Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored all nine of his points in the game’s final 45 seconds, and third-ranked Ohio State rallied for an improbable 64-61 win over Notre Dame in the Gotham Classic Showcase Game at Madison Square Garden. The Buckeyes remained unbeaten thanks to scoring an eye-popping 14 points in the game’s last 50 seconds. Ohio State (12-0) was behind 58-50 with less than a minute to go, but the Buckeyes, helped by the tenacity of Aaron Craft, converted consecutive steals into points and rallied to shock the Fighting Irish. Pat Connaughton caught Smith on the arm during a 3-point shot with 32.9 seconds left, and three free throws later, the Buckeyes were within 60-59. Just one second later, Steve Vasturia missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Smith converted a layup after a great pass from a falling- down Craft as he drove the lane. That gave the Buckeyes a 61-60 edge with 16.9 seconds remaining. Jerian Grant then drove to the basket at the other end, but Craft stripped the ball away and it went off Grant out of bounds. Smith made two free throws with 9.8 seconds left before Grant went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe with 6.7 seconds to go. One free throw from Craft made it a 64-61 margin with 3.3 seconds left, and Demetrius Jackson’s 3-point try caromed away as time expired. LaQuinton Ross had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Ohio State, which also received 13 points from Amir Williams, and 10 apiece from Craft and Shannon Scott. Grant scored 18 for Notre Dame (8-4), which also got 14 points from Garrick Sherman. Connaughton had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Eric Atkins scored 10 in defeat.

Final Score: (5) Michigan State 92, Texas 78

Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Adreian Payne erupted for a career-high 33 points on an efficient 10-of-13 shooting display as No. 5 Michigan State pulled away from Texas en route to a 92-78 win at Frank Erwin Center. Payne also pulled down nine rebounds for the Spartans (10-1), who rose to the occasion in their first true road test by making 50 percent of their shots and holding the Longhorns to 39.3 percent shooting. Gary Harris chipped in with 19 points and five assists, while Branden Dawson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan State, which has won three straight in the wake of its lone loss to North Carolina. Texas (10-2) beat those same Tar Heels on Wednesday but failed to extend its six-game winning streak. Cameron Ridley scored 17 points for the Longhorns and Isaiah Taylor added 16 in the loss.

Final Score: (6) Louisville 85, FIU 56

Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Russ Smith scored a game-high 18 points to help lead the No. 6 Louisville Cardinals to a comfortable 85-56 win over FIU at U.S. Century Bank Arena on Saturday. Wayne Blackshear tallied 13 points and Montrezl Harrell chipped in with 10 points for the Cardinals (11-1), who play at intrastate rival Kentucky next Saturday. Formal Cardinal Rakeem Buckles had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Tymell Murphy led the Panthers (8-5) with 16 points. Jerome Frink finished with 10 for Florida International.

Final Score: (7) Oklahoma State 78, (20) Colorado 73

Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – Markel Brown tallied 23 points and 11 rebounds as No. 7 Oklahoma State topped 20th-ranked Colorado 78-73 in the second game of the MGM Grand Showcase. Marcus Smart had 18 points and Phil Forte shot 4-of-7 from behind the arc for 16 points off the bench as OSU (11-1) won its fourth straight tilt following a 73-68 loss to Memphis on Dec. 1. Le’Bryan Nash contributed 15 points in the winning effort. Josh Scott recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 boards in the setback. Askia Booker and Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 19 and 18 points, respectively, for Colorado (10-2). New Mexico took down Marquette 75-68 in the opener of the doubleheader.

Final Score: (8) Villanova 88, Rider 67

Villanova, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – The Villanova Wildcats are off to their best start in 52 years after another easy win. The road is about to get a little tougher. Josh Hart scored 19 points and the No. 8 Wildcats beat Rider 88-67 on Saturday for their fourth straight win by at least 21 points. JayVaughn Pinkston had 14 points and Darrun Hilliard scored 13 for Villanova (11-0), which was coming off comfortable wins over Philadelphia-area Big Five rivals Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph’s and La Salle. The Wildcats will go into their road game against No. 2 Syracuse next Saturday sporting an 11-0 record for the first time since the 1961-62 season. It will be the first meeting between the old Big East rivals since Syracuse left for the ACC and should mark Villanova’s toughest test since last month’s win over Kansas. Rider (5-5) had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Broncs were led by Anthony Myles, who scored a game-high 22 points.

Final Score: (13) Oregon 100, BYU 96 (OT)

Eugene, OR (SportsNetwork.com) – Jason Calliste netted 31 points and No. 13 Oregon remained unbeaten following a 100-96 overtime triumph over BYU on Saturday night. Damyean Dotson’s go-ahead layup with 35 seconds left gave the Ducks their first lead since the first half, 96-94. Kyle Collinsworth drew a foul at the other end, but split the pair and Joseph Young drove in for an easy layup to extend the margin to 98-95. Matt Carlino missed a right wing triple with 16 ticks on the clock and Mike Moser made 1-of-2 foul shots to seal the outcome for Oregon. Young had 25 points and Dotson added 15 points for the Ducks (11-0), who moved to 9-0 at home. Tyler Haws scored 18 of his game-high 32 points in the first half for BYU (8-5), which has dropped three of its last four games.

Final Score: (14) North Carolina 97, Davidson 85 (OT)

Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Marcus Paige scored 11 of his 17 points in overtime, as the 14th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels held off upset-minded Davidson, 97-85, at the Smith Center. J.