Purdue outlasts Nebraska, stays in Big Ten title race
LINCOLN, Neb. — Matt Haarms scored 17 points and Grady Eifert beat the shot clock for two huge baskets down the stretch for Purdue on Saturday.
Purdue (20-7, 13-3 Big Ten) won its second straight close road game, having beaten Indiana 4846 on a tip-in with 3 seconds left Tuesday. Ryan Cline’s 3-pointer to end the first half gave the Boilermakers a two-point lead, and they never trailed again.
Their 14th win in 16 games pulled them into a brief three-way tie for first in the Big Ten with Michigan and Michigan State. The tie will be broken Sunday when those two teams meet in Ann Arbor.
Glynn Watson Jr. scored a season-high 25 points, and James Palmer added 15 points and a season-high eight assists for Nebraska (15-13, 5-12).
LSU beats Tennessee in OT: Javonte Smart capped a career-best 29point performance with a crucial rebound and goahead free throws in the final seconds, and No. 13 LSU outlasted fifth-ranked Tennessee 82-80 in overtime in Baton Rouge, La.
Smart, a freshman who grew up near Baton Rouge, began to take over the game with about six minutes left in regulation, scoring 11 straight Tigers points to prevent Tennessee from pulling away.
“I just had a lot of fun,” Smart said, noting that he did not miss a free throw during Friday’s practice. “I just said, ‘Practice makes perfect,’ and I went up to the free-throw line with a lot of confidence.”
Skyler Mays added 23 points, including a gametying 3 with 1:16 left in regulation for LSU (22-5, 12-2 SEC), which pulled into a tie with Tennessee atop the conference despite playing without leading scorer Tremont Waters.
Admiral Schofield had 27 points, and Grant Williams 18 for Tennessee (24-3, 12-2), which has lost two of three after spending about a month ranked No. 1.
Tar Heels cruise: Cameron Johnson had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 8 North Carolina routed No. 16 Florida State 77-59 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Luke Maye added 15 points and 11 rebounds while freshman Nassir Little scored 18 points. The Tar Heels (22-5, 12-2 ACC) have won 10 of 11.
David Nichols scored 16 points, and Terance Mann added 10 for the Seminoles (21-6, 9-5), who had won eight straight.
On vacation: John Calipari was satisfied being in third place as Kentucky’s a l l - t i me wi n n i n g e st coach.
“No one should go by (Joe B. Hall), so coach Hall just asked me to vacate any games that go by him,” Calipari said. “I said they have already vacated some of my games. Maybe we’ll just vacate some more and at the end of the day I’ll be one less than him.”
Calipari surpassed Hall on the school’s career wins list and is second behind Adolph Rupp after an 80-53 victory over Auburn.