NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL / TOP 25
No. 4 Michigan State 68, No. 3 Purdue 65
Miles Bridges made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left and finished with 20 points, helping Michigan State top Purdue on Saturday. The Spartans (24-3, 12-2 Big Ten) have won eight straight, improving their chances of contending for a conference championship and earning a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers (23-4, 12-2) have lost two straight after winning a school-record 19 games in a row.
No. 1 Villanova 86, Butler 75
Donte DiVincenzo scored a career-high 30 points, Jalen Brunson had 27 and Villanova bounced back from its second loss of the season. Omari Spellman added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (23-2, 10-2 Big East), who avoided losing consecutive games for the first time since March 2013. The injury-depleted Wildcats were coming off a surprising home loss to last-place St. John's three days earlier.
Va. Tech 61, No. 2 Virginia 60
Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored on a putback with 5.8 seconds left and Virginia Tech spoiled Virginia's opportunity to climb to No. 1. Blackshear rebounded a missed layup by Justin Robinson and banked it in as he was being fouled. He missed the free throw, but Ty Jerome's 28-foot attempt at the other end missed badly and the Hokies (18-7, 7-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a marquee victory.
No. 5 Xavier 72, Creighton 71
Quentin Goodin made two free throws with three-tenths of a second left, allowing Xavier to hold off Creighton. Goodin got fouled by Ronnie Harrell Jr. after Harrell had made three straight free throws to give the Bluejays a one-point lead with 4.6 seconds left. Goodin took an inbound pass from Naji Marshall and drove the length of the court to the basket, with Harrell making contact in the lane and sending him to the line. Toby Harrell's baseball pass sailed out of bounds on the other end, and the Big East-leading Musketeers (23-2, 11-2) to win.
No. 7 Texas Tech 66, Kansas State 47
Keenan Evans scored 19 points and Texas Tech beat Kansas State to take sole possession of the Big 12 lead. Texas Tech (21-4, 8-4) relied on strong second-half defense. After a 27-27 deadlock in the first half, the Red Raiders turned up the pressure. In the second half, Kansas State (17-8, 6-6) had more turnovers (11) than made baskets (5) and ended up shooting just 29 percent on the night.
No. 8 Auburn 78, Georgia 61
Jared Harper scored 24 points and Auburn, playing without top scorer Bryce Brown, showed impressive depth by beating Georgia. Auburn leaned heavily on Harper early in the game. He scored 12 consecutive points for the Tigers, including backto-back 3s for a 17-9 lead. Auburn (223, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) never relinquished the advantage.
Baylor 80, No. 10 Kansas 64
Manu Lecomte scored eight straight points for Baylor after Big 12 co-leader Kansas had pulled within a basket, and the senior guard finished with 18 overall in the Bears' upset victory. The Jayhawks (19-6, 8-4 Big 12) trailed 30-20 at halftime after having more turnovers (nine) than made field goals (seven) before the break. They were down by as many as 13 points after that but got within 58-56 with 7:14 left after consecutive jumpers by Lagerald Vick. Lecomte then made a jumper for Baylor (15-10, 5-7) with 6:50 left and Kansas couldn't comeback.
No. 14 Ohio State 82, Iowa 64
Keita Bates-Diop had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Ohio State beat Iowa for sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. Kaleb Wesson added 18 points and C.J Jackson scored 14 for the Buckeyes (21-5, 13-1 Big Ten), who were 9 for 20 from 3-point range. Leading scorer Tyler Cook had just eight points for the Hawkeyes (12-15, 3-11).
Alabama 78, No. 15 Tennessee 50
Donta Hall had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Collin Sexton scored 16 points to lead Alabama to a victory over Tennessee. The Crimson Tide (16-10, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) thoroughly dominated the Volunteers (18-6, 8-4) around the basket and cashed in on a number of fast-break chances Hall made 8 of 10 field goals and blocked three shots. Tennessee had no answer to Sexton's quick darts to the basket, and the freshman also had four assists.
Iowa State 88, No. 17 Oklahoma 80
Iowa State freshman Lindell Wigginton upstaged Trae Young by scoring 26 points and the Cyclones upset Oklahoma, handing the Sooners their sixth consecutive road loss. Fellow rookie Cam Lard had 19 points with 17 rebounds for the Cyclones (1311, 4-8 Big 12). Iowa State built and then blew a 17-point lead, but Donovan Jackson's 3 with 1:55 left put it ahead 80-77. Wigginton then beat the shot clock with a long 3, and Jackson hit a pair of free throws to clinch the win.
Oklahoma State 88, No. 19 West Virginia 85
Kendall Smith and Cameron McGriff each scored 20 points and Oklahoma State beat another ranked team on the road, topping West Virginia. The Cowboys (15-10, 5-7 Big 12), who won at then-No. 7 Kansas last weekend, trailed by eight points with 13 minutes left. Jevon Carter had a career-high 33 points for West Virginia (18-7, 7-5), which has lost six of nine.
No. 21 North Carolina 97, North Carolina State 89
Luke Maye scored 27 of his career-high 33 points after halftime to help North Carolina beat rival North Carolina State. Maye also had 17 rebounds and spent most of the second half as a one-man show for the Tar Heels (19-7, 8-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).
No. 23 Nevada 83, San Diego State 58
Jordan Caroline scored 26 points and Lindsay Drew just missed a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Nevada's victory over San Diego State. Kendall Stephens added 21 points for Nevada (21-5, 10-2 Mountain West). The Wolf Pack rebounded after falling to UNLV on Wednesday night for their first home game of the season.
Texas A&M 85, No. 24 Kentucky 74
Freshman point guard T.J. Starks scored 17 points and Texas A&M toppled Kentucky. John Calipari has lost three consecutive games for the first time since taking over the Kentucky program before the 2009-2010 season. Kentucky (17-8, 6-6 Southeastern Conference) led 30-26 at halftime, but the Aggies (17-8, 6-6) made 11 of their first 16 shots in the second half — including all four of their 3-point attempts — to take a 14-point lead.
Boston College 72, No. 25 Miami 70
Ky Bowman stole a rebound under the basket, drew a foul and hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds left as Boston College scored the last nine points of the game to rally for a victory over Miami. The Hurricanes led 70-63 with 6:17 left— their biggest lead of the game — before missing their last nine shots and turning the ball over five times. Jerome Robinson had six of his 29 points down the stretch, and Bowman had the other three. The victory snapped a 12-game losing streak against Miami for BC (15-10, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference). DJ Vasiljevic scored 17 for Miami (18-6, 7-5).