Sunday, February 12, 2017
No. 1 Gonzaga 74, No. 20 Saint Mary’s 64
MORAGA, CALIF.
Przemek Karnowski scored 19 points and No. 1 Gonzaga survived its toughest remaining obstacle to an undefeated regular season by beating No. 20 Saint Mary’s. Johnathan Williams added 17 points and Nigel Williams-Goss had 14 to help the Bulldogs (26-0, 14-0) sweep the season series and win for the 11th time in the past 13 meetings against their fiercest conference rival. The trip to Saint Mary’s (22-3, 12-2) was viewed as the last true test for Gonzaga before the postseason begins.
No. 2 Villanova 73, No. 24 Xavier 57
CINCINNATI
Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo scored 17 points apiece in Villanova’s balanced offense, and the second-ranked Wildcats led most of the way during a victory over No. 24 Xavier, which suffered another significant injury. Villanova (24-2, 11-2) won a matchup of the Big East’s top two teams at the Cintas Center, where the Wildcats suffered one of their five losses last season on the way to a national championship. It was a costly game for Xavier (18-7, 8-4), which already is missing point guard Edmond Sumner to a torn ACL. Trevon Bluiett, who is second to Villanova’s Josh Hart for the Big East lead in scoring, appeared to aggravate his sprained right ankle midway through the first half and had to be helped off the court.
No. 3 Kansas 80, Texas Tech 79
LUBBOCK, TEXAS
Josh Jackson had 31 points and 11 rebounds and made a free throw with 2.8 seconds left to lift No. 3 Kansas to a victory over Texas Tech. After Kansas inbounded the ball with 5.4 seconds left, Jackson was fouled and missed the first free throw before making the game-winner. Landen Lucas scored 13 points and Frank Mason III had 12 for Kansas (22-3, 10-2 Big 12). Keenan Evans finished with 25 points and Niem Stevenson had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for Texas Tech (16-9, 4-8). Zach Smith finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 4 Louisville 71, Miami 66
LOUISVILLE, KY.
Quentin Snider returned from an injury to score 13 points, including a big 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining, and Deng Adel and Donovan Mitchell added 18 points each as No. 4 Louisville rallied past Miami. The Cardinals (20-5, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) had to fight back from a 14-point first-half deficit and finally drew even on Mitchell’s 3 with 6:12 left, part of a 13-0 run for a 61-53 lead. Louisville’s surge included Adel’s four-point play.
No. 6 Baylor 70, TCU 52
WACO, TEXAS
Johnathan Motley had 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting and No. 6 Baylor had little trouble this time with TCU in a victory over the Horned Frogs. Baylor (22-3, 9-3 Big 12) never trailed in winning its 11th straight game in the series since the former Southwest Conference rivals were reunited in the Big 12 when TCU moved into the power league four years ago. Manu Lecomte added 17 points for the Bears, and King McClure scored all 13 of his before halftime. McClure had back-to-back 3-pointers for Baylor to make it 15-6 during a first-half stretch when TCU (17-8, 6-6) went more than 7 minutes without a field goal.
No. 13 West Virginia 85, Kansas State 66
MORGANTOWN, W.VA.
Jevon Carter had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 13 West Virginia to a foul-plagued victory over Kansas State. West Virginia (20-5, 8-4 Big 12) struggled at the start making two of its first eight shots from the field over the first 4 minutes, but the Mountaineers then went on a 12-1 run to take the lead. Kansas State rallied to tie the game at 34 at halftime. After a 3-pointer by Xavier Sneed early in the second half, the Wildcats (16-9, 5-7) went on a cold snap from the field that lasted over 6 minutes.
Notre Dame 82, No. 14 Florida State 74
SOUTH BEND, IND.
