San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Kispert’s nine 3s help Gonzaga scorch Cavs
FORT WORTH — Corey Kispert recorded career highs with 32 points and nine 3-pointers Saturday, leading No. 1 Gonzaga to a 98-75 romp over 16th-ranked Virginia, the most recent NCAA champion.
The neutral-site game at Dickies Arena was essentially the Zags’ replacement for what was supposed to be a 1-2 matchup against Baylor in early December in Indianapolis.
Kispert was 9-of-13 from long range, including one about a foot from the midcourt logo, followed by another from several feet behind the arc.
Drew Timme also had a career high with 29 points and led the Zags (7-0) with eight rebounds. Gonzaga now has the nation’s longest neutral-site winning streak at seven games and has beaten four ranked opponents before the start of conference play for the first time in school history.
Kihei Clark scored 19 points and Trey Murphy added 15 for the Cavaliers (4-2), who dropped
to 1-31 all-time against top-ranked teams almost 35 years since their only victory.
The matchup of one of the best offenses in the country against one of the best defenses wasn’t much of a contest, with Gonzaga shooting 60 percent
with superior ball movement and screening.
NO. 6 HOUSTON 63, UCF 54
Marcus Sasser scored 19 points and Caleb Mills delivered seven of his 12 points in the closing minutes to help the Cougars pull away in Orlando.
Houston (7-0, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) overcame cold shooting by holding UCF (3-2, 1-1) to one field goal over the final 8:50 to remain unbeaten and deny the Knights a second win over a Top 25 opponent in a week.
As good as Houston was defensively down the stretch, though, UCF was just as tough on the Cougars. Mills was the only Houston player to score from the field in the final seven minutes, driving the baseline for a layup that made it 50-45 and adding a 3-point play that put his team up 57-48 with just over a minute to go.
The Cougars went 11 for 11 from the foul line in the final 2:24 to put the game away.
NO. 18 ILLINOIS 69 INDIANA 60
Ayo Dosunmu scored 30 points and Kofi Cockburn added 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Illini won at home.
The game was close until about midway through the second half, when Dosunmu hit three consecutive 3-pointers to fuel a 14-0 run. Andre Curbelo added five assists for Illinois (7-3, 3-1 Big Ten).
Armaan Franklin led Indiana (5-4, 0-2) with 23 points.
NORTHWESTERN 71 NO. 23 OHIO STATE 70
Miller Kopp scored 23 points and Boo Buie had 14 as the Wildcats upset the visiting Buckeyes.
Pete Nance added 10 points for the Wildcats (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten), who won their fourth straight.
E.J. Liddell led Ohio State (7-2, 1-2) with 15 points. Kyle Young added 14 points for the Buckeyes, who had won two straight and four of five.
A Buie 3-pointer gave Northwestern a 71-68 lead with 1:04 remaining, and the Wildcats hung on from there.
Northwestern is 3-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since 196768.