Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Jonathan Holmes scored 17 of his 19 points in a lopsided second half as No. 10 Texas upended Iowa 71-57 in a 2K Classic semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Texas outscored the Hawkeyes 47-27 after halftime and will play the Syracuse-California winner on Friday night for the event’s title. Isaiah Taylor chipped in 15 points, Javan Felix added 11 and the Longhorns (3-0) held Iowa to 29.6 percent shooting. Aaron White scored a game-high 23 points for the Hawkeyes (2-1), though 14 came at the foul line.

Final Score: (12) Villanova 72, Bucknell 65

Villanova, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Dylan Ennis led four Villanova starters in double figures with 16 points and the No. 12 Wildcats rattled off nine unanswered points to hold off Bucknell for a 72-65 victory. Ryan Arcidiacono scored 15 points, Daniel Ochefu had 14 and 10 rebounds and Darrun Hilliard chipped in 10 points for the Wildcats (3-0), who won their 17th straight game within the friendly confines of The Pavilion. Chris Hass had a game-high 32 points for the Bison (1-2), who have lost seven straight games against Jay Wright’s squad.

Final Score: (15) VCU 106, Maryland-Eastern Shore 66

Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) – No. 15 VCU started the game with an 18-0 run and overwhelmed Maryland-Eastern Shore in a 106-66 win on Thursday night. Unlike Tuesday’s win over Toledo that saw them trailing at halftime, the Rams (3-0) avoided a slow start thanks to their Havoc defense. They forced four turnovers and made their first seven shots on their way to an 18-0 lead 3:40 into the game. The Hawks later cut the lead to 12 but were never able to get within single digits. The Rams ended the half on a 23-4 run to make it 61-30 at the break. The Rams did not shoot quite as well in the second half, but continued to expand their lead to the final 40-point margin. Terry Larrier led them with 21 points in just 20 minutes on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-7 on 3-pointers. Treveon Graham added 17 points in 15 minutes. The bulk of the scoring by Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-3) came from just three players. Devon Walker led the Hawks with 21 points on 7-of-11 3-point shooting, Devin Martin added 20 including 11 from the free-throw line, and Michael Myers chipped in 14.

Final Score: (17) Connecticut 65, College of Charleston 57

San Juan, PR (SportsNetwork.com) – Ryan Boatright scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the 17th-ranked Connecticut Huskies over the College of Charleston, 65-57, in opening-round action of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. Amida Brimah added 14 points and four boards for UConn (2-0), which will next face Dayton in the semifinal round on Friday. The Flyers defeated Texas A&M, 55-53, earlier on Thursday. Daniel Hamilton, the brother of former UConn and NBA star Richard Hamilton, added 15 points for the Huskies, who held off a pesky Cougars squad. Anthony Stitt had 17 points and Adjehi Baru scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the College of Charleston (1-2), which faces Texas A&M on Friday.

Final Score: Indiana 74, (22) SMU 68

Bloomington, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – Freshman James Blackmon Jr. scored 26 points on 5-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc to lead Indiana to a 74-68 win over No. 22 SMU at Assembly Hall. Yogi Ferrell netted 13 points with seven assists, Troy Williams tallied 11 points off the bench and Nick Zeisloft added 10 points for the Hoosiers (3-0), who won their fifth straight home game over a ranked opponent. Ben and Nic Moore scored 16 and 13 points, respectively, in the setback. The Mustangs (1-2) have now dropped their last two games after Monday’s 72-56 loss at No. 13 Gonzaga.

Final Score: California 73, (23) Syracuse 59

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Jordan Mathews scored a game-high 22 points, Jabari Bird made four 3-pointers and California took down No. 23 Syracuse 73-59 in a 2K Classic semifinal at Madison Square Garden. With the convincing victory, Cal advanced to play Texas in Friday’s event championship. The 10th-ranked Longhorns pulled away from Iowa for a 71-57 win earlier Thursday. Bird finished with 16 points, while David Kravish totaled 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Golden Bears (3-0), who ended the first half on a 12-2 run and led by double digits the rest of the way. Kaleb Joseph and Michael Gbinije led Syracuse (2-1) with 13 points apiece, while Chris McCullough netted 12 in the setback.

Final Score: (24) Michigan 71, Detroit 62

Ann Arbor, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Caris Levert scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds in leading No. 24 Michigan to a 71-62 win over Detroit in a regional matchup of the Legends Classic. Zak Irvin had 18 points and Derrick Walton Jr. scored 16 with six rebounds for the Wolverines (3-0), who went on a 16-1 run after Detroit had tied the game at 52 with 5:39 remaining. Juwan Howard Jr., son of the Wolverines’ “Fab Five” star, paced the Titans (1-2) with 24 points and eight rebounds. Brandan Kearney finished with 14 points and five assists in Detroit’s 14th consecutive loss in the series.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball