No. 17 Southern Cal routs Arizona State
No. 17 Southern California 89, Arizona State 71: Evan Mobley had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and No. 17 Southern California beat Arizona State 89-71 on Wednesday night to stay atop the Pac-12.
Isaiah Mobley added 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Tahj Eaddy had 18 points for the Trojans, who improved to 18-3 to start a season for the first time since 1973-74. They’re 12-2 in the league and have won 13 of 14 overall.
Pac-12 scoring leader Remy Martin scored 30 points – three off his career high – for Arizona State (7-10, 4-7). Kimani Lawrence added 12 points and Jalen Graham had 10 before fouling out.
The Mobley brothers dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half, helping USC stretch a two-point halftime lead into its first double-digit advantage of the game.
They combined to outscore Arizona State 18-10 on their own, extending the lead to 64-54. Evan Mobley sank a 3pointer from the top of the key, then stole the ball from Martin and outsprinted John Olmstead down the floor for a rim-rattling dunk.
No. 22 Loyola Chicago 54, Valparaiso 52: Keith Clemons scored 16 points, Cameron Krutwig added 13 and No. 22 Loyola Chicago made a defensive stop in the final seconds to hang on for a victory over Valparaiso.
The Ramblers (19-4, 14-2 Missouri Valley Conference) have won 12 of 13 and extended their home winning streak to 20 games. Loyola lost its previous game, 51-50, in overtime at Drake on Sunday.
Zion Morgan had 15 points and Ben Krikke and Goodnews Kpegeol had 10 points apiece for Valparaiso (8-15, 5-9).
Loyola won the first meeting between the teams 75-39 on Jan. 20 at Valparaiso.
This was Valpo’s third game against a ranked opponent this season – two games against Drake were the others – and the Crusaders led at halftime in each before losing.
No. 23 Kansas 59, Kansas State 41: Marcus Garrett scored 14 points, Jalen Wilson added 11 and No. 23 Kansas beat Kansas State.
The Jayhawks (16-7, 10-5 Big 12) held the Wildcats to a season low in points despite a ho-hum offensive performance.
Kansas shot 46% (22 for 48) from the field and held Kansas State (5-18, 113) to 31% on 18-for-58 shooting.
The Wildcats have lost a school-record 13 straight games and Kansas has won four straight games by double digits.
The teams were abysmal from the 3point line, with Kansas going 4 for 16 and Kansas State at 3 for 24, including two in the final minutes.
The Wildcats got a boost from Dajuan Gordon, who scored a team-high 12 points. It was his first game since Jan. 30, when he left a game with a foot injury.
With the Wildcats hanging around and down seven in the second half, Kansas went on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 15 points.
Kansas State was careless with the ball, turning it over 18 times.