No. 3 Huskies top old rivals
First game vs. Tennessee in 13 years
Crystal Dangerfield scored 14 points and No. 3-ranked Connecticut used a dominant third quarter to beat 23rdranked Tennessee, 60-45, Thursday night at Hartford, Conn. — the first matchup in 13 years between the teams whose rivalry dominated the sport for over a decade.
Trailing by three at the half, the Huskies (17-1) scored 17 of the first 19 points in the third, taking a 45-33 lead on Dangerfield’s 3-pointer with 1:45 left in the period. The Huskies led by 11 after three and Tennessee could get no closer in the fourth.
Rennia Davis scored 16 points to lead the Lady Vols (15-4).
Thursday night provided a little bit of nostalgia for those who remembered how these two teams carried women’s basketball for over a decade since their first historic meeting in 1995 that was a Nos. 1 vs. 2 showdown. They played 22 times over a 12-year span, with each one being a circle-the-calendar game whether it was in Tennessee, Connecticut or the NCAA tournament.
Indiana
It felt like Purdue all over again, until Cassius Winston awoke from his slumber. It just wasn’t enough for No. 9 Michigan State to complete the comeback, and the end result remained the same — another Big Ten road loss for the Spartans. Winston tried to lob a pass to Xavier Tillman with about 4 seconds to play at Indiana. The ball got deflected off the backboard, Tillman got off a great look, but it rolled off the rim for a 67-63 loss to the Hoosiers, their third consecutive win over the Spartans(145, 6-2). Joey Brunk had 14 points and six rebounds for Indiana (15-4, 5-3), while Trayce Jackson-Davis added 12 points and Aljami Durham had 11, including two critical 3-pointers.
Illinois
Guard Alan Griffin was suspended for two games and reprimanded for stepping on the chest of Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic Tuesday, the Big Ten Conference announced.
“After a thoughtful and thorough review of this incident, we are all extremely fortunate this did not create a hostile and unsafe environment for the players, coaches, game officials and fans,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said. “It is important for me to emphasize and make it crystal clear that such behavior will not be tolerated, period.”
Elsewhere
North Carolina is on pace to miss the NCAA tournament for just the second time in Roy Williams’ 17 seasons as coach. But the release of the McDonald’s All-American Game rosters brought a reminder that this rut should only be temporary. Four of North Carolina’s five Class of 2020 signees were selected to play in the annual showcase, which will be played April 1 at Toyota Center in Houston. The 24-man roster also features three Duke recruits, two for Kentucky and four uncommitted players.