NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP / TOP 25
No. 5 Duke 66, No. 1 Syracuse 60
Rodney Hood scored 13 points and drew the gamechanging charging call that helped Duke beat Syracuse Saturday night. Freshman Jabari Parker had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (22-6, 11-4 ACC). Jerami Grant had 17 points and C.J. Fair finished with 13 for the Orange (25-2, 12-2). The first meeting between these two was a classic that went to overtime and it looked as if Round 2 also was going to OT. Syracuse had the ball down 60-58 in the final seconds when Fair drove past Tyler Thornton along the baseline for an apparent tying layup. But official Tony Greene whistled Fair for charging — and when Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim shot onto the court to argue, Greene slapped him with two technical fouls and ejected him. Quinn Cook iced it by hitting three free throws with 10.4 seconds left.
No. 2 Florida 75, Mississippi 71
ScottieWilbekin scored 18 points, Michael Frazier II added 17 and Florida rallied to beat Mississippi. The Gators (25-2, 14-0 Southeastern Conference) extended their school-record winning streak to 19 games. Ole Miss (16-11, 7-7) has lost four in a row. Florida survived a hot start from the Rebels’ Marshall Henderson, who scored 22 points in the first half but was then held scoreless. Jarvis Summers added 20 points for Ole Miss. The game was tied at 59 with 8 minutes left, but Florida scored the next six points to take control.
No. 3 Wichita State 83, Drake 54
Tekele Cotton had 21 points, Darius Carter came off the bench to score 15 and Wichita State pounded Drake. Wichita State (29-0, 16-0 Missouri Valley Conference) is the first team to start 29-0 since Illinois in 2004-05 and is two wins away from a perfect regular season. Fred VanVleet scored 15 for the Shockers, who cut down the nets after the game to celebrate their Missouri Valley championship.
No. 11 Louisville 58, No. 7 Cincinnati 57
Russ Smith’s 18-foot jumper with 2.2 seconds left gave Louisville its sixth straight win and 10th in 11 games. Louisville (23-4, 12-2 American Athletic Conference) started the winning streak after a last-second 69-66 home loss to the Bearcats (24-4, 13-2) three weeks ago.
No. 8 Kansas 85, No. 19 Texas 54
Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points, Joel Embiid briefly flirted with a triple-double and Kansas trounced Texas to seize control of the Big 12. Embiid finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and six blocks for the Jayhawks (21-6, 12-2), who lead the league race by three games with four to play. Kansas can wrap up at least a share of its 10th straight title when Oklahoma visits Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night.
No. 9 Villanova 57, St. John’s 54
Darrun Hilliard scored 18 points and Ryan Arcidiacono had 12 for Villanova. It was the second straight win for Villanova (24-3, 12-2 Big East) since its second loss of the season to Creighton. D’Angelo Harrison had 15 points for St. John’s (18-10, 8-7), Rysheed Jordan scored 13 and JaKarr Sampson had 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Red Storm’s six-game winning streak ended.
No. 14 Virginia 70, N. Dame 49
Akil Mitchell and Anthony Gill both scored 15 points and Virginia used a 30-2 second-half run to blow open a close game and go on to its 11th consecutive victory. Justin Anderson helped fuel the run by blocking a dunk attempt by Notre Dame’s Zach Auguste, bringing a sellout crowd at John Paul Jones Arena to its feet. The victory gave Virginia (23-5, 14-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) 14 conference wins for the first time.
No. 16 Wisconsin 79, No. 15 Iowa 74
Frank Kaminsky had 21 points and a crucial late steal as Wisconsin won for its fifth straight. Sam Dekker added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers (22-5, 9-5 Big Ten), who swept the season series and moved a half-game ahead of the Hawkeyes (19-7, 8-5) in the Big Ten standings. Josh Oglesby’s jumper with 1:01 left put Iowa up 72-71, but Kaminsky answered with a bank shot that gave Wisconsin a one-point lead. Kaminsky then stripped Iowa’s Roy Devyn Marble under the basket and hit two free throws as the Badgers went up 75-72 with 24.5 seconds left.
No. 17 Iowa St. 71, TCU 60
DeAndre Kane scored 20 points and Georges Niang had 19 points and eight rebounds as Iowa State kept TCU winless in the Big 12. Niang had two three-point plays in the last 5 minutes to help the Cyclones (21-5, 9-5 Big 12) build a cushion. Kane gave the Cyclones their first double-digit lead when he knocked the ball away from Kyan Anderson for a steal and caught a long pass from Melvin Ejim for a layup. Ejim, the Big 12 leader at 19.1 points per game coming in, scored 14 after setting a Big 12 record with 48 in Iowa State’s 84-69 win over at TCU at home.
No. 18 Kentucky 77, LSU 76
Julius Randle scored in the lane with 3.9 seconds remaining in overtime to give Kentucky the hardearned win. After Andre Stringer’s jumper with 12 seconds left gave LSU a 76-75 lead, James Young’s shot on the other end was blocked. Randle was able to grab the loose ball and hit the game-winning short jumper, sparking a delirious celebration with his Wildcats teammates piling on top of him.
Stanford 83, No. 23 UCLA 74
Chasson Randle made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points to help Stanford boost their case for an at-large NCAA tournament berth with a victory over UCLA. Josh Huestis tied a career high with 22 points and Anthony Brown had 18 for the Cardinal (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12), who have won five of six.
No. 24 Ohio St. 64, Minnesota 46
Sam Thompson scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half, leading Ohio State back from a 12-point deficit to a victory over Minnesota. The Buckeyes outscored the Golden Gophers 46-18 in the second half. Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 13 points and Shannon Scott 10 for the Buckeyes (22-6, 9-6 Big Ten), who trailed by 10 at the half and by 12 early in the second half before taking control with a 17-0 run.