Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

Uncasville, CT (SportsNetwork.com) – Marcus Paige made six 3-pointers en route to 26 points as the 24th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels held off the Richmond Spiders, 82-72, in the semifinals of the Hall Of Fame Tip-off. Brice Johnson added 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels (3-1), who will take on defending national champion Louisville in Sunday’s championship game. North Carolina bounced back from a loss to Belmont last Sunday. Cedrick Lindsay ended with 29 points for the Spiders (3-2), who got 13 points from Kendall Anthony.

Final Score: (3) Louisville 71, Fairfield 57

Uncasville, CT (SportsNetwork.com) – Montrezl Harrell scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Louisville Cardinals to a 71-57 victory over the Fairfield Stags. Chris Jones scored 15 points, while Wayne Blackshear and Russ Smith added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for third-ranked Louisville (5-0), which will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in Sunday’s championship game of the Hall of Fame Tip-off. Maurice Barrow scored 14 points and Marcus Gilbert added 11 points for Fairfield (1-4), which will face Richmond on Sunday.

Final Score: (23) Creighton 82, Tulsa 72

Omaha, NE (SportsNetwork.com) – Doug McDermott proved once again why he is one of the most lethal players in college basketball as he registered 33 points and 15 rebounds to help No. 23 Creighton stay unbeaten with an 82-72 win over Tulsa on Saturday. McDermott, a two-time All-American, scored eight points in the final 2:10 of the contest to help Creighton (4-0) pull away after Tulsa (0-4) forward Rashad Smith netted five straight to pull the visitors within 73-68. Smith finished with a team-high 21 points in the setback. Austin Chatman added 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, including a 4-of-5 mark from behind the arc for the Blue Jays, who have won four in a row over Tulsa. Chatman also dished out a game-high nine assists. Pat Swilling, Jr. dropped 18 points for the Golden Hurricane, who remained winless on the season.

Final Score: (11) Memphis 98, Nicholls 59

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Freshman big man Austin Nichols turned in the best game of his young career with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting as the 11th-ranked Memphis Tigers rolled past Nicholls State, 98-59, at FedExForum on Saturday. Joe Jackson sank 14-of-15 from the foul line en route to 18 points for Memphis, which bounced back after getting routed by Oklahoma State on Tuesday. Missouri transfer Michael Dixon, Jr. also enjoyed his best game as a Tiger, as the senior hit 5-of-6 shots and all three from behind the arc for 16 points off the bench. Nick King and Chris Crawford added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Jeremy Smith was the lone Nicholls State (0-4) player in double figures with 16 points. Liam Thomas pulled down nine rebounds in defeat.

Final Score: (12) Wisconsin 76, Oral Roberts 67

Madison, WI (SportsNetwork.com) – Frank Kaminsky led five Wisconsin players in double figures with 21 points and the 12th-ranked Badgers posted a 76-67 win over the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. Josh Gasser added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and matched Kaminsky with six rebounds for Wisconsin, which has opened 6-0 for the second time in three seasons. Ben Brust totaled 12 points, eight boards and five assists in the Badgers’ first win in three tries over the Golden Eagles. This game was part of the Cancun Challenge for the Badgers, who will next travel to Mexico to face Saint Louis in the semifinals on Tuesday. Shawn Glover led Oral Roberts (2-3) with 24 points.

Final Score: (1) Michigan State 87, Oklahoma 76

Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Keith Appling had 27 points and Gary Harris added 21, as top-ranked Michigan State held off Oklahoma, 87-76, in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Barclays Center. Branden Dawson scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting and had 10 rebounds for the Spartans (6-0), who were up only four points with three minutes remaining. Cameron Clark netted 32 points for the Sooners (4-1), who also received 15 points from Isaiah Cousins and 13 from Buddy Hield.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball