Olujobi, DePaul upend St. John’s
Femi Olujobi scored 27 points in his New York homecoming and DePaul pulled away from No. 24 St. John’s, beating the Red Storm 79-71 on Saturday for its first win over a ranked team in almost three years.
Paul Reed added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Demons (10-5, 2-2), who snapped a 17-game skid against ranked opponents that dated to a victory over No. 11 Providence in February 2016. Star guard Shamorie Ponds sat out with a lower back strain for St. John’s (14-3, 2-3 Big East), which dropped its second straight since moving into the Top 25 for the first time in four years.
Olujobi, from nearby Long Island, was a force inside, shooting 11 of 19 in 34 minutes. Max Strus had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Eli Cain scored 14 for DePaul.
Loyola 67, Illinois State 64: Marques Townes scored 21 points to help the Ramblers hold off the Redbirds despite going the final six minutes without a field goal. Loyola (10-7, 3-1 Missouri Valley) compensated for the 0-for-6 drought by making 6 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes at Gentile Arena. Zach Copeland’s 3-pointer drew ISU (9-8, 2-2) within 65-64 with 15 seconds left, but Loyola’s Clayton Custer (13 points) made two free throws and a few seconds later grabbed the rebound of Copeland’s missed 3. Malik Yarbrough had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Keyshawn Evans scored 16 for the Redbirds.
UIC 73, Cleveland State 56: Tarkus Ferguson scored 18 points and made six 3-pointers, helping the Flames tie a school record with 17 3s in their Horizon League victory at Credit Union 1 Arena. Marcus Ottey added 15 points for the Flames (9-9, 3-2). Tyree Appleby led the Vikings (5-14, 0-6) with 23 points.
Notre Dame 69, Boston College 66: Prentiss Hubb hit a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds left as the Irish, who got zero points from their bench, held off the Eagles in South Bend, Ind. Hubb finished with a career-high 16 points and John Mooney had a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds for Notre Dame (11-5, 1-2 ACC), which went the final 4:15 without a field goal. Ky Bowman had 24 points and 16 rebounds for BC (9-6, 0-3).
Big Ten: Luka Garza scored 16 points, Tyler Cook had 15 points with eight rebounds and Iowa (14-3, 3-3) rolled past No. 16 Ohio State 72-62 in Iowa City, handing the Buckeyes (12-4, 2-3) their third straight loss. … Amir Coffey scored 29 points as Minnesota (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten) defeated Rutgers 88-70 in Minneapolis. Myles Johnson and Geo Baker scored 13 points each for the Scarlet Knights (8-7, 1-4).
Top 25 highlights: Cam Reddish hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to lift No. 1 Duke past No. 13 Florida State 80-78 in Tallahassee, Fla. Reddish finished with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting for the Blue Devils (14-1, 3-0 ACC), who won their ninth straight. Mfiondu Kabengele tied a careerhigh with 24 points for the Seminoles (13-3, 1-2). … Roy Williams suffered his worst home loss in 16 seasons with North Carolina as Louisville stunned the No. 12 Tar Heels 83-62 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Steven Enoch had season highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds and Dwayne Sutton added 17 and 10 for the Cardinals (11-5, 2-1 ACC). North Carolina (12-4, 2-1) shot 35 percent, including 3 of 22 on 3-pointers. … Markus Howard scored 26 points to lead No. 21 Marquette past Seton Hall 70-66 in Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles (14-3, 3-1 Big East) stayed undefeated in 12 games at the new Fiserv Forum.