No. 18 Virginia leaves Notre Dame in a Huff

Jay Huff scored 18 points and Sam Hauser had 15 points and nine rebounds Wednesday as No. 18 Virginia beat Notre Dame 80-68 in Charlottesville, Va., for its fourth consecutive victory.

Huff, who is 7-foot-1, made a career-best four 3-pointers in the first half as Virginia (8-2, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened an 18-10 lead and built it to 37-25 by halftime.

Cormac Ryan scored 16 and Trey Wertz 13 for the Fighting Irish (3-8, 0-5), who lost their fourth in a row and fell to 0-11 against Virginia in conference games.

NO. 21 OHIO STATE 81, NORTHWESTERN 71>> Duane Washington Jr. scored a careerhigh 23 points to lead the Buckeyes (10-3, 4-3 Big Ten) over the Wildcats (6-5, 3-4) in Columbus, Ohio.

NOTES:

Connecticut guard James Bouknight will be out indefinitely after having surgery on his left elbow, the school said. The school had earlier said the sophomore hyperextended his left while diving for a loose ball in the first half of the Huskies’ win at Marquette on Jan. 5. He came back into the game, but has missed UConn’s last two contests, wins over Butler and DePaul. The surgery was done on Tuesday. Bouknight had been leading the Big East in scoring, averaging 20.3 points, while making 45% of his shots from the field. No. 25 UConn (7-1, 4-1 Big East) is not scheduled to play again until Jan. 18 at home against DePaul.

• Alabama forward Jordan Bruner is out indefinitely with a right knee injury. The school said Bruner sustained a meniscus injury in Tuesday night’s win over Kentucky. Bruner underwent a procedure Wednesday performed by Dr. Lyle Cain of Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham. Alabama said there was no specific timetable for Bruner’s return but he is expected to make a full recovery and play again this season. Bruner is averaging 7.8 points and 5.9 rebounds. The 6-foot-10 graduate transfer from Yale leads the team in blocks (16) and steals (20). The Crimson Tide has won its first five Southeastern Conference games and six in a row overall.

COVID CONCERNS:

Michigan State reported center Mady Sissoko and guard Steven Izzo tested positive for COVID-19. Spartans coach Tom Izzo, who tested positive for the coronavirus in November, said his son and the freshman are both are in isolation, and tonight’s game at No. 5 Iowa was canceled. The team revealed it had a third positive test.

• SMU’s (7-2, 3-2 AAC) next two scheduled games were postponed following a positive COVID-19 case and ensuing contact tracing at the school, the American Athletic Conference announced. The Mustangs’ games at Memphis on Thursday and against visiting Wichita State on Sunday have been postponed.

• Georgetown’s game with DePaul on Wednesday night was canceled because of a COVID-19-related issue within Hoyas program.