Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules
Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Arizona clinched its second straight outright Pac-12 title in a most convincing fashion, with the fifth-ranked Wildcats dominating California in all facets in a 99-60 rout at the McKale Center. Brandon Ashley led the way with a career high-tying 21 points, Kaleb Tarczewski added 14 with eight rebounds and T.J. McConnell dished out 11 assists without a turnover as Arizona (27-3, 15-2 Pac-12) kept itself in the hunt for a possible No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats had already secured the top seed in the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament with Saturday’s 63-57 win at No. 13 Utah that completed a season sweep of the second-place Utes.
Final Score: (6) Wisconsin 76, Minnesota 63
Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Frank Kaminsky had 25 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals as the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers won the Big Ten Conference regular-season crown outright with a 76-63 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Sam Dekker added 20 points and six rebounds for the Badgers (27-3, 15-2 Big Ten), who have won four in a row against Minnesota. Nigel Hayes tallied 12 points and nine boards. Nate Mason ended with 15 points for the Golden Gophers (17-13, 6-11), who have lost four of five. Carlos Morris contributed 11 points.
Final Score: (13) Utah 67, Washington State 59
Pullman, WA (SportsNetwork.com) – Delon Wright had 18 points with eight rebounds and eight assists to help the 13th-ranked Utah Utes battle past the Washington State Cougars for a 67-59 win on Thursday night. Jordan Loveridge tallied 16 points and Brandon Taylor added 11 for the Utes (23-6, 13-4 Pac-12), who bounced back from Saturday’s 63-57 home loss to regular- season conference champion Arizona. DaVonte Lacy paced the Cougars (12-17, 6-11) with 16 points and Jordan Railey chipped in with 12 points. Josh Hawkinson had 11 points and nine rebounds for Washington State, which has lost four of its last five games.
Final Score: (18) Arkansas 78, South Carolina 74
Columbia, SC (SportsNetwork.com) – Bobby Portis scored 24 points and helped No. 18 Arkansas to come roaring back to down South Carolina, 78-74, in a wild SEC matchup. The Razorbacks blew a 20-point first-half lead, trailed by 11 with six minutes to play, then outscored the Gamecocks by an 18-3 margin the rest of the way to sew up the No. 2 seed for next week’s SEC Tournament. Michael Qualls added 18 points and scored the go-ahead layup with 1:26 remaining, while Anthlon Bell hit 5-of-8 attempts from 3-point range — including two during Arkansas’ game-ending run — in a 17-point effort. The hard-fought victory was the eighth in nine games for Arkansas (24-6, 13-4 SEC), with its lone blemish over that stretch coming at still-unbeaten Kentucky this past Saturday. Tyrone Johnson finished with 18 points and six assists in a tough Senior Night result for South Carolina (14-15, 5-12). Duane Notice and Michael Carrera each tallied 14 points for the Gamecocks, with Carrera pulling down nine rebounds.
Categorized in: NCAA Basketball