TOP 25: No. 11 Georgetown 57, No. 8 Syracuse 46
Otto Porter scored a career-high 33 points and Georgetown put an emphatic stamp on the impending end of an era before an imposing Orange crowd.
Thirty-three years after the Hoyas halted Syracuse’s 57-game home winning streak at Manley Field House, Porter added his name to the pantheon of stars who made this rivalry scintillating over the years.
His incredible play stopped the Orange’s 38-game winning streak in the Carrier Dome, the longest in Division I, and it came in front of a disappointed record crowd of 35,012, the largest ever to see a college basketball game on campus. It was the fewest points scored by Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.
It was the final game between Georgetown (21-4, 11-3 Big East) and Syracuse (22-5, 10-4) in the Carrier Dome as members of the conference — the Orange are leaving the Big East in July to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.
C.J. Fair had 13 points and seven rebounds for Syracuse, which was 4-of-20 on 3-pointers.
Wake Forest 80, No. 2 Miami 65
C.J. Harris scored 23 points and host Wake Forest snapped the Miami Hurricanes’ 14-game winning streak.
Codi Miler-McIntyre added 15 points while Harris was 5-for-5 from 3-point range to lead the Demon Deacons (12-14, 5-9 Atlantic Coast Conference).
They shot 54 percent, led by double figures for the entire second half and reeled off 12 consecutive points to pull away for their biggest victory under third-year coach Jeff Bzdelik.
Durand Scott had all 17 of his points in the second half for the Hurricanes (22-4, 13-1), the last of the schools in the six BCS conferences to get its first league loss.
No. 3 Gonzaga 81, San Diego 50
Kevin Pangos scored 18 points and host Gonzaga beat San Diego. Kelly Olynyk added 14 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga (27-2, 14-0 West Coast Conference), which clinched at least a tie for the WCC regular-season title it yielded to Saint Mary’s last year. It marks the 12th league title in 13 seasons for the Zags, who have set a team record for regular-season wins.
Chris Manresa scored 19 to lead San Diego (13-16, 6-8), which has lost four in a row.
Gonzaga has never been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country. The Bulldogs have won 10 in a row since a last-second defeat at Butler. Their only other loss was to Illinois, and they have the best winning percentage in Division I.
No. 5 Florida 71, Arkansas 54
Mike Rosario scored 15 points and Patric Young added 14 to pace a balanced attack that helped visiting Florida rebound from one of its two Southeastern Conference losses.
Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy each had 12 points for the first-place Gators (22-4, 12-2 SEC), who also bounced back from squandering a 13-point lead over the final 11 minutes of a 63-60 loss at Missouri to regain a two-game lead in the SEC over Alabama, which lost on the road earlier in the day to LSU in triple-overtime. Coty Clarke led Arkansas (17-10, 8-6) with 18 points.
No. 9 Kansas 74, TCU 48
Jeff Withey scored 18 points and Ben McLemore added 14 as host Kansas avenged a stunning loss to the lowly Horned Frogs just over two weeks ago.
Perry Ellis and Travis Releford added 12 points each for the Jayhawks (23-4, 11-3 Big 12), who began the day tied with Kansas State for first place in the conference.
Kansas has won three in a row since a rare three-game losing streak, one that included an embarrassing 62-55 loss to the Horned Frogs (10-17, 1-13) on Feb. 6. TCU still has not managed to beat another Big 12 team during its first season in the conference.
The eight-time defending Big 12 champions built a 38-9 lead by halftime and coasted the final 20 minutes to give coach Bill Self his 499th win.
The nine points scored by TCU were the fewest in any half in the last 15 years of Big 12 games, and the fewest allowed in a half by Kansas since Cornell scored nine on Jan. 2, 1996.
Devonta Abron had 18 points to lead the Horned Frogs, who have lost five in a row by an average of nearly 22 since their victory over the Jayhawks.
No. 10 Louisville 79, Seton Hall 61
Gorgui Dieng scored a career-high 23 points for host Louisville. The 6-foot-10 center showed confidence in his jumper and the result was 10-of-11 shooting from the field. The junior also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
Russ Smith added 19 points and Luke Hancock made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points as the Cardinals (22-5, 10-4 Big East) won their third in a row.
The Cardinals forced 21 turnovers, including 12 steals, and shooting 26-of-57 (45.6 percent).
