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Late Night Snacks: Bubble teams take center stage

haith

GAME OF THE NIGHT: Missouri 86, Arkansas 85

Jabari Brown’s shot with 10.2 seconds remaining was the difference as the Tigers denied the Razorbacks a much-needed SEC road victory. Arkansas still has just one conference road win to its credit this season, and that came at Vanderbilt last week.

As for the Tigers, Jordan Clarkson scored 27 points and Brown added 25 (14-for-15 FT) as they ended their three-game losing streak. How many teams will the SEC place in the NCAA tournament field? Outside of Florida and Kentucky that’s anyone’s guess, and games such as this one will determine the answer.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

1) St. John’s 68, Seton Hall 67

A Chris Obekpa free throw with 2.1 seconds remaining moved the surging Red Storm to 7-1 in their last eight games. Losing to the Pirates would have been a tough enough blow, but the fact that Seton Hall played without suspended seniors Brian Oliver and Eugene Teague made this one even more important for St. John’s. St. John’s turned the ball over 19 times but did shoot 53.2% from the field, and they made just one less three-pointer than Seton Hall (three to the Pirates’ four) despite the fact that the Pirates attempted ten more (20 to ten).

2) No. 21 Wisconsin 78, Minnesota 70

Ben Brust scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Badgers to their second consecutive victory, with Frank Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes added 17 and 15 points respectively. The difference in this one was the free throw line, with Wisconsin outscoring Minnesota 30-15 from the charity stripe.

3) No. 18 Creighton 68, Butler 63

Doug McDermott’s three-pointer with 45 seconds remaining gave the Bluejays the lead for good at Hinkle Fieldhouse, moving Creighton back into a tie for first place with No. 6 Villanova. McDermott finished the game with 26 points and five rebounds, and Will Artino added 11 key points off the bench. Kellen Dunham led the Bulldogs with 22 points.

STARRED

1) Isiah Umipig (Seattle)

Umipig racked up 32 points (12-for-20 FG), seven rebounds and two assists in the Redhawks’ 71-57 win at WAC leader Utah Valley.

2) Sherman Blanford (Eastern Illinois)

Blanford tallied 32 points (13-for-20 FG) and 18 rebounds in the Panthers’ 88-83 loss at Austin Peay.

3) Andrew Rowsey (UNC Asheville)

In the Bulldogs’ 102-92 loss at Radford, Rowsey accounted for 41 points and four assists, shooting 14-for-28 from the field.

STRUGGLED

1) Ryan Weber (Youngstown State)

Weber shot 1-for-10 from the field, scoring two points and committing five turnovers in the Penguins’ 71-40 blowout loss to Green Bay.

2) Chris Fouch (Drexel)

Fouch made just two of his ten shots from the field, scoring six points in Drexel’s 47-46 loss at College of Charleston.

3) Brett Comer (FGCU)

Comer shot 2-for-10 from the field and finished with as many turnovers (four) as assists (four) in FGCU’s 89-81 loss at East Tennessee State.

NOTABLES


  • No. 9 Michigan State beat Northwestern 85-70, remaining tied with rival Michigan for first place in the Big Ten as a result. Adreian Payne finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
  • Kyle Anderson racked up 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds to lead UCLA to a 92-74 win over Colorado, with the margin not indicative of the game’s competitiveness.
  • Karvel Anderson scored 28 points to lead Robert Morris to a 66-60 win over Saint Francis (PA), moving the Colonials to 10-1 in NEC play.
  • Green Bay rebounded from its second Horizon League loss with a 71-40 win over Youngstown State. Alec Brown scored 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting.
  • Drew Kelly scored 19 points to lead Morehead State to a 69-67 win over Jacksonville State, keeping the Eagles a game behind Belmont in the loss column atop the OVC East.
  • Chad Frazier scored 20 points in UAB’s 84-60 win over Southern Miss, handing the Golden Eagles their second loss in Conference USA play.
  • Gonzaga bounced back from its loss at Memphis on Saturday night with an 83-68 win over Pepperdine.
  • UCSB moved to 7-2 in Big West play with 65-64 win at Long Beach State. Michael Bryson’s layup with one second remaining gave the Gauchos, who are tied for first with UC Irvine, the win.
  • Utah picked up its first road victory of the season, beating USC 79-71 due in large part to the tandem of Delon Wright (20 points, nine rebounds and five assists) and Jordan Loveridge (19 points, eight rebounds and four assists).
  • Marcus Georges-Hunt’s four-point play with seven tenths of a second remaining gave Georgia Tech a 74-71 win over Boston College.
  • Saint Mary’s is now in sole possession of second place in the WCC after beating San Diego 69-57, with BYU falling 89-82 at Pacific. The Gaels and Cougars meet on Saturday.

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