GAME OF THE DAY: No. 9 Villanova 65, Georgetown 60
The Wildcats held off a Georgetown team desperate for a win on Monday night as Villanova went into the Verizon Center and held off the Hoyas for a Big East win. Villanova could never seem to pull away from Georgetown, as the Hoyas jumped out to an 8-0 lead -- which also doubled as the game’s largest lead for either side -- to start the game. The teams combined for 34 turnovers and 39 fouls in an ugly game. James Bell led Nova with 16 points while Daniel Ochefu and JayVaughn Pinkston each added 12. Georgetown has now lost five straight games.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
1) No. 23 Oklahoma 88, No. 8 Oklahoma State 76
Big win for the Sooners in the “Bedlam” rivalry as the Oklahoma offense was dialed in and going for much of the night. Oklahoma State dealt with foul trouble to key players throughout the night and Oklahoma forward Ryan Spangler took advantage on the interior with 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Oklahoma took the lead at 12-10 with a little over 14 minutes left in the first half and never looked back in this one.
For more on this one, check out my take on Oklahoma and Rob Dauster’s take on Oklahoma State.
2) No. 17 Duke 80, No. 18 Pitt 65
The Blue Devils picked up a big ACC road win at the Peterson Events Center on Monday as they clearly outplayed Pitt in the second half. Duke’s half-court defense continues to look better and a key four minute stretch of 10 straight stops on the defensive end helped the Blue Devils jump out to a 64-51 lead they would never relinquish. Jabari Parker scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half and Andre Dawkins scored 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the three-point line.
For more on this one, check out my take on Duke and Rob Dauster’s take on Pitt.
3) North Carolina Central 53, Morgan State 52
Karamo Jawara made the game-winning free throw with one second left to give North Carolina Central the win and sole possession of the MEAC standings. The win puts North Carolina Central (14-5, 5-1) ahead of Morgan State (6-12, 4-2) for the conference lead.
STARRED
1) Ryan Spangler’s 15-point, 17-rebound effort was tremendous for Oklahoma in the key rivalry win over Oklahoma State.
2) Southern moved to 7-1 in the SWAC with a 68-55 win over Alabama State on Monday night. The win puts the Jaguars a full game ahead of any other team in the league standings.
3) Andre Dawkins was sensational off-the-bench for Duke on Monday, scoring 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting behind the three-point line and playing with a tremendous amount of confidence.
STRUGGLED
1) Prairie View A&M led Mississippi Valley State 43-29 at halftime before being outscored 52-29 in the second half on the way to an 81-72 SWAC loss.
2) Lamar Patterson has had a breakout senior season for Pitt, but on Monday against Duke, he struggled to 14 points and five turnovers on 4-for-14 shooting in the home loss.
3) Oklahoma State struggled to keep certain players on the floor, Monday, as Kamari Murphy, LeBryan Nash and Stevie Clark all fouled out in the loss to the Sooners. Marcus Smart also dealt with first-half foul problems and Nash (17 minutes) and Clark (11 minutes) played less than a half of basketball each in picked up their five fouls.