Aaron Cosby scored 17 points for lead Seton Hall (13-15, 2-13), which dropped its ninth in a row. Eugene Teague added 16 points, Brian Oliver 12 and Fuquan Edwin 11 for the Pirates, who shot 23-of-52 (44 percent).
No. 12 Arizona 73, Washington State 56
Kevin Parrom matched his career best with five 3 pointers — in six tries — scoring a season-high 19 points for host Arizona.
Parrom, a 26 percent shooter from 3-point range in conference play before Saturday, opened the game with two 3s and the Wildcats (23-4, 11-4 Pac-12) led all the way. Arizona was up by as many as 21 points early in the second half before the Cougars cut it to 11 late.
Brock Motum scored 20 points but missed six free throws for the last-place Cougars (11-17, 2-13), who lost their eighth in a row.
No. 13 Kansas State 81, Texas 69
Rodney McGruder scored 20 points and visiting Kansas State stayed in the race for their first regular-season conference championship since 1977. Four players scored in double figures for the Wildcats (22-5, 11-3 Big 12), who share first place in the Big 12 with Kansas.
Kansas State made nine 3-pointers, shooting 50 percent from long range against a Texas (12-15, 4-10) defense ranked first in the country in defending the perimeter.
No. 14 Oklahoma State 73, West Virginia 57
Le’Bryan Nash and Markel Brown scored 16 points apiece to lead five visiting Oklahoma State players in double figures.
Marcus Smart added 14 points, Brian Williams scored 13 and Michael Cobbins had 10 for Oklahoma State (20-6, 10-4), which shook off a double-overtime loss to No. 9 Kansas on Wednesday.
Oklahoma State overcame an early six-point deficit and never trailed after halftime, using its defense to stifle any comeback attempt by the Mountaineers (13-14, 6-8).
Aaric Murray led West Virginia with 11 points.
No. 16 New Mexico 91, No. 22 Colorado State 82
Kendall Williams made a Mountain West Conference-record 10 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 46 points and New Mexico ended Colorado State’s 27-game home-court winning streak.
Alex Kirk added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Lobos (23-4, 10-2 MWC), who increased their lead in the conference race to two games over the Rams (21-5, 8-4).
Colton Iverson had 26 points and 15 boards for the Rams, who led 70-64 at the 6-minute mark. Williams, who had been on the bench with four fouls, returned and hit three 3s during a 14-2 run that gave New Mexico a 78-72 lead.
His 10 3-pointers broke the conference mark of nine set by several players, most recently UNLV’s Chace Stanback on Dec. 28, 2011.
Villanova 60, No. 17 Marquette 56
Darrun Hilliard scored 22 points and Ryan Arcidiacono and JayVaughn Pinkston both scored 11 to lead host Villanova. The Wildcats (18-10, 9-6 Big East) beat their third Top 25 conference team this season. They also beat Louisville and Syracuse to help bolster their bid to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. The Wildcats are coming off a 19-loss season and missed the tournament for the first time since 2004.
Hilliard scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half to spark the Wildcats.
Junior Cadougan led Marquette (19-7, 10-4) with 12 points. He was the only player in double figures.
The Wildcats shot 57 percent in the second half to help them pull away.
No. 21 Memphis 89, Southern Mississippi 73
Chris Crawford and Shaq Goodwin scored 19 points each and host Memphis claimed its second consecutive Conference USA regular-season title.
Five Tigers finished in double figures as Memphis (24-3, 13-0 C-USA) won its 18th in a row. D.J. Stephens scored 16 points, and, like Goodwin, was 6-of-7 from the field, while Joe Jackson had 15 points.
No. 23 Oregon 77, Stanford 64
Johnathan Loyd had season highs of 15 points and nine assists to lead host Oregon. Carlos Emory led the Ducks with 19 points and Arsalan Kazemi scored 15 points for the Ducks (22-6, 11-4 Pac-12). Dwight Powell led the Cardinal (16-12, 7-8) with 16 points
No. 24 VCU 75, Xavier 71
Troy Daniels scored 19 points, and visiting VCU intensified its full-court defense and overcome a 17-point deficit in the second half. VCU (22-6, 10-3 Atlantic 10) forced 22 turnovers — 12 in the second half during the big comeback.
Rob Brandenberg added 18 points and scored the Rams’ final six, including two free throws with 10.8 seconds left that clinched it.
The Musketeers (15-11, 8-5) played the final 13:35 without point guard Dee Davis, who was hit in the forehead and cut above his right eye. He left for treatment with Xavier up by five points and never returned.
Davis and Brad Redford finished with 15 points apiece for Xavier, which dropped to 52-2 in A-10 home games since 2007.
BIG TEN: Nebraska 64, Iowa 60
Dylan Talley’s tie-breaking, shot clock-beating 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds left enabled host Nebraska to put a dent in the Iowa Hawkeyes’ NCAA Tournament hopes. The Cornhuskers (13-14, 4-10 Big Ten) used a couple of big runs in the second half to come back from a 16-point halftime deficit and end the Hawkeyes’ three-game win streak.
Talley scored 18 points and Shavon Shields added 17 for Nebraska, which shot 62.5 percent the second half and outscored Iowa 19-7 over the last 9:42. Iowa (17-10, 6-8) shot 28 percent the last 20 minutes.
MID-AMERICAN: Manhattan 65, Buffalo 64
Shane Richards scored 14 points and RaShawn Stores had 13 to lead visiting Manhattan to a nonconference win. Manhattan (11-16) took a 65-59 lead on Rhamel Brown’s two free-throws with 3:55 left, and Buffalo (11-16) scored only on Javon McCrea’s jumper at 3:23 and Tony Watson II’s 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining.
Western Michigan 67, Pacific 62
Shayne Whittington had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead host Western Michigan.
Darius Paul scored 13 points and David Brown and Brandon Pokley scored 11 apiece for the Broncos (17-9) in the nonconference game that was part of the BracketBusters series.
Tony Gill scored 18 points, making 4-of-5 from 3-point range, for the Tigers (15-12).
The Broncos led for the final 10 minutes after Brown’s layup made it 49-47.
That began a 7-0 run that gave Western Michigan its biggest lead at 54-47, but the Broncos couldn’t put away the Tigers until Whittington and Brown made free throws in the final half-minute.
Missouri State 57, Eastern Michigan 54
Anthony Downing scored 16 points, including the go-ahead basket with 2:45 to play, and Missouri State defeated host Eastern Michigan. Marcus Marshall added 11 points for the Bears (9-20), who trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half in the nonconference game.
Derek Thompson led the Eagles (12-15) with 19 points, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
J.R. Sims, who scored 11 points, made a 3-pointer just before halftime to send Eastern Michigan into the break with a 29-21 lead. The Eagles were in control most of the second half but Missouri State finally took the lead thanks to a late 16-2 run that included Downing’s basket that made it 48-47.
Eastern Illinois 59, Northern Illinois 47
Morris Woods had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and Eastern Illinois held off host Northern Illinois (5-20) for a BracketBuster victory. Eastern Illinois (9-20) led 27-25 at halftime but used an 11-2 run to begin the second half capped off by Alex Austin’s 3-pointer with 16:07 to go.
Southern Illinois 74, Miami 68
Jeff Early had 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting, grabbed 12 rebounds and host Southern Illinois won its BracketBuster game. Down 56-54 and the clock winding down, Early hit a jumper with 1 second left to tie it at the end of regulation and send the two teams to overtime. He added a 3-pointer with 3:43 remaining in overtime to give Southern Illinois (12-16) a 59-58 lead and the Salukis never trailed Miami (8-17) again.
Toledo 79, McNeese State 66
Rian Pearson registered his third double-double in his last four games with 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead host Toledo past McNeese State (11-14) in nonconference play. The Rockets (13-11) have won two in a row and seven of their last eight games. Leading 17-16, the Rockets went on a 16-4 spurt.
Ball State 85, Southeast Missouri 82
Jauwan Scaife sank a 3-pointer as time expired, capping a wild final minute and giving visiting Ball State a dramatic victory over BracketBusters foe Southeast Missouri. Scaife had 18 points, including two free throws that gave the Cardinals (11-14) a 77-67 lead with 1:33 left. But a combination of Ball State turnovers, missed free throws and clutch Southeast Missouri shots helped the Redhawks (14-15) rally.
IPFW 88, Bowling Green 75
Frank Gaines scored 26 points to become host Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne’s all-time scoring leader with 1,773 career points. Gaines was 8-of-14 from the field for the Mastodons (14-16), who won their fourth in a row. Chauncey Orr led the Falcons (11-16) with 17 points.
Youngstown State 86, Central Michigan 75
Blake Allen and Kamren Belin scored 20 points apiece and DJ Cole posted his first career double-double as hot-shooting Youngstown State (16-12) took control early in a nonconference win over visiting Central Michigan (9-17).
