DePaul puts up fight in OT loss to ’Nova
Collin Gillespie made four straight free throws in overtime and scored 21 points, and No. 14 Villanova survived a scare to beat DePaul for the 19th consecutive time, 79-75 on Tuesday night in Villanova, Pennsylvania.
Charlie Moore made one free throw and intentionally missed the second with about a second left in overtime, but the Blue Demons failed to score.
DePaul (12-5, 0-4 Big East) trailed by 11 points with 2:14 left in regulation, one more loss against one of the nation’s elite a mere formality.
But the Demons showed grit down the stretch, which they rarely have in the series against the Wildcats (13-3, 4-1). Moore hit a three to start the rally, and Jalen ColemanLands connected on a corner three with 31.5 seconds to go that made it 67-65 and silenced the crowd.
Moore scored the tying basket after the Wildcats threw the ball away on the inbound play, and Villanova missed a shot to win at the buzzer.
Iowa 75, Northwestern 62
Miller Kopp had 15 points and seven rebounds and Peter Nance scored 11 for the host Wildcats (6-10, 1-5 Big Ten), who shot just 36 percent from the floor in losing for the sixth time in seven games.
Luka Garza, who led the Hawkeyes (12-5, 3-3) with 27 points, scored 16 in a row midway through the second half to open Iowa’s lead to 69-51. He capped the run with a jumper with 5:01 left.
With the loss, the Wildcats are alone in last place in the Big Ten.
Clemson 79, Duke 72
The host Tigers picked up their highestprofile upset since beating No. 1 North Carolina on their home court in February 2001.
It was the first ACC loss for the No. 3 Blue Devils (15-2, 5-1), who came into the game leading the nation with an average margin of victory of 21.5 points.
The Tigers (9-7, 3-3) completed one of the rarest of ACC doubles. They beat North Carolina
in Chapel Hill for the first time in program history Saturday.
Wisconsin 56, Maryland 54
Brad Davison hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds left after getting a steal, and the host Badgers (11-6, 4-2 Big Ten) upset the No. 17 Terrapins (13-4, 3-3) to pick up their third consecutive victory against a ranked opponent.
The Badgers trailed 54-51 with 1:31 to go. Reuvers made a jumper to bring them within one. Davison then stole the ball, called a timeout and sank a three to put the Badgers ahead with 11 seconds to play.
Ohio State 80, Nebraska 68
C.J. Walker scored 18 points to help the No. 21 Buckeyes (12-5, 2-4 Big Ten) snap a four-game losing streak with a win over the visiting Cornhuskers (7-10, 2-4).
Thorir Thorbjarnarson paced Nebraska with 15 points, and three players had 10. The Huskers lost their second in a row.