No. 2 Duke rallies from 23 down to beat No. 16 Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cam Reddish made a tying 3-pointer with 1:28 left and the go-ahead free throws with 14 seconds remaining, helping No. 2 Duke overcome a 23-point second-half deficit to beat No. 16 Louisville 71-69 on Tuesday night.
After making 2 of 17 shots to open the second half, the Blue Devils (22-2, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got hot and shut down the Cardinals over the final 9:54. Zion Williamson (27 points, 12 rebounds) ignored foul trouble and instead drew whistles in his favor, making 8 of 9 from the line before Reddish added a couple of 3s in between free throws — the last two of which followed an official review of a play under Duke’s basket.
Christen Cunningham tried to tie it for Louisville (17-8, 8-4), but his jumper in the lane bounced off the rim and into Williamson’s hands as the final seconds ticked off. The Blue Devils celebrated as they left the court after completing the second-biggest secondhalf comeback in program history.
NO. 19 LSU 73, NO. 5 KENTUCKY 71
In Lexington, Ky., Kavell BigbyWilliams’s tip-in at the buzzer lifted LSU to a win over Kentucky.
With the game tied after Keldon Johnson made two free throws with 6 seconds left, Skylar Mays drove the length of the court. His shot missed but Bigby-Williams got the offensive rebound and scored to give the Tigers their first win over the Wildcats since 2009. It was just the sixth time ever that LSU (20-4, 10-1 Southeastern Conference) has beaten Kentucky (20-4, 10-2).
Tremont Waters, who finished with 15 points to lead the Tigers, hit two free throws with 20 seconds left to give LSU a two-point lead before Johnson’s free throws tied it.
PENN STATE 75, NO. 6 MICHIGAN 69
In State College, Pa., Lamar Stevens scored 15 of his 26 points in the first half and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Penn State to an upset of Michigan.
Penn State pulled away in the first half as its star heated up, and Michigan played the second without its coach.
Michigan coach John Beilein received back-to-back technical fouls and was ejected for arguing with officials as the teams entered the locker rooms after the first half.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 92, DEPAUL 73
In Chicago, Markus Howard scored 36 points, Sam Hauser had 17 and Marquette cruised by DePaul.
Howard went 12 for 21 from the field and 8 for 10 at the free-throw line in another impressive performance. He has scored at least 30 points in four of his last five games.
NO. 11 MICHIGAN STATE 67, NO. 20 WISCONSIN 59
In Madison, Wis., Cassius Winston scored 23 points to help Michigan State beat Wisconsin.
In doing so, the Michigan State (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) star outdueled Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ, who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
NO. 24 MARYLAND 70, NO. 12 PURDUE 56
In College Park, Md., Jalen Smith scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, and Maryland used a strong defensive performance to beat Purdue, ending the Boilermakers’ eight-game winning streak.
Down by eight at halftime, the Terrapins (19-6, 10-4 Big Ten) took the lead for the first time with 10 minutes left before pulling away. The comeback was fueled by Smith, Eric Alaya and fellow freshman Aaron Wiggins.
NO. 18 KANSAS STATE 71, TEXAS 64
In Austin, Texas, Barry Brown and Xavier Sneed each scored 16 points, and Kansas State beat Texas for its ninth straight Big 12 victory.
Three other Wildcats scored in double figures, Dean Wade with 12 points, and Kamau Stokes and Makol Mawien with 11 apiece.
NO. 25 BUFFALO 76, AKRON 70
In Akron, Ohio, CJ Massinburg scored 21 points, Dontay Caruthers added 15 and Buffalo turned up its defensive intensity in the second half and held on to beat Akron, dropping the Zips to 0-31 against ranked teams.
The Bulls (21-3, 9-2 Mid-American Conference) were held to one of the lowest point totals this season, but the defending conference champions were able to do enough against the Zips (14-10, 6-5), ranked 13th nationally in scoring defense.