Ohio State shocks No. 2 Purdue
Ohio State has stunned No. 2 Purdue in interim coach Jake Diebler’s debut, winning 73-69 in Columbus a day after the NCAA Tournament selection committee picked the Boilermakers as the early favorite to be the No. 1 overall seed during March Madness.
Bruce Thornton scored 22 points and Jamison Battle added 19 before the Ohio State fans stormed the court. Chris Holtmann was fired Wednesday after the beleaguered Buckeyes (15-11, 5-10 Big Ten) had lost nine of their last 11 games.
Zach Edey finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds for Purdue (23-3, 12-3), which had won nine in a row and 16 of 17.
South Florida 90, No. 24 Florida Atlantic 86: Selton Miguel scored a career-high 25 points, Chris Youngblood added 23 in Tampa and American Athletic Conference-leading USF (19-5, 12-1) won its 11th straight game. Under first-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, the Bulls are having just its second season with a winning record since 2011-12.
FAU (20-6, 10-3)) cut a 25-point deficit to 87-86 with 23.1 seconds left, got 23 points from Vladislav Goldin.
Late Saturday James Madison 87, Georgia Southern 80:
Terrence Edwards had 19 points and T.J. Bickerstaff had 16 in Harrisonburg as the Dukes (24-3, 12-3 Sun Belt) tied a school record for single-season victories and extended their winning streak to six. They have at least six games left.
Sam Houston 83, Liberty 73: Davon Barnes had 16 points and five rebounds for the Bearkats (15-11, 8-3 Conference USA) in Huntsville, Texas.
Kaden Metheny finished with 19 points and four assists for the Flames (16-10, 5-6).
High Point 99, Radford 74: Despite 24 points and four assists from former Oscar Smith guard Kenyon Giles, the Highlanders (13-14, 3-9 Big South) were beaten easily by the Panthers (22-6, 11-2) in North Carolina. N.C. State 78, Clemson 77: DJ Horne scored 27 points, including the game-winner with 9.8 seconds left, and the visiting Wolfpack (16-9, 8-6 ACC) scored the last five points to snap a six-game losing streak in the series. Joe Girard made four 3-pointers and scored 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting to lead Clemson (17-8, 7-7). Pittsburgh 86, Louisville 59: Blake Hinson scored 27 of his careerhigh 41 points in the first half forthe Panthers (17-8, 8-6 ACC) against the Cardinals (8-18, 3-12). No. 5 Arizona 105, Arizona State 60: Jaden Bradley scored 21 points, and Oumar Ballo dominated inside in the rivals’ final Pac-12 game at McKale Center at Tucson.
The Wildcats (20-5, 11-3 Pac-12) saw Ballo finish with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Adam Miller had 16 points to lead the Sun Devils.
No. 8 Tennessee 88, Vanderbilt 53: Dalton Knecht and Zakai Zeigler scored 14 points apiece to lead Tennessee (19-6, 9-3 SEC) to a rout in Knoxville.
No. 12 Baylor 94, West Virginia 81: Freshman Ja’Kobe Walter scored 23 points to lead six Bears in double figures in Morgantown, West Virginia.
VCU transfer Jayden Nunn added 20 points, RayJ Dennis had 18 points and eight assist and Yves Missi scored 13 for Baylor (19-6, 8-4 Big 12).
RaeQuan Battle scored 25 points and Jesse Edwards had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Mountaineers (8-17, 3-9).
No. 22 Kentucky 70, No. 13 Auburn 59: Antonio Reeves scored 22 points and Kentucky led throughout to end the host Tigers’ 16-game home winning streak.
The Wildcats (18-7, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) held Auburn to 30.9% shooting. Johni Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara scored 14 each for Auburn (20-6, 9-4).
The Tigers lost their second-leading scorer, Jaylin Williams, to an apparent right knee injury midway through the second half.
No. 14 Illinois 85, Maryland 80: TMarcus Domask had 19 points for the Illini (19-6, 10-4 Big Ten), putting him over 2,000 points for his career, including four seasons with Southern Illinois. Maryland (14-12, 6-9) wore throwback 1970s-style uniforms to honor former coach Lefty Driesell, a Norfolk native who died Saturday at 92.
Southern Illinois 74, No. 23 Indiana State 69:
George Mason transfer Xavier Johnson scored 23 points as host Southern Illinois (17-10, 9-7 Missouri Valley) ended a 17-game losing streak against Top 25 opponents.