Rutgers wallops No. 11 Wisconsin
Jeremiah Williams scored 18 points in his first home game of the season, and Rutgers used a stifling defense to lead the entire game and hand No. 11 Wisconsin its fourth straight loss, 78-56, on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.
The Scarlet Knights (13-10, 5-7 Big Ten) scored 15 points off 12 Wisconsin turnovers to secure their third straight win. Noah Fernandes contributed 17 points and Clifford Omoruyi added 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The 22-point victory was the largest margin of victory for Rutgers over a ranked opponent in program history.
Connor Essegian and AJ Storr scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, for Wisconsin (16-8, 8-5). The Badgers never got within single digits in the second half.
The Scarlet Knights shot 59 percent on 3s (10-of-17).
Williams had not played a college basketball game in nearly two years (709 days) prior to being activated before Rutgers’ game at Michigan on Feb. 3. The Iowa State transfer endured a season-ending Achilles injury last year then had to sit out 20 games this season for violating the NCAA’s gambling policy.
UConn 89, Georgetown 64
In Washington, No. 1 UConn (22-2, 12-1 Big East) was never challenged on the way to its 12th consecutive victory, leading by as many as 26 in the first half while beating Georgetown (8-15, 1-11) behind Alex Karaban’s 25 points.
Purdue 79, Indiana 59
In West Lafayette, Ind., Zach Edey had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Braden Smith scored 19 points to lead No. 2 Purdue (22-2, 11-2 Big Ten) past Indiana (14-10, 6-7).
North Carolina 75, Miami 72
In Coral Gables, Fla., RJ Davis scored 25 points, and No. 3 North Carolina (19-5, 11-2 ACC) held off Miami (15-9, 6-7).
Kansas 64, Baylor 61
In Lawrence, Kan., Hunter Dickinson scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack as No. 4 Kansas (19-5, 7-4 Big 12) extended its home-winning streak to 18 games with a victory over No. 13 Baylor (17-6, 6-4).
Baylor got the ball with 14.2 seconds left and a chance to tie it, but Jayden Nunn’s 3-point try from the corner was short. After Nicolas Timberlake missed the front end of a one-and-one, Ja’Kobe Walter’s 3-point attempt caromed off the rim.
Houston 67, Cincinnati 62
In Cincinnati, J’Wan Roberts scored 20 points, including a game-sealing dunk with 6 seconds left, as No. 5 Houston (21-3, 8-3 Big 12) outlasted the Bearcats (15-8, 4-6).
Texas A&M 85, Tennessee 69
In College Station, Texas, Tyrece Radford had 27 points and Wade Taylor IV added 25 as Texas A&M (15-8, 6-4 SEC) never trailed against No. 6 Tennessee (17-6, 7-3).
Duke 80, Boston College 65
In Durham, N.C., Mark Mitchell scored 17 points, Kyle Filipowski and Jeremy Roach each added 16, and No. 9 Duke (18-5, 9-3 ACC) beat Boston College (13-10, 4-8).
Michigan St. 88, Illinois 80
In East Lansing, Mich., A.J. Hoggard had 23 points to lead Michigan State over No. 10 Illinois.
The Spartans (15-9, 7-6 Big Ten) rallied from an eight-point deficit over the last six-plus minutes. Terrance Shannon Jr. — who had been suspended by the school after being charged with rape in Kansas — scored 28 points for Illinois (17-6, 8-4).
Gonzaga 89, Kentucky 85
In Lexington, Ky., Anton Watson scored 17 points, including a go-ahead three-point play with 3:49 remaining before adding two key layups in the final 91 seconds, Ben Gregg and Nolan Hickman sank key late free throws, and Gonzaga (18-6) survived a second-half rally to beat No. 17 Kentucky.
The Wildcats (16-7) have lost three straight at Rupp Arena for the first time.
Clemson 77, Syracuse 68
In Syracuse, Joe Girard III scored 18 points to reach 2,000 in his career to lead Clemson (16-7, 6-6 ACC) past the Orange (15-9, 6-7) in his first game on the court he called home for four seasons.
Girard scored 1,652 career points for the Orange. A four-year starter at Syracuse, he transferred to Clemson following coach Jim Boeheim’s retirement last season.
Canisius 73, Iona 69
In Buffalo, Siem Uijtendaal’s 25 points helped Canisius (9-14, 4-9 MAAC) defeat Iona (12-11, 7-5).
Siena 68, Manhattan 63
In Riverdale, Michael Eley scored 24 points as Siena (4-20, 3-10 MAAC) beat Manhattan (5-17, 2-11).
Columbia 83, Brown 69
In Providence, R.I., Josh Odunowo scored 17 points as Columbia (12-8, 3-4 Ivy) beat Brown (6-16, 2-5).
Hofstra 81, North Carolina A&T 49
In Greensboro, N.C., German Plotnikov had 20 points in Hofstra’s (15-10, 8-4 CAA) blowout victory against North Carolina A&T (7-18, 5-7).
Fairfield 64, Saint Peter’s 62
In Jersey City, Jalen Leach and Caleb Fields each scored 17 points, and Fairfield (15-9, 9-4 MAAC) edged past Saint Peter’s (11-11, 7-6).
CCSU 71, Fairleigh Dickinson 62
In New Britain, Conn., Kellen Amos had 16 points in Central Connecticut State’s (15-9, 9-2 NEC) victory against Fairleigh Dickinson (11-14, 5-5).