Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) – After sweating out a pair of thrilling road victories against Florida and LSU in their last two games, the top-ranked Wildcats returned home and made things much easier for themselves this time around. Willie Cauley-Stein led a remarkably balanced scoring effort with 14 points, Aaron Harrison added 11 and Kentucky rolled to a 77-43 win over South Carolina. On a day where head coach John Calipari was announced as a finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2015, his team matched the best start in program history. Kentucky (25-0, 12-0 SEC) tied the 1953-54 Wildcats, who finished the season 25-0 and were named national champions under legendary coach Adolph Rupp. Dakari Johnson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Harrison, Trey Lyles and Devin Booker all scored between eight and 10 points. Johnson also had a game-high 13 rebounds, and Andrew Harrison had six assists, three more than the entire South Carolina unit. Sindarius Thornwell accounted for nearly half of South Carolina’s points, netting 20 on 5-of-17 shooting to go along with nine free throws. South Carolina (12-12, 3-9) hasn’t won consecutive games in conference play.

Final Score: (2) Virginia 61, Wake Forest 60

Charlottesville, VA (SportsNetwork.com) – Anthony Gill scored 19 points to help No. 2 Virginia escape with a 61-60 win over Wake Forest on Saturday. Malcolm Brogdon added 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Cavaliers (23-1, 11-1 ACC). He also had four steals, including one as time expired to secure the win. The Demon Deacons (12-14, 4-9) were led by Konstantinos Mitoglou’s 18 points on 6-of-12 3-point shooting. Codi Miller- McIntyre contributed 13 points and eight rebounds, but he lost possession of the ball in the waning moments without even getting a shot off.

Final Score: (8) Kansas 74, (16) Baylor 64

Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) – Perry Ellis scored 18 points, including the 1,000th of his career, as No. 8 Kansas overcame a sluggish start to claim a 74-64 win over 16th-ranked Baylor on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. Kelly Oubre Jr. matched Ellis’ point total and Wayne Selden Jr. added 15 for the Jayhawks (21-4, 10-2 Big 12), who are now 13-0 all-time against the Bears in Lawrence. Rico Gathers had 18 points and eight rebounds for Baylor (18-7, 6-6), which has dropped two games in a row after winning three straight. Kenny Chery scored 17 points and Taurean Prince netted 14 with eight rebounds.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 89, (12) North Carolina 76

Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – If North Carolina was looking ahead to Wednesday’s matchup with Duke, Pittsburgh sure made the 12th-ranked Tar Heels pay. Sheldon Jeter made 10-of-14 shots and scored a career-high 22 points to lead six Panthers in double figures, as Pittsburgh rolled to an 89-76 victory on Saturday at the Petersen Events Center. Pittsburgh came out hot in each half, making its first four shots of the first 20 minutes and connecting on each of its first seven in the second. The Panthers (17-9, 6-6 ACC) eventually finished at 64.9 percent from the field and bounced back nicely after Wednesday’s 69-56 loss at Louisville. Cameron Wright, who missed Wednesday’s game because of an ankle injury, chipped in 15 points and 10 assists in the lopsided victory, and Michael Young scored 13 points while missing just one of his seven shots. James Robinson added 12 points with eight assists, Jamel Artis finished with 11 points and Chris Jones netted 10. The efficient Panthers finished with 30 assists on 37 made field goals and committed a mere five turnovers. Brice Johnson scored 19 points for North Carolina (18-7, 8-4), which has lost three of its last four and will play the first of two highly anticipated matchups with arch-rival Duke on Wednesday in Durham. The Tar Heels also played for the first time since learning of the death of Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith last Saturday.

Final Score: (20) VCU 79, George Washington 66

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Melvin Johnson scored 17 points to lead 20th-ranked VCU to a 79-66 win over George Washington on Saturday. Doug Brooks tallied 14 points off the bench and Mo Alie-Cox added 10 with eight rebounds for the Rams (19-6, 9-3 A-10), who snapped a two-game losing streak. Patricio Garino netted 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting for the Colonials (17-8, 7-5). George Washington, which dropped both meetings to VCU this season, has lost four of five overall.

Final Score: Michigan State 59, (23) Ohio State 56

East Lansing, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Denzel Valentine nailed a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining to lift Michigan State to a 59-56 victory over No. 23 Ohio State on Saturday at the Breslin Center. Valentine finished with 17 points and came up with a game-ending steal after Shannon Scott mishandled the inbounds pass. Michigan State’s Branden Dawson scored 15 points and snagged a game-high 11 rebounds for his 20th career double-double. He added a career- high five blocks and four assists Travis Trice and Matt Costello each had nine points for the Spartans (17-8, 8-4 Big Ten), who have won four of their last five games. Scott led Ohio State (19-7, 8-5) with 15 points. D’Angelo Russell, Jae’Sean Tate and Sam Thompson scored 10 points apiece for a Buckeyes team that was vying for a third straight win.

Final Score: North Carolina State 74, (9) Louisville 65

Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) – Louisville learned the hard way on Saturday that nothing comes easy in the ACC. Anthony “Cat” Barber scored 21 points and North Carolina State, fresh of five losses in its last six games, went into Louisville and stunned the ninth-ranked Cardinals 74-65 on Saturday. Trevor Lacey netted 14 points and Ralston Turner dropped 10 for the Wolfpack (15-11, 6-7 ACC), whose last three conference wins have come away from home. BeeJay Anya and Caleb Martin both contributed 10 rebounds off the bench in NC State’s second win against a top-10 opponent this season. It knocked off then-No. 2 Duke on Jan. 11. Chris Jones had 20 points and Wayne Blackshear played through a hip pointer and gave 19 in Louisville’s third loss at KFC! Yum Center this season. Louisville (20-5, 8-4) fell to 78-2 when leading at halftime in its last 80 games.

Final Score: (14) Iowa State 79, (21) West Virginia 59

Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) – Monte Morris scored 19 points and handed out five assists in 14th-ranked Iowa State’s 79-59 win over No. 21 West Virginia on Saturday. Abdel Nader had 16 points, Jameel McKay posted 12 points with eight rebounds and Georges Niang chipped in 11 points for the Cyclones (18-6, 8-4 Big 12). Juwan Staten was the only Mountaineer to reach double figures with 16 points. West Virginia (19-6, 7-5) has dropped three of its last four games.

Final Score: (4) Duke 80, Syracuse 72

Syracuse, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Jahlil Okafor made another statement in his quest for ACC and National Player of the Year with a dominant second-half performance in No. 4 Duke’s comeback win at Syracuse. Okafor scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half and gathered 13 rebounds as the Blue Devils rallied past the Orange 80-72 at Carrier Dome. Quinn Cook had 17 points, Justise Winslow scored 12 and Tyus Jones filled the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists in Duke’s fifth straight win. Duke (22-3, 9-3 ACC) fell behind early in large part due to Michael Gbinije’s hot shooting. The former Blue Devil and current Syracuse swingman dropped 19 of his career-high 27 points in the first half. Tyler Roberson added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Orange (16-9, 7-5).

Final Score: (6) Villanova 68, (18) Butler 65

Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – Darrun Hilliard pumped in a career-high 31 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds of sixth- ranked Villanova’s 68-65 win over No. 18 Butler on Saturday. The Butler defense made a crucial mistake late in the game by not covering the hottest shooter in Hinkle Fieldhouse. A pair of defenders got caught running at Ryan Arcidiacono, who sent a pass to a wide open Hilliard for the winning jumper from the right wing. Hilliard went 9-of-16 from the floor, including 8- of-13 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs called a perfect play with less than two seconds left. Kelan Martin ended up getting a nice look at a tying trey after a full-court pass from underneath their own basket, but his attempt was well off the mark as Villanova held on. JayVaughn Pinkston added 12 points for the Wildcats (23-2, 10-2 Big East), who have won six straight. Alex Barlow and Kellen Dunham each scored 19 points in the loss. The Bulldogs (18-7, 8-4) had their five-game winning streak halted.

Final Score: (15) Wichita State 68, Illinois State 62

Normal, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Ron Baker scored 19 points to lead No. 15 Wichita State to a 68-62 win over Illinois State on Saturday. Fred VanVleet scored 15 points with six rebounds and Evan Wessel added 12 points for the Shockers (23-3, 13-1 MVC), who have won their last four games. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell had 18 points and Reggie Lynch added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Redbirds (15-11, 7-7), who have lost their last three games.

Final Score: TCU 70, (21) Oklahoma State 55

Fort Worth, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Kyan Anderson picked up 14 points with seven assists and Trey Zeigler added 13 points as TCU used a second-half surge to take out No. 21 Oklahoma State, 70-55, on Saturday. Amric Fields totaled 12 and Karviar Shepherd poured in 10 points for the Horned Frogs (15-10, 2-10 Big 12), whose only other conference win this season came against Texas Tech on Jan. 17. Le’Bryan Nash had a game-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds for the Cowboys (17-8, 7-6), who had won three in a row. Jeff Newberry picked up 10 points in a losing cause.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball