Garza, Wieskamp lift No. 11 Iowa
MADISON, Wis. – Luka Garza scored 30 points, Joe Wieskamp had 17 and No. 11 Iowa pulled away to beat No. 21 Wisconsin 77-62 on Thursday night.
Garza raised his nation-leading average to 24.7 points, making 11 of 19 shots, including 4 of 6 from three-point range, and grabbing eight rebounds. Freshman Keegan Murray had 12 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (16-6, 10-5 Big Ten).
Micah Potter had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Wisconsin (15-8, 9-7), Brad Davison added 15 points and D’Mitrik Trice 11. The Badgers lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
Down 16 early in the second half, Wisconsin pulled to 49-46 on Brad Davison’s 3-pointer with 9:17 remaining. Iowa hit seven consecutive shots to regain control, extending the lead to 6854 when Garza worked underneath for a layup.
Wisconsin hit just 4 of its first 30 shots, including an astonishing 1 of 18 inside the arc, as Iowa opened a 25-13 lead on Weiskamp’s 3-pointer with 7:18 left in the half.
No. 4 Ohio State 92, Penn State 82: E.J. Liddell scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half and Ohio State outlasted Penn State.
Duane Washington scored 21 points and C.J. Walker added 13 for the Buckeyes (18-4, 12-4 Big Ten), who used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to take control and win their seventh straight.
Myreon Jones led Penn State with 18 points. Izaiah Brockington and Seth Lundy each scored 12 points and Jamari Wheeler added 11 for the Nittany Lions (7-11, 4-10), who lost their third straight.
The Buckeyes led 47-43 at halftime after shooting 65% from the floor in the first half. They made nine straight baskets at one point, and six Buckeyes made shots in the opening 10 minutes.
But they were forced to play a smaller lineup for the early moments of the second half and fell behind after Lundy got hot.
The Penn State forward made three 3-pointers in a 2:14 span to put the Nittany Lions up 59-51 with 14:53 to play.
But Washington picked up the pace as Liddell was sitting courtside in foul trouble. The Buckeyes’ guard scored seven points in 1:24 and drained a 3pointer to give Ohio State a 72-64 lead with 8:58 left.
Penn State cut the deficit to four with 5:10 remaining, but couldn’t get any closer as the Buckeyes made nine of their final 11 free throws to close out the game.
Wichita State 68, No. 6 Houston 63: Tyson Etienne and Alterique Gilbert each scored 16 points and Dexter Dennis added 12 points and a crucial steal in the final seconds, leading Wichita State over Houston.
The Shockers (13-4, 9-2 American Athletic Conference) moved past Houston (17-3, 11-3) and into first place in the conference standings.
DeJeon Jarreau led the Cougars with 16 points. Quentin Grimes added 13 points and Justin Gorham 10.
Ricky Council added 11 points for Wichita State, which had its first home victory against a top-six opponent since beating No. 2 Louisville on Feb. 25, 1967. The Shockers also snapped a six-game losing streak against Houston.
Houston led by as many as 12 points in the first half before Wichita State stormed back and cut the deficit to 3433 by halftime.
Gilbert hit consecutive 3-pointers to cap an 11-0 run by Wichita State at the start of the second half. The Shockers led 44-34 and were 9 of 13 from 3-point range to that point.
An impressive stat for a team that entered the game shooting 32.3% from the 3-point arc this season, ranking 246th.