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SATURDAY’S SNACKS: Big road wins for UCLA, West Virginia

Oklahoma v Wisconsin

MADISON, WI - DECEMBER 03: Nigel Hayes #10 of the Wisconsin Badgers is defended by Kristian Doolittle #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half of a game at the Kohl Center on December 3, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

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GAME OF THE NIGHT: No. 11 UCLA 97, No. 1 Kentucky 92

This one was a ton of fun to watch as UCLA shook off a sluggish start to run past Kentucky at Rupp Arena. CBT’s Rob Dauster has the story on this one and why it was important for both teams.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

No. 25 West Virginia 66, No. 6 Virginia 57: Bob Huggins’ group has a potential signature victory as West Virginia won a big one on the road. I have more about why this one is particularly important for West Virginia here.

No. 9 Baylor 76, No. 7 Xavier 61: The Bears added to what is the best résumé in college basketball with an impressive win over a very good Xavier team. Manu Lecomte was the star of the show, finishing with 24 points and five assists. We went in depth on this game here.

No. 5 Duke 94, Maine 55: It wasn’t the outcome as much as the fact that Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden returned to the floor.

No. 8 Gonzaga 69, No. 16 Arizona 62: The Bulldogs got 18 points from Przemek Karnowski and 16 points from Josh Perkins as they were able to get past a depleted Arizona team dealing with a myriad of injuries. Credit to Arizona, however. They were down 14 points early and managed to make this a game.

Providence 63, No. 21 Rhode Island 60: That’s back-to-back losses for the Rams, and a really nice win for a young Friars team. Kyron Cartwright led the way with 19 points and eight assists.

STARRED

Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin: After just missing a triple-double in a big win over Syracuse in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge earlier this week, Hayes dominated in a 90-70 win over Oklahoma with 28 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Hayes made both of his three-point attempts and also added six assists and two rebounds. Hayes is playing like an All-American lately.

Josh Hart, Villanova: Speaking of All-American caliber play, the senior guard put up a triple-double in the Wildcats’ 88-57 win over Saint Joseph’s as he finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Hart was 6-for-10 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point territory as he had a tremendous outing.

Sebastian Saez, Ole Miss: Underrated nationally, the senior forward had his fourth double-double of the year with 20 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Memphis. Saez also added three blocks as he now has 12 or more rebounds in five games this season.

Anthony Livingston, Texas Tech: The Red Raiders needed three free throws from Livingston with under three seconds left for a one-point win over Rice as Livingston finished with 33 points and seven rebounds.

Collin Smith, George Washington: Also knocking in a huge go-ahead bucket was Smith as his three-pointer with three seconds left gave the Colonials a win over USF. Smith ended up with 22 points and eight rebounds.

STRUGGLED

E.C. Matthews, Rhode Island: Matthews finished 3-for-13 from the floor with just nine points as No. 21 Rhode Island lost their second straight game, this time falling to Providence, 63-60, on the road.

JeQuan Lewis, VCU: Lewis had 23 points and 11 assists in a come-from-behind win over Princeton during the week, but he had just three points and one assists - and turned an ankle - in a 64-46 loss to Illinois in Miami on Saturday.

San Diego State: The Aztecs took a 65-59 loss to Loyola (IL) on Saturday, a loss that puts SDSU is an all-too-familiar hole: Bad losses on their résumé that they won’t be able to make up for in league play.

TOP 25


  • No. 2 Kansas shook off a slow start to knock off Stanford in Phog Allen Fieldhouse, 89-74. Reid Travis was terrific for the Cardinal, finishing with 29 points and nine boards.
  • Marcus Foster had 27 points and Mo Watson Jr. went for 14 points and 13 assists as No. 10 Creighton beat Akron, 82-70.
  • No. 14 Louisville overcame a 40-point performance from DeWayne Russell as they knocked off a good Grand Canyon team on the road, 79-70.
  • Using a balanced scoring effort, No. 15 Purdue picked up an easy home win over Morehead State. Freshman guard Carsen Edwards knocked down four triples to finish with a team-high 16 points while Caleb Swanigan and P.J. Thompson both finished with 13 points and six assists.
  • Kelan Martin went for 30 points as No. 18 Butler knocked off Central Arkansas, 82-58.
  • Andrew White hit seven threes and finished with 26 points while Franklin Howard chipped in with 13 assists for No. 22 Syracuse as they held on to beat North Florida, 77-71, in the Carrier Dome.
  • Tyler Dorsey scored 29 points as No. 23 Oregon beat Savannah State, 128-59.

NOTABLE


  • USC remained undefeated this season with a win over BYU despite playing without Bennie Boatright.
  • Michigan State avoided a loss at home to Oral Roberts despite playing without Miles Bridges. That’s a positive, I guess.
  • Torin Dorn and Terry Henderson combined for 45 points as N.C. State held on to beat Boston U., 77-73.
  • Solid win for Wake Forest on the road at Richmond as John Collins had 16 points, 13 rebounds.
  • TCU moved to 8-0 on the season with a 23 point win over a good Arkansas State team.