GAME OF THE NIGHT: Clemson 68, No. 9 Duke 63
Jarron Blossomgame had 17 points and Landry Nnoko added 12 points, 13 boards and four blocks as the Tigers moved to 4-1 in the ACC with their second straight win over a ranked opponent. Duke was up midway through the second half, but they were through a brutal bout of foul trouble that essentially negated their ability to defend. More on that here.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
No. 10 SMU 79, East Carolina 55: The Mustangs remained undefeated with a blowout of the overmatched Pirates. The Mustangs put five players in double-figures while Nic Moore finished with 12 assists without a turnover.
No. 6 Villanova 83, Marquette 68: Kris Jenkins scored 20 points to lead five players in double-figures as the Wildcats improved to 5-0 in Big East play. Marquette got off to a slow start early, but the young Golden Eagles made a couple of runs, taking the lead at the half and cutting a 16 point lead to two possessions late in the second half.
Alabama 73, No. 19 South Carolina 50: And it was probably worse than the score would indicate. At one point, the Gamecocks were down 48-22 midway through the second half
LSU 90, Ole Miss 81: Antonio Blakeney and Tim Quarterman responded well to getting benched, combining for 29 points, eight boards and six assists on just nine field goals to help pick up LSU on a night where Ben Simmons had just 15 points and seven assists. Stefan Moody finished with 33 points for the Rebels.
STARRED
Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State: The Pokes lost to No. 2 Oklahoma 84-82, but Evans was unbelievable, finishing with 42 points, seven assists and six boards and looking like the best player on the floor on a night where Buddy Hield popped off for 26 points of his own, although his ten turnovers did help Oklahoma State come back and make this thing close.
JaQuan Lyle, Ohio State: It came against Rutgers, so take it with a grain of salt, but Lyle notched a triple-double on Wednesday, finishing with 16 points, 12 boards and 11 assists in a 94-68 win.
Justin Tillman, VCU: Tillman had 27 points and 10 boards in 25 minutes off the bench as VCU improved to 4-0 in the Atlantic 10 with an 88-54 win over Fordham. The Rams have now won seven in a row.
STRUGGLED
Houston’s stars: Rob Gray Jr., Devonta Pollard and Damyean Dotson combined to shooting 6-for-26 from the floor, finishing with 18 points and nine turnovers, as the Cougars lost their first AAC game of the season at Cincinnati, 70-59.
South Carolina: If you’re going to go down, you might as well go down in a blaze of glory. The Gamecocks shot 35.8 percent, 3-for-18 from three and turned the ball over 18 times in a blowout loss at Alabama.
THE REST OF THE TOP 25
- Terry Maston had 17 points and 10 boards as No. 22 Baylor knocked off TCU, 82-54.
- Vince Edwards scored 19 points to lead No. 24 Purdue to a 74-57 win over Penn State in West Lafayette.
NOTABLES
- D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera tied a career-high with 33 points as the Hoyas blew out St. John’s, 93-73, to move to 4-1 in the Big East.
- Malachi Richardson scored 15 points to lead four players in double-figures as Syracuse landed their first ACC win of the season, 62-40, over Boston College.
- Zach Auguste had 24 points and nine boards as Notre Dame knocked off Georgia Tech at home, 72-64.
- Shaq Goodwin had 22 points, 10 boards, four blocks and three steals and Dedric Lawson added 14 points and 12 boards as the Tigers knocked off Temple in Memphis.
- It’s hard to imagine Northern Iowa getting an at-large bid at this point, as the Panthers fell to 10-8 overall and 2-3 in the Missouri Valley with a loss to Indiana State.
- But Wichita State remained undefeated in conference play with a 78-62 win at Missouri State.
- Malik Beasley had 20 points to lead the Seminoles to a win over N.C. State in Raleigh, 83-76.