Indiana rebounds with win over Iowa
Gonzaga beats Portland 81-52
BLOOMINGTON, Ind, March 3, (AP): Cody Zeller was not going to get pushed around on his home court, so he helped No. 1 Indiana fight back Saturday night.
Wearing blood-spotted shorts, courtesy of a second-half cut to the chin, the 7-foot sophomore kept going to the basket and drawing fouls.
Zeller had 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, leading the Hoosiers past Iowa 73-60 to keep them atop the Big Ten standings.
‘’I’ve watched a lot of games this year, and I’m telling you that nobody has the physicality used against him like Cody does,’’ coach Tom Crean said. ‘’And you never see him change his expression. We had to take him out of the game when the bleeding wouldn’t stop and he didn’t change.’’
The Hoosiers needed all the muscle Zeller could provide on this rugged end to a tough week.
On Tuesday, Minnesota dominated Indiana inside and pulled an upset that will likely cost Indiana the No. 1 spot in next week’s poll. No. 2 Gonzaga won twice this week.
On Saturday, the Hoosiers (25-4, 13-3 Big Ten) needed an even grittier performance when their shooters had a poor night. Indiana shot just 38.9 percent from the field and didn’t make a 3-pointer until the final minute.
So Zeller took matters into his own hands by continually going the ball to the basket. The tactic did come with a price. Zeller was knocked to the ground a couple of times in the opening minutes when he missed four shots in the lane and he went sprawling across the court twice in the first half when he dived at steals.
And with 8:48 left in the game, as Christian Watford walked to the freethrow line, the officials escorted Zeller to the bench because of the blood.
Gonzaga 81, Portland 52 In Spokane, Wash, The raucous student section at No. 2 Gonzaga’s arena had no doubt where the Zags should be ranked when The Associated Press’ Top 25 comes out on Monday.
‘’We’re No. 1! We’re No. 1!’’ the students shouted as the clock wound down in Gonzaga’s 81-52 victory over Portland.
Coach Mark Few was a little more restrained, noting the polls are out of his control.
‘’It’s never happened here before,’’ Few said of a No. 1 ranking. ‘’It would be an honor. If they think that highly of us we’ll take it.’’
But a minute later Few also betrayed some amazement that the little Jesuit school from Spokane could reach the pinnacle of college basketball.
‘’At the end of the day it would be pretty cool for Gonzaga to be No. 1,’’ Few said. ‘’My first year here we won four Division I games.’’
Elias Harris scored 20 points and Kelly Olynyk added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Gonzaga (29-2, 16-0 West Coast), which had already clinched the West Coast Conference regular season title and the top seed in next weekend’s tournament. Gary Bell Jr. added 14 points.
Gonzaga, winner of 12 consecutive games since a last-second loss at Butler, has escaped the losses that have afflicted other teams at or near the top of the poll in recent weeks. That included a loss by top-ranked Indiana to Minnesota earlier this week that opened the door for the Bulldogs.
The Zags have never been ranked higher than their current No. 2 position. But because of their lightly regarded conference schedule, there is a chance a lower team could leapfrog them in the poll. Gonzaga’s only other loss was at home to Illinois in December.
Few noted Gonzaga’s 16-0 conference record is a first for the recently expanded WCC. And no Gonzaga team has ever won 30 games in a season.
But the goal is not to pile up numbers, he said.
“We want to go the NCAA tournament and try to win the thing,” Few said.
Harris said he didn’t care if Gonzaga was ranked No. 1. He would prefer that Gonzaga continue to play as well as it has been playing into the postseason.
Duke 79, Miami 76 In Durham, N.C, Ryan Kelly had waited two months for the chance to help his Duke teammates reclaim the form that made them the nation’s top-ranked team.
He returned with a stunning performance that shook up No. 5 Miami and left his own Hall of Fame coach struggling for the right words.
The senior scored a career-high 36 points in his return from a foot injury that had sidelined him since January, helping the third-ranked Blue Devils beat the Hurricanes 79-76 on Saturday night in a matchup of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top teams.
‘’I guess I was ready for it,’’ Kelly said. ‘’That’s all I can say.’’
Kelly knocked down 10 of 14 shots — including 7 of 9 3-pointers- for the Blue Devils (25-4, 12-4 ACC), who avenged a blowout road loss in January by grinding out a tough win in Cameron Indoor Stadium. He also went 9-for-12 from the foul line and pulled down seven rebounds in 32 minutes.
It left Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski joking to reporters that he was interested to read how they’d describe Kelly’s big night.
Kansas 91, W. Virginia 65 In Lawrence, Kan, By shattering Danny Manning’s Kansas freshman record with 36 points on Saturday, Ben McLemore did more than propel the sixth-ranked Jayhawks to a 91-65 romp over West Virginia. He also took Bill Self back to his own college days.
The Kansas coach was a senior guard at Oklahoma State when Manning lit up the Cowboys for 35 points on March 2, 1985 in an 88-79 Jayhawks victory, a school record which stood exactly 28 years.
‘’I was in that game,’’ Self said with a grin. ‘’I played the back line of a 2-3 zone. I think he got like 20 on me. But not all 35.’’ utive time and fifth in six games since tying a season best with a five-game winning streak.
Toronto was without Rudy Gay, the team’s leading scorer at 18 points per game, who was a game-time decision due to back spasms.
76ers 104, Warriors 97 In Philadelphia, Evan Turner had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, Jrue Holiday scored 27, and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a seven-game losing streak with a victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Thad Young had 14 points and 16 rebounds and Royal Ivey chipped in with 17 points for the Sixers, who are 5¬ games behind Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 25 games left.
Stephen Curry scored 30 and Klay Thompson added 29 for the Warriors, who’ve lost four in a row. Trail Blazers 109, Timberwolves 96 In Portland, Ore, Damian Lillard scored 24 points, J.J. Hickson added 18 points and 16 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves to earn only their second win in nearly a month. LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and eight rebounds for Portland, which had six players score in double-figures. The Blazers jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter and led by as many as 18, while the Timberwolves never challenged.