Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – John Calipari’s platoon system proved successful on Tuesday, and Kentucky’s interior defense looked as good as it ever has. The Harrison twins combined for 18 points, Karl-Anthony Towns and Marcus Lee both blocked four shots and No. 1 Kentucky dismantled fifth-ranked Kansas, 72-40, in the second game of the Champions Classic. Andrew Harrison scored 10 points, with his brother Aaron chipping in eight for Kentucky, which got at least four points from all 10 members of its rotation. Towns contributed nine points and eight rebounds and Willie Cauley-Stein had a game- high 10 boards for Kentucky’s Harrison-led “blue” platoon, which is its starting unit. Dakari Johnson had 11 points off the bench to lead the Wildcats (3-0), who outscored Kansas 30-12 in the paint and blocked 11 shots as a team. Wayne Selden had nine points for Kansas (1-1), which fell behind early and never found a way to consistently score against Kentucky’s aggressive defense. The Jayhawks shot just 19.6 percent from the floor and 3-for-15 from behind the arc.

Final Score: (4) Duke 81, (19) Michigan State 71

Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – Duke’s Jahlil Okafor survived his first nationally-televised test and proved too much to handle for Michigan State’s big men. Okafor, the consensus top freshman in the nation, scored 17 points and led the fourth-ranked Blue Devils to an 81-71 win over the 19th-ranked Spartans in the opener of the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. After averaging 18 points over Duke’s first two games, convincing wins over Presbyterian and Fairfield, Okafor shot 8-for-10 against the veteran-led Spartans — and that came despite spending part of the second half on the bench with four fouls. Quinn Cook paced Duke (3-0) with 19 points and six assists while freshmen Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow totaled 17 and 15 points, respectively. Branden Dawson had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Michigan State (1-1), which will play four of its first six games away from home. The Spartans survived a scare from Navy last Friday to win its season opener, 64-59. Travis Trice went for 15 points with eight assists, and Denzel Valentine scored 13.

Final Score: (9) Virginia 75, South Carolina State 55

Charlottesville, VA (SportsNetwork.com) – Justin Anderson and Malcolm Brogdon scored 17 points each and No. 9 Virginia ran away with a 75-55 win over South Carolina State on Tuesday. Anthony Gill added 11 points and eight rebounds and Mike Tobey scored 10 for the Cavaliers (3-0), who have won their first three games for the first time since 2008. The victories over James Madison, Norfolk State and South Carolina State have come by an average of more than 25 points. Karon Wright scored 15 points to lead the Bulldogs (0-3) while Gabe McCray had 12 and Greg Mortimer added 10.

Final Score: (11) Wichita State 71, Memphis 56

Sioux Falls, SD (SportsNetwork.com) – Ron Baker scored a game-high 21 points and No. 11 Wichita State pulled away in the second half for a 71-56 win over Memphis on Tuesday. After a first half marred by poor shooting and turnovers from both teams, Memphis pulled within four just three minutes into the second half, but the Shockers responded with an 11-0 run to put the Tigers away. The run started with a thunderous dunk by Tekele Cotton and included Wichita State’s first 3-pointer of the season, made by Baker with over 16 minutes remaining in the second game of the season. Baker made two 3-pointers and was 7-of-8 from the foul line. Fred VanVleet was second on the Shockers (2-0) with 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting with four rebounds and four steals. Nick King led Memphis (0-1) with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Austin Nichols chipped in 10 points and six blocked shots. The Tigers shot just 40 percent from the field and committed 24 turnovers and only had four assists as a team.

Final Score: (15) VCU 87, Toledo 78

Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) – Melvin Johnson and Treveon Graham each posted 22 points as No. 15 VCU used a late surge to dispatch Toledo, 87-78, at Siegel Center. Briante Weber totaled 18 points for the Rams (2-0), while Jordan Burgess picked up 11 for the hosts. Nathan Boothe had 18 points and Julius Brown poured in 17 for the Rockets (1-1). Justin Drummond added 12 in a losing cause.

Final Score: (16) San Diego State 53, (25) Utah 49

San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – JJ O’Brien scored a game-high 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and No. 16 San Diego State held on for a 53-49 win over No. 25 Utah on Tuesday. No player in the game made more than four shots and both teams shot worse than 33 percent from the floor in their first meeting since Utah moved from the Mountain West Conference to the Pac-12 three years ago. Angelo Chol and Dwayne Polee II had eight points apiece for the Aztecs (2-0), who opened the season with a 79-58 win over Cal State Northridge on Friday. They have won six in a row against Utah. Brandon Taylor scored nine points to lead Utah (1-1), which started the season ranked in the top-25 for the first time since 2000-01 and pulled away down the stretch to beat Ball State 90-72 on Friday.

Final Score: (20) Ohio State 74, Marquette 63

Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Kam Williams scored 15 points to lead No. 20 Ohio State to a 74-63 victory over Marquette on Tuesday. Amir Williams made all six of his shots for 12 points, Sam Thompson and Marc Loving each netted 10 and Shannon Scott had 14 assists to go along with eight points for the Buckeyes (2-0), who cruised to a 92-55 over UMass-Lowell in their season opener on Friday. Steve Taylor Jr. led all scorers with 20 points and Matt Carlino chipped in 10 for the Golden Eagles (1-1), who were coming off a 79-63 win against UT- Martin.

Final Score: (21) Nebraska 82, Central Arkansas 56

Lincoln, NE (SportsNetwork.com) – Terran Petteway scored 23 points and No. 21 Nebraska pulled away for an 82-56 win over Central Arkansas on Tuesday. Shavon Shields added 16 points and 11 rebounds and Tai Webster scored 13 for the Cornhuskers (2-0), who opened the season with an 80-61 win over Northern Kentucky on Sunday. Jake Zuilhof scored 12 points to lead Central Arkansas (0-3), which remains winless under first-year head coach Russ Pennell.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball