Big Bell rings up No. 14 TCU

West Virginia’s physical brand of basketball under coach Bob Huggins was too much for Texas Christian to handle.

The Mountaineers took advantage of a bruising inside performance behind 285-pound forward Jimmy Bell Jr. to build a big early lead and outlast No. 14 TCU 74-65 in Morgantown, W.Va., on Wednesday night.

Bell, a junior college transfer, had 15 points and a season-high 12 rebounds for his second double-double. Before the start of the season, the 6-foot-10 Bell had changed his diet and workout habits and lost about 75 pounds.

“Jimmy was terrific, but you know, Jimmy is a guy who really cares,” Huggins said. “He’s a guy who works really hard. When you think about a guy who came in here and lost the weight that he lost in order to be able to play, his skill level has gotten so much better.”

Kedrian Johnson scored 20 points to lead West Virginia (11-7, 1-5 Big 12). TCU (14-4, 3-3) has lost three of its last four after starting the season 13-1.

at Seton Hall 67, No. 15 Connecticut 66:

KC Ndefo grabbed a rebound and made a follow-up layup with 1.6 seconds remaining to give the Pirates (12-8, 5-4 Big East) a come-from-behind win over the Huskies (15-5, 4-5).

at DePaul 73, No. 8 Xavier 72:

Umoja Gibson scored 22 points, Javan Johnson added 16 and the Blue Demons (9-10, 3-5 Big East) surprised the Musketeers (15-4, 7-1), who had won 11 in a row.

Women

at Texas Tech 68, No. 25

Texas 64:

Bre’Amber Scott scored 31 points, her second straight with 30-plus, and the Red Raiders (15-4, 3-3 Big 12) upset the Longhorns (13-6, 4-2) for their third consecutive win.

No. 6 Indiana 83, at No. 21 Illinois 72:

Mackenzie Holmes scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Grace Berger added 18 points to lead the Hoosiers (17-1, 7-1 Big Ten) over the Illini (15-4, 5-3).