No. 1 Gonzaga throttles BYU
Kispert, Bulldogs start fast in 45th straight home win
SPOKANE, Wash. — Corey Kispert scored 23 points as top-ranked Gonzaga beat Brigham Young 86-69 on Thursday in a hastily scheduled game after both teams lost their original opponents to COVID-19 issues.
Jalen Suggs had 16 points, and Drew Timme and Andrew Nembhard each added 12 for the Bulldogs (11-0, 2-0 West Coast), who won their nation-best 45th straight home game.
Matt Haarms and Caleb Lohner each scored 13 points for the Cougars (9-3, 0-1), who had not played since Dec. 23.
BYU committed five turnovers in the first four minutes and fell behind 16-2 while Gonzaga hit seven of its first nine shots. The Cougars missed 10 of their first 12 shots and trailed 30-7 after nine minutes.
Lohner’s 3-pointer capped a 10-2 run that brought BYU within 39-26 with four minutes left in the first half.
Gonzaga replied with a 13-0 run and led 52-29 at intermission, after holding the Cougars to 33-percent shooting and forcing 11 turnovers. Five Bulldogs scored at least eight points in the first, led by Kispert’s 11.
Kispert scored six points during an 11-2 second-half run that put Gonzaga up 73-42.
The Bulldogs were supposed to play Santa Clara on Thursday, and BYU was to play Pacific. But both those teams had to drop out because of COVID-19 protocols, so Gonzaga and BYU decided to play each other a month early.
■ No. 5 Iowa 89, Maryland 67: At College Park, Md., Luka Garza scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half for the Hawkeyes (10-2, 4-1 Big Ten), who trailed 19-9 before scoring 20 straight points. The Terrapins (6-6, 1-5) shot 0-for-11 with five turnovers in the decisive 8:47 span.
■ No. 8 Wisconsin 80, Indiana 73, 2OT: At Madison, Wis., Tyler Wahl hit consecutive 3-pointers in the second overtime for the Badgers (10-2, 4-1 Big Ten), who have won 18 straight home games against the Hoosiers (7-5, 2-3). D’mitrik Trice scored 21 points for Wisconsin and Trayce Jackson-davis 23 for Indiana.
■ No. 12 Illinois 81, Northwestern 56: At Evanston, Ill., Kofi Cockburn scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and had 12 rebounds for the Illini (9-3, 5-1 Big Ten), who trailed by 16 before intermission. The Wildcats (6-4, 3-3) missed 22 of 24 second-half shots.
■ Colorado 79, No. 17 Oregon 72:
At Boulder, Colo., Mckinley Wright IV recovered from a scary fall to score 21 points, including a scoop layup with 27 seconds left, for the Buffaloes (8-3, 2-2 Pac-12), who improved to 10-0 against the Ducks (8-2, 3-1) in Boulder. Wright also had 10 rebounds and five assists. Chris Duarte scored 27 points for Oregon, which had won eight straight.
MOUNTAIN WEST ■ San Diego State 65, UNR 60: At
San Diego, Matt Mitchell had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Aztecs (8-2, 2-1), who held the Wolf Pack (8-4, 3-2) to 36.8-percent shooting. Grant Sherfield scored 22 points for UNR, which hasn’t won a Viejas Arena since 1998.
■ Boise State 78, Air Force 59: At Boise, Idaho, Derrick Alson Jr. had 16 points Wednesday to lead four double-figure scorers for the Broncos (9-1, 5-0), who shot 48.1 percent and held a 32-22 edge in rebounds in their ninth straight win. A.J. Walker scored 16 points for the Falcons (3-6, 1-4).
WOMEN UNLV 80, Colorado State 76:
■
At Cox Pavilion, Bailey Thomas hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:12 left and totaled 29 points and six assists for the Lady Rebels (4-4, 2-1 Mountain West), who hadn’t played in 16 days. Mckenna Hofschild had 20 points and eight assists for the Rams (72, 3-2), who had won four straight. Desi-rae Young had 16 points and 12 rebounds for UNLV, which led 38-30 at halftime.
■ No. 2 Louisville 71, Virginia Tech 67: At Blacksburg, Va., Dana Evans scored four of her 22 points in the final 1:07 for the Cardinals (9-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast), who led by 16 in the first half. Aisha Sheppard led the Hokies (6-3, 1-3) with 20 points.
■ No. 8 Texas A&M 77, No. 10 Kentucky 60: At College Station, Texas, Jordan Nixon scored the first 11 points for the Aggies (11-0, 2-0 Southeastern) and totaled a career-high 19. Rhyne Howard had 22 points for the Wildcats (9-2, 2-1).
■
The Gamecocks (7-1, 2-0 Southeastern) paused team activities indefinitely after a positive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracing.
Georgia at No. 5 South Carolina, ppd.: