Dayton wins 14th consecutive game
AMHERST, Mass. — Obi Toppin scored 19 points, Jalen Crutcher addeded 17 and No. 6 Dayton won its 14th straight game with a 71-63 victory over Massachusetts on Saturday.
Ryan Mikesell added nine points for Dayton (23-2, 12-0 in Atlantic 10), which hasn’t lost since a 78-76 overtime defeat against Colorado on Dec. 21. The Flyers remain unbeaten in regulation this season after carrying the fifth-longest winning streak in Division I into the game.
Tre Mitchell had a gamehigh 26 points and 10 rebounds and Samba Diallo added 10 points for the Minutemen.
UMass (10-15, 4-8) has dropped seven of 10. The Minutemen have lost 10 straight against AP top-10 teams, dating back to a 61-59 upset of No. 7 Connecticut on Dec. 29, 2004. CLEMSON 77 LOUISVILLE 62
Johnny Newman III had a career-high 23 points and hosting Clemson used a strong defensive first half to send No. 5 Louisville to its second straight defeat.
The Tigers (13-12, 7-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) held the Cardinals to their lowest first-half output this season as they led 31-14 at the break and limited the ACC’s leading scorer Jordan Nwora to five points.
DUKE 94, NOTRE DAME 64
Vernon Carey Jr. scored 21 points, Tre Jones added 19 and No. 7 Duke used a high-intensity man-to-man defense to beat Notre Dame at home for its seventh straight win.
With No. 5 Louisville losing to Clemson, the win vaulted the Blue Devils (22-3, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) into sole possession of first place in the ACC standings, onehalf game ahead of the Cardinals.
FLORIDA ST. 80 SYRACUSE 77
Patrick Williams scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds as No. 8 Florida St. played without star guard Devin Vassell and held off visting Syracuse.
M.J. Walker scored 16 points, including five 3pointers, as the Seminoles (21-4, 11-3 ACC) won their 20th straight home game.
Elijah Hughes added 25 points and four rebounds.
Joseph Girard scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Syracuse (14-11, 7-7) , which has lost four of its last five games.
MARYLAND 67 MICHIGAN ST. 60
Anthony Cowan scored 11 of his 24 points in the final two-plus minutes, and No. 9 Maryland beat Michigan St. on the road.
The Terrapins (21-4, 11-3 Big Ten) scored the final 14 points of the game after trailing by seven with 3:24 left. Cowman had the last 11 points on three 3-pointers and two free throws.
Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
KENTUCKY 67 MISSISSIPPI 62
Nick Richards had 16 points, including two go-ahead free throws 1:11 remaining, and Immanuel Quickley and Keion Brooks each made two more in the closing seconds to help No. 12 Kentucky escape Mississippi at home.
The Wildcats (20-5, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) shot just 39% overall but made 48% in the second half to erase a seven-point deficit.
PENN ST. 77 NORTHWESTERN 61
Lamar Stevens scored 23 points to lead No. 13 Penn State over visiting Northwestern.
Myles Dread scored 16 and Jamari Wheeler and Mike Watkins added 11 apiece for the Nittany Lions.
Boo Buie and Pete Nance had 12 points, Pat Spencer scored 11 and Miller Kopp had 10 for the Wildcats (6-18, 1-13 Big Ten), who lost their ninth in a row.
GEORGETOWN 73 BUTLER 66
Terrell Allen tied a career high with 22 points, including key baskets on back-to-back possessions late, and short-handed Georgetown endured on the road without its top two scorers to knock off
No. 19 Butler.
The Hoyas (15-10, 5-7 Big East) were missing injured starters Mac McClung and Omer Yurtseven, but Allen hit the game’s first shot and stayed hot to keep the visitors ahead for much of the game.
RUTGERS 72, ILLINOIS 57
Ron Harper Jr. hit all five of his 3-pointers and scored 27 points, and Rutgers remained unbeaten at home with a victory over No. 22 Illinois.
Gio Baker and Akwasi Yeboah added 12 points apiece and Myles Johnson had 11 rebounds as the Scarlet Knights (18-8, 9-6 Big Ten) improved to a nation’s best 17-0 at home.
ALABAMA 88, LSU 82
Kira Lewis Jr. scored 27 points, Jaden Shackelford had 26 and host Alabama held off a big comeback attempt by No. 25 LSU
The Crimson Tide (13-12, 6-6 Southeastern Conference) knocked the Tigers (18-7, 9-3) from a share of the league lead after blowing virtually all of an 18point lead.
LSU has lost three of its last four games since an 8-0 league start.
PROVIDENCE 74 SETON HALL 71
Alpha Diallo scored a career-high 35 points and Providence beat No. 10 Seton Hall at home.
Luwane Pipkins added 13 points for the Friars.
The Pirates (18-7, 11-2 Big East) got 27 points from Myles Powell, while Quincy McKnight added 14 points, though he was just 1 for 8 from the field.
MISSOURI 85, AUBURN 73
Guards Dru Smith and Xavier Pinson each scored 28 points and host Missouri beat No. 11 Auburn.
Smith and Pinson repeatedly drove into the lane and scored for Missouri (12-13, 4-8 Southeastern Conference). Kobe Brown added 10 points and nine rebounds.
CREIGHTON 93, DEPAUL 64
Ty-Shon Alexander matched his season high with 24 points in one of his best all-around games, and No. 23 Creighton blew out DePaul on the road.
The Bluejays are 7-1 in their last eight games and reached 20 wins for the 20th time in 22 years.
COLORADO 69 OREGON ST. 47
Tyler Bey scored 21 points to lead No. 16 Colorado to a 69-47 victory at Oregon St.
The Buffaloes moved into sole possession of the first place in the Pac-12 Conference.
McKinley Wright added 13 points for Colorado.
GONZAGA 89 PEPPERDINE 77
Filip Petrusev had 27 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season as secondranked Gonzaga defeated host Pepperdine to extend its winning streak to 18 games.
Petrusev scored 20 points in the first half and the sophomore forward created matchup problems all night for Pepperdine in the paint. He finished four points shy of his career high.