GAME OF THE NIGHT: No. 10 Kansas 75, Georgetown 70
Brannen Greene scored 19 points off the bench and Frank Mason III added 14 and three assists as the Jayhawks held off the Hoyas in Washington, D.C. Joshua Smith was a handful for Kansas in the post as he scored 20 points and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera added ten points, ten rebounds and six assists, but it wasn’t enough for a Georgetown team that also made quite the social statement during pregame.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
1. No. 13 Utah 65, BYU 61
Delon Wright was all over the box score in Utah’s win over their in-state rival, as he tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. As a team the Utes shot 45.8% from the field, and they limited BYU to 36.9% shooting on the other end of the floor. Tyler Haws scored 23 points in a losing effort needed 22 field goal attempts to do so, and Kyle Collinsworth added 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Next up for Utah: No. 10 Kansas Saturday in Kansas City.
2. Colorado State 62, Colorado 60
Some may have been hesitant to buy into the Rams given the fact that prior to Wednesday they’d yet to play a true road game. Look for a few more folks to hop onto the bandwagon now, as Larry Eustachy’s team moved to 9-0 on the season with J.J. Avila scoring 19 points to lead the way. The Buffaloes nearly picked up the win at home, with Xavier Johnson scoring 20 points and Askia Booker adding 18. However it’s tough for the Buffaloes to win when Josh Scott scores two points on 0-for-7 shooting from the field (CSU’s Tiel Daniels deserves some credit for this).
3. No. 1 Kentucky 56, Columbia 46
This one was more competitive than many expected, with the Lions holding a two-point edge at the half and leading well into the second half. Unfortunately for Kyle Smith’s team those second-chance opportunities began to add up, with Kentucky managing to grab 21 offensive rebounds that turned into 15 second-chance points. Maodo Lo (16 points, seven rebounds) played well for Columbia, which was picked to finish third in the Ivy League during the preseason.
STARRED
1. A.J. English (Iona)
English scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Gaels’ 77-64 win over Rider.
2. D’Angelo Harrison (St. John’s)
26 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the Red Storm’s 74-52 win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
STRUGGLED
1. Josh Scott (Colorado)
Two points on 0-for-7 shooting in the Buffaloes’ 62-60 loss to Colorado State.
2. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Georgetown)
Yes Smith-Rivera was four assists shy of a triple-double, but he was also 3-for-15 from the field in Georgetown’s 75-70 loss to No. 10 Kansas.
NOTABLES
- Tulsa became the third Division I team to lose to a Division II program Wednesday night, as they fell 69-66 to Southeast Oklahoma State.
- Speaking of upsets, provisional Division I member Incarnate Word beat Nebraska 74-73 on a Kyle Hittle jumper with 2.7 seconds remaining.
- Kam Williams scored a career-high 23 points as No. 12 Ohio State coasted to a 97-43 win over High Point.
- No. 19 Maryland moved to 9-1 on the season with a 67-56 win over North Carolina Central. Richaud Pack scored 17 points and Jake Layman added 15 for the Terrapins.
- Frank Kaminsky scored 18 points and Sam Dekker added 17 as No. 5 Wisconsin beat Milwaukee for the 22nd consecutive time, 93-54.
- Kris Dunn accounted for 22 points, nine rebounds and four steals in Providence’s 68-60 win over in-state rival Rhode Island. E.C. Matthews scored 27 to lead the way for URI.
- Purdue moved to 8-2 on the season, beating Arkansas State 87-46 in West Lafayette.
- Your high-scoring team of the night: Davidson, which moved to 7-1 on the season with a 110-99 win at Montana. Bob McKillop’s team was picked to finish dead last in the Atlantic 10’s preseason poll. That won’t happen.
- No. 23 Northern Iowa is now 9-0, thanks to their 63-55 win at Denver. Ben Jacobson’s Panthers led 42-25 at the half.
- No. 18 San Diego State held on to beat Long Beach State 60-59 despite committing 18 turnovers on the night. Steve Fisher’s Aztecs shot 47.7% from the field in the win.
- Tyrone Wallace is one of the most underrated players in America, and he led Cal to a 45-42 win over Wyoming with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
- Three players scored at least 20 points in No. 9 Gonzaga’s 81-66 win over Washington State. Przemek Karnowski scored 22, with Kyle Wiltjer adding 21 and Byron Wesley 20.
- Tony Parker scored 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in UCLA’s 77-66 win over UC Riverside.