San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
WEST VIRGINIA WINS BATTLE WITH KANSAS
West Virginia can finally enjoy some positives after going through the ringer the past eight months.
The Mountaineers have endured Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins’ exit following a drunken driving arrest that led to a roster makeover.
Add to that a preseason health scare for forward Akok Akok, a nine-game suspension for guard Kerr Kriisa, Jesse Edwards missing the past month with a broken wrist, and an ongoing court fight with the NCAA that had temporarily sidelined multiple-transfer players Raequan Battle and Noah Farrakhan.
Tipping the scale in the other direction was Saturday’s euphoria. Battle scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Pat Suemnick added a career-high 20 points and West Virginia beat No. 3 Kansas 91-85.
“It’s a surreal moment, man,” Battle said. “It’s hard to win games like that, especially doing it at this level and being a few steps behind because we had a crazy offseason. I’m just proud of this team and the coaching staff.”
Fans stormed the court after the Mountaineers (7-11, 2-3 Big 12) improved to 7-5 against Kansas (15-3, 3-2) in Morgantown and broke a six-game losing streak in the series.
No. 1 Uconn 66, Villanova 65:
Alex Karaban hit the decisive 3-pointer for Uconn with 2:43 left in the game that settled a fantastic Big East matchup, Tristen Newton scored 25 points and the visiting Huskies (17-2, 7-1) held off persistent Villanova (11-7, 4-3) at a packed Wells Fargo Center.
No. 2 Purdue 84, Iowa 70: Zach Edey had 30 points and 18 rebounds to lead visiting
Purdue (17-2, 6-2 Big Ten) past Iowa (11-7, 3-4).
No. 4 North Carolina 76, Boston College 66: RJ Davis scored 16 points and Harrison Ingram scored 11 with 13 rebounds to lead North Carolina (15-3, 7-0 ACC) over host Boston College (11-7, 2-5) for its eighth straight win.
No. 5 Houston 57, UCF 42: L.J. Cryer scored 16 points, Jamal Shead added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Houston (16-2, 3-2 Big 12) used a staunch defensive effort to beat Central Florida (11-6, 2-3).
No. 6 Tennessee 91, Alabama 71: Dalton Knecht scored 25 points to help Tennessee beat Alabama (14-4, 4-1) and hand the Crimson Tide (12-6, 4-1) their first SEC loss this season.
Pittsburgh 80, No. 7 Duke 76: Blake Hinson scored 24 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from 3-point range as Pittsburgh (11-7, 2-5 ACC) beat Duke (13-4, 4-2) for its first win in Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1979.
No. 8 Kentucky 105, Georgia 96: Tre Mitchell scored 23 points, Antonio Reeves added 21 points and Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC) shot 62 percent to beat Georgia (13-5, 3-2).
Texas 75, No. 9 Baylor 73: Tyrese Hunter’s driving layup at the buzzer sent Texas (13-5, 2-3)over visiting Baylor, handing the Bears (14-4, 3-2) their second straight loss in the Big 12.
No. 13 Auburn 82, No. 22 Mississippi 59: Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams each scored 13 points and host Auburn (16-2, 5-0 SEC) routed Mississippi (15-3, 2-3) for won its 11th straight win.
No. 15 Oklahoma 69, Cincinnati 65: Javian Mccollum scored 16 points and Otega Oweh added 14 to help Oklahoma (15-3, 3-2 Big 12) beat Cincinnati (13-5, 2-3) for its first conference road win.
No. 16 Utah State 83, Fresno State 62: Great Osobor tallied 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead Utah State (17-2, 5-1 Mountain West) to a victory over Fresno State (8-10, 1-4).
No. 17 Marquette 73, St. John’s 72: Oso Ighodaro scored 17 points, Tyler Kolek had 15 points and 11 assists, and Marquette (13-5, 4-3 Big East) held off a St. John’s (12-7, 4-4) rally at Madison Square Garden.
Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, 71, was back on the St. John’s sideline following a bout with COVID-19.
No. 18 Creighton 97, Seton Hall 94 (3OT): Ryan Kalkbrenner had 28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks to lead visiting Creighton (14-5, 5-3 Big East) past Seton Hall in triple overtime.
Kadary Richmond had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Seton Hall (13-6, 6-2).
No. 24 Iowa State 73, No. 19 TCU 72:
Keshon Gilbert scored 20 points, Curtis Jones had 17 points along with seven of Iowa State’s 18 steals and the Cyclones (14-4, 3-2 Big 12) held on for a win at TCU (13-5, 2-3).
No. 25 Texas Tech 85, No. 20 BYU 78: Pop Isaacs scored 23 of his career-high 32 points in the second half and host Texas Tech (15-3, 4-1 Big 12) overcame a 16point halftime deficit to beat BYU (14-4, 2-3).
No. 21 Dayton 96, Rhode Island 62: Javon Bennett had 22 points and Dayton (15-2, 5-0 Atlantic 10) won its 12th straight game, blowing past visiting Rhode Island (9-9, 3-2).