No. 17 Syracuse 66, No. 7 UConn 58: See here.
No. 5 Duke 80, Maryland 62: See here.
No. 6 San Diego State 56, Colorado State 54: See here.
The Ugly Losses:
Oklahoma State 76, No. 15 Missouri 70: The Tigers dropped to 0-4 on the road in Big XII play on Wednesday night as Oklahoma State attacked the Tiger’s vaunted press. The Cowboys got 19 points from both Keiton Page and Jean-Paul Olukemi and jumped out to a 10 point first half lead and a cushion that grew as big as 15 in the second half. Mizzou made a run, getting to within 73-70 with 43 seconds left, but the Pokes hit their free throws down the stretch. Missouri’s slow start was too much to overcome, but it is tough to blame them. They left for Stillwater early Monday and didn’t arrive until 2:00 pm Wednesday for an 8:00 pm tip.
Indiana 60, No. 20 Minnesota 57: The Hoosiers got 12 points from both Tom Pritchard and Verdell Jones as IU was able to open a 33-21 halftime lead and hold on down the stretch as the Gophers made a furious comeback on the backs of Blake Hoffarber and Austin Hollins. The two combined for 28 points, but the Gophers missed two chances to tie the game late -- once when Hollins missed a free throw and again when Hoffarber left a game-tying three at the buzzer a bit short. Its the second time in the span of a week that IU has beaten a ranked opponent at home.
Charlotte 66, Xavier 62: Charlotte got 19 points from Derrio Green -- including four free throws in the final 35 seconds -- and hit their last ten attempts from the charity stripe as they overcame a 16-4 deficit early in the game to hand the Muskies their first loss of the A-10 season. Xavier, fresh off of a 23 point win at Richmond, got just 12 points on 3-17 shooting (0-8 from three) from Tu Holloway. Mark Lyons had 25 for Xavier, who fell a game behind Duquesne -- Duquesne -- at the top of the Atlantic 10 standings.
Iowa 72, Michigan State 52: Never did I think that this season we would be talking about Michigan State missing the NCAA Tournament but, well, its about that time. The Spartans look as if they have simply given up on this season. Iowa is not a very good team, and the Hawkeyes jumped out to leads of 15-2 and 30-8 on Sparty. Matt Gatens led the way for Iowa with 19 points.
Evansville 77, Missouri State 65: Does anyone want an at-large bid this season? Certainly no one at the mid-major level does, as the Bears dropped a full game behind Wichita State in the MVC standings. MSU was down 14 early in the second half, but responded with an 18-1 run to retake the lead. But Troy Taylor, who led five Evansville players in double figures with 12 points, hit a three that game the Purple Aces the lead for good at 54-52.
Northeastern 91, VCU 80: The Rams did have sole possession of first place in the CAA coming into tonight, just like they headed into the second half of basketball with a 43-36 lead tonight. But Northeastern scored 55 second half points, and thanks to 26 from Chaisson Allen, VCU drops back into a first place tie with George Mason.
Tulsa 68, Memphis 65: Steven Idlet had 17 points to lead four players in double figures as the Golden Hurricane erased a ten point second half deficit to knock off the Tigers and move into a five-way tie in second place in the C-USA, just a half game behind UTEP. Memphis had two chances to tie in the last eight seconds, but missed both. C-USA may not be brimming with great teams this season, but it is as balanced as any league in the country and will be a fun race to watch down the stretch.
Oklahoma 73, Baylor 66: In a game that was rescheduled due to yesterday’s storm, Cameron Clark scored 25 points and Carl Blair added 19 as the Sooners used a 24-3 second half run to take control of the game 67-53. Baylor made it interesting down the stretch, cutting the lead to 69-66, but Blair hit four free throws to seal the win.
---------------------------------------------
No. 9 BYU 69, Wyoming 62: Jimmer Fredette struggled -- 7-21 from the floor, 2-11 from three -- but he finished with 26 points and a crucial three-point play late in the game as the Cougars held on to by the Cowboys. Brandon Davies added 20 points and nine boards.
No. 12 Villanova 75, Marquette 70: Antonio Pena and Mouph Yarou combined for 32 points as the Wildcats held on after nearly blowing a 14 point lead to the Golden Eagles. Corey Fisher had 17 points and six assists.
No. 21 Utah State 67, Nevada 45: The Aggies used a 21-6 second half run sparked by their defense to turn a one point halftime game into a rout down the stretch. And yes, we did get a winning team, losing team chant.
Alabama 75, Mississippi State 61: Tony Mitchell had 23 points as the Crimson Tide defended their home court and moved to 6-1 in the SEC.
Georgia 60, Arkansas 59: Trey Thompkins scored all 12 of his points in the second half, including a free throw with just over a second left on the clock to give the Bulldogs a much needed win on the road.
Virginia 49, Clemson 47: The game was about as ugly as basketball can get, but the ‘Hoos proved that their win over Florida State was not fluke.
St. John’s 58, Rutgers 56: The Scarlett Knights overcame 23 turnovers to come back and tie the game with 6.4 seconds left, but a driving lefty layup by Justin Brownlee (who has a fracture in his left thumb) with 3.2 seconds left gave the Johnnies a tough win to even up their record at 5-5 in the Big East.
Other Notable Scores:
- Virginia Tech 77, NC State 69
- Richmond 62, St. Joe’s 52
- Old Dominion 67, Delaware 59
- West Virginia 56, Seton Hall 44
- Duquesne 84, Georgetown Washington 59
- George Mason 87, Hofstra 68
- Temple 71, La Salle 67
- South Carolina 64, LSU 56
- Southern Miss 75, UAB 71
- Kansas State 69, Nebraska 53
- Northern Iowa 53, Southern Illinois 51
- Dayton 63, St. Bonaventure 61
- UNLV 67, Utah 54
- UCLA 64, USC 50
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.