Bonzie Colson scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help Notre Dame avenge a January loss to Florida State with a win over the No. 14 Seminoles. After snapping a four-game losing streak earlier in the week against Wake Forest, the Fighting Irish have now won two straight to remain in the hunt for the top-four finish in the ACC and a double-bye in the league’s postseason tournament. Matt Farrell added 15 points and nine assists for Notre Dame (19-7, 8-5 ACC) and Steve Vasturia chipped in with 15 points and seven boards. Coming off a dominant three-game winning streak during which they won by an average of 33 points, the Seminoles (21-5, 9-4) found themselves by down 11 points in the first half and had no answer in the second half for Colson, who scored 20 after the break.
No. 15 Kentucky 67, Alabama 58
TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
Isaiah Briscoe had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to help No. 15 Kentucky weather one of its lowest scoring outputs and beat Alabama. The Wildcats (20-5, 10-2 Southeastern Conference), fresh from a shootout win over LSU, found a way to win at a much different tempo after dropping three of their last five games. Malik Monk added 17 points against the Crimson Tide (14-10, 7-5), which was coming off a quadruple-overtime road upset of No. 19 South Carolina. Monk’s free throws in the final seconds put Kentucky above its season low of 66 points in a loss to No. 17 Florida a week earlier.
No. 17 Florida 71, Texas A&M 62
GAINESVILLE, FLA.
Justin Leon scored 18 points, Canyon Barry added 12 and No. 17 Florida overcame a lackluster start to beat Texas A&M. John Egbunu notched his first double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds, as the Gators (20-5, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) won their sixth consecutive game. After winning each of the last five by double digits, this one was considerably closer than most expected. The Aggies (13-11, 5-7) led 42-41 midway through the second half and looked like they might get their first win in five tries against a ranked team this season.
No. 18 Duke 64, Clemson 62
DURHAM, N.C.
Luke Kennard scored 25 points and No. 18 Duke held on to beat Clemson. Playing less than 48 hours after an emotion-draining victory over No. 8 North Carolina on Thursday night, the Blue Devils (20-5, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) blew a 14-point lead in the second half and needed a stop at the buzzer to seal their fifth straight victory. Shelton Mitchell had a career-high 23 points and Elijah Thomas finished with 15 for the Tigers (13-11, 3-9), who have lost three straight and haven’t won at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995.
No. 19 South Carolina 77, Mississippi State 73
STARKVILLE, MISS.
Sindarius Thornwell scored 28 points, Chris Silva added 15 and No. 19 South Carolina made a late surge to beat Mississippi State. The Gamecocks (20-5, 9-3) bounced back from a 90-86 four-overtime loss to Alabama on Tuesday. This game was close and hard-fought, too: Mississippi State led 64-63 with 5:17 remaining, but the Gamecocks scored the next nine points to pull away for the road win. Mississippi State (14-10, 5-7) was led by freshman Tyson Carter, who scored a career-high 22 points. Quinndary Weatherspoon — the Bulldogs’ leading scorer who averages more than 17 per game — was held to just five points.
Providence 71, No. 22 Butler 65
PROVIDENCE, R.I.
Alpha Diallo scored 15 points and Kyron Cartwright had 14 for Providence as the Friars beat No. 22 Butler. Nate Fowler scored a career-high 19 points and Kamar Baldwin had 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who have lost three of their last four games. Fowler made his first seven shots to make up for poor shooting by the rest of the Bulldogs (19-6, 8-5 Big East). Providence (15-11, 5-8) trailed for most of the game before Cartwright scored six straight points midway through the second half — a 3-pointer and three free throws — to tie it 47-all.
No. 23 Creighton 93, DePaul 58
ROSEMONT, ILL.
Toby Hegner set a season high with 14 points and matched one with four 3-pointers, Marcus Foster scored 13 points and No. 23 Creighton pounded DePaul. The balanced Bluejays (21-4, 8-4 Big East) shot a season-high 60.7 percent and nailed 13 of 22 3-pointers against the last-place Blue Demons (8-17, 1-11). Creighton took control late in the first half and outscored DePaul 54-32 in the second to come away with the win after dropping three of five. Cole Huff and Khyri Thomas each scored 12 points, and the Bluejays improved to 7-1 in road games.
Associated Press