Spartans end losing streak
Bryn Forbes scored 25 points and Denzel Valentine had 19 points and 14 rebounds, leading No. 11 Michigan State over No. 7 Maryland, 74-65, Saturday night.
The Spartans (17-4, 4-4 Big Ten) had lost three straight games, including their last two at home.
The Terrapins (17-3, 6-2) have lost just two of their last 13 games and both setbacks were in the state of Michigan. They fell to Michigan on the road this month.
Maryland’s Melo Trimble scored 24 points and Robert Carter had 13.
Matt Costello had 15 points and 12 rebounds, including a few late in the game at both ends of the court, along with three blocks and two steals for the Spartans.
Costello might have played the best game of his career, and clearly was excited about how things went.
When the senior forward was taken out of the game, he lifted Tom Izzo off the ground and twirled him around before setting the coach down and finding a spot on the bench.
No. 1 Oklahoma 82, at No. 13 Baylor 72: Buddy Hield scored 14 of his 19 points after halftime, including consecutive three-pointers that put the Sooners ahead to stay in a victory over the Bears.
Hield, the Big 12 scoring leader at 26 points a game, missed the final nine minutes of the first half with two fouls.
Oklahoma (16-2, 5-2 Big 12) matched its season high with 16 three-pointers, including five by Jordan Woodard, who scored all 20 of his points in the first half.
The Sooners ended Baylor’s 15-game home winning streak to match the Bears (15-4, 5-2) for the Big 12 lead.
at No. 3 Kansas 76, Texas 67: Perry Ellis had 26 points, Wayne Selden Jr. added 19 and the Jayhawks countered their sluggish start with a torrid finish to beat the Longhorns.
Devonte Graham finished with 14 points and Frank Mason III had 13 for the Jayhawks (16-3, 4-3 Big 12), who had played dismally during a two-week stretch since their victory over No. 1 Oklahoma.
No. 20 Duke 88, at North Carolina State 78: Grayson Allen scored 28 points and the Blue Devils took control with a second-half flurry to beat the Wolfpack and end a three-game losing streak.
Freshman Brandon Ingram added 25 points for Duke (15-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which trailed by 10 late in the first half but seized momentum with its go-ahead 14-0 run.
at Tennessee 78, No. 24 South Carolina 69: Kevin Punter Jr. scored a careerhigh 36 points as the Volunteers capitalized on sizzling three-point shooting in the second half for a 78-69 victory over the Gamecocks.
Tennessee (10-9, 3-4 SEC) made its first seven threepoint attempts of the second half.