Red Storm rules in ‘whiteout’
Pitino’s St. John’s team sinks No. 15 Creighton
Daniss Jenkins scored a seasonhigh 27 points Sunday as St. John’s shredded No. 15 Creighton 80-66 at Madison Square Garden for its best win under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
Jordan Dingle added 18 points, and the Red Storm (16-12, 8-9 Big East) finally closed out a quality conference opponent following a string of blown leads. They put together a clinical performance from start to finish in front of a roaring crowd, making all 10 free throws and racking up 24 assists to only three turnovers while holding the Bluejays to 6-for-26 shooting from 3-point range.
Trey Alexander scored a seasonbest 31 points for Creighton (20-8, 11-6), which had won four straight.
On the sideline, the 71-year-old Pitino looked a little like Colonel Sanders in his all-white suit and shoes as the Red Storm encouraged a “whiteout” among fans.
“I actually wasn’t gonna wear it. It was a last-minute thing,” Pitino said, explaining that his wife prodded him repeatedly. “My players were gonna get a big kick out of it and that’s why I did it.”
No. 3 Purdue 84, Michigan 76: Zach Edey matched a season high with 35 points and had 15 rebounds, helping Purdue (25-3, 14-3 Big Ten) bounce back from a rough start in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Boilermakers are closing in on a conference championship, building a 2 ½-game lead over No. 12 Illinois with three regular-season games left on their schedule.
The Wolverines (8-20, 3-14) moved closer to clinching last place in the Big Ten with their fifth straight loss and 10th setback in 11 games under embattled coach Juwan Howard.
No. 7 Marquette 88, Xavier 64:
The Golden Eagles (21-6, 12-4 Big East) zoomed past the Musketeers (13-14, 7-9) in Milwaukee.
VCU 73, Saint Joseph’s 69: Joe Bamisile and reserve Tobi Lawal scored 16 points apiece for the
Rams (18-9, 10-4 Atlantic 10), who got hot early in the second half to erase a 27-21 halftime deficit at Siegel Center.
Bamisile made four 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds, while Lawal added 10 boards for the Rams. Max Shulga hit two 3-pointers and scored 12.
Xzayvier Brown and Erik Reynolds II led the Hawks (17-11, 7-8) with 21 points apiece.
Navy 76, Holy Cross 66: Austin Benigni had 20 points and five rebounds for the Midshipmen (10-17, 6-10 Patriot League) as they won at home.
The Crusaders (9-20, 6-10) were led by Bo Montgomery, who recorded 21 points and eight rebounds.
Late Saturday
Pittsburgh 79, Virginia Tech 64: Blake Hinson scored 22 points, Jaland Lowe scored 18 points and Pitt took control in the second half.
The Panthers (18-9, 9-7 ACC) have won eight of 10 and continue to strengthen their case for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Sean Pedulla scored 26 points and reserve Mylyjael Poteat 10 for the Hokies (15-12, 8-8), who shot 15% (3 for 20) from 3-point range and are seeing their NCAA at-large hopes fade. It looks like they’ll have to win the conference tournament, which they did in 2022, to advance to the NCAA field of 68.
Hunter Cattoor scored just seven points on 2-for-6 shooting and fouled out with 4:38 left. Virginia Tech has lost five of seven.
The Panthers took the lead for good when Guillermo Diaz Graham’s layup ended a 42-all tie with 15:50 left. The basket started a 16-0 run.
Richmond 66, Davidson 63: Jordan King scored 15 points, including two free throws with two seconds left, at Robins Center as UR (20-7, 12-2) maintained its share of first place in the Atlantic 10 alongside Loyola Chicago.
King was just 4 for 14 (2 for 10 from 3-point range), while teammate DeLonnie Hunt added 14 points. Center Neal Quinn shot 4 of 5 from the field and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points.
Reed Bailey led the Wildcats (15-12, 5-9) with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Former W&M player Connor Kochera had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Clemson 74, Florida State 63: Joe Girard scored 24 points, Chase Hunter added 16 and the host Tigers (19-8, 9-7) won.
A layup by FSU’s Cameron Corhen and a 3-pointer from Baba Miller got the Seminoles within 58-53 with six minutes left. But Clemson didn’t let it get closer than five points, holding FSU to eight points over the final five minutes.
With 40 seconds left and the Tigers leading 70-63, Clemson’s PJ Hall and FSU’s Jamir Watkins were assessed technical fouls. After a delay, play resumed, and Girard made two free throws with 29 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
Watkins had 18 points and eight rebounds for FSU (14-13, 8-8).
No. 1 Connecticut 78, Villanova 54: Cam Spencer tied his season high with 25 points, Tristen Newton had 10 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth career triple-double, and UConn bounced back from its first loss since December with a victory in Storrs.
The Huskies (25-3, 15-2 Big East), who lost by 19 points at Creighton earlier in the week, lead the conference by two games in the loss column with three to play in the regular season.
Eric Dixon scored 20 points and TJ Bamba 13 for Villanova (15-12, 8-8).
No. 5 Tennessee 86, Texas A&M 51: Dalton Knecht scored 24 points as Tennessee gave coach Rick Barnes his 800th Division I victory.
Barnes, 69, became the 14th coach to win 800 games for Division I schools. He also coached George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas, winning 402 games in 17 seasons with the Longhorns. He has 196 in nine seasons with the Volunteers (21-6, 11-3).
Jonas Aidoo had 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for Tennessee. Former Virginia Tech Hokie Tyrese Radford and Wade
Taylor IV led A&M (15-12, 6-8) with 11 points each.
No. 9 Kansas 86, Texas 67: Hunter Dickinson scored 20 points, KJ Adams had 16 and Kansas (21-6, 9-5 Big 12) won in Lawrence.
All five Kansas starters scored in double figures. Johnny Furphy contributed 16 points, Dajuan Harris had 14 and Nicolas Timberlake scored 13.
Texas (17-10, 6-8) was led by Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell with 12 points each.
No. 14 Auburn 97, Georgia 76: The Tigers’ Chad Baker-Mazara scored a career-high 25 points in Athens, Georgia.
Auburn big man Johni Broome had 16 points and 13 rebounds, with 13 of those points coming in the second half. Auburn (21-6, 10-4 Southeastern Conference) is one game out of first place. Noah Thomasson led Georgia (15-12, 5-9) with 18 points.
No. 18 Saint Mary’s 88, San Diego 62: Mitchell Saxen scored 20 points in Moraga, California, as Saint Mary’s (23-6, 14-0) won its 15th straight game to wrap up at least a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title and the tournament’s top seed. The Gaels have the longest active winning streak in the nation.
Alex Ducas had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Aidan Mahaney added 15 points and Augustas Marciulionis had 13 points and 10 assists for the Gaels. Deuce Turner scored 20 points to lead the Toreros (16-13, 6-8).
No. 19 San Diego State 73, Fresno State 41: Jaedon LeDee scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half for the visiting Aztecs (21-7, 10-5 Mountain West. He blocked three shots, finished 8-of 11 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Isaiah Hill led the Bulldogs (11-16, 4-10) with 12 points.
Arizona State 73, No. 21 Washington State 61: Jose Perez scored 16 points, Frankie Collins added 14 and ASU ended Washington State’s eight-game winning streak.
Washington State (21-7, 12-5 Pac-12) opened the second half in Tempe on a 9-0 run to take a 38-36 lead. Arizona State (14-14, 8-9) roared right back, scoring the next seven points, and never trailed again.
Issac Jones led Washington State with 16 points and 11 rebounds. UNLV 66, No. 22 Colorado State 60: Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 23 points in Las Vegas as UNLV gained its seventh win in eight games.
Luis Rodriguez added 14 points for the Rebels (16-10, 9-5 Mountain West). Isaiah Stevens led the Rams (20-8, 8-7) with 18, but they dropped to 3-7 on the road.