garza got the Hawkeyes out of the danger zone and Ohio State couldn’t chip away down the stretch.
at Butler 73, No. 8 Villanova 61:
Harris scored 20 points and Jair Bolden added 15 to lead Butler past Villanova. The Bulldogs (9-13, 811 Big East) have won two straight since snapping a three-game losing streak and have beaten the Wildcats in four of the last five meetings in Indianapolis. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead Villanova (15-4, 10-3), which had won 13 of its previous 15 and was favored by 101⁄2 points. Collin Gillespie had 14 points for the Wildcats, who were one of seven top-15 teams to lose this weekend.
at No. 12 Houston 98, South Florida 52:
Quentin Grimes scored 22 points, all in the first half for Houston. Grimes scored 16 straight points at one point as the Cougars (20-3, 13-3 American Athletic Conference) put the game away with a huge first-half run. DeJon Jarreau added 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Justin Gorham and Fabian White Jr. had 10 points apiece for Houston, which won its third straight and reached 20 wins for the sixth consecutive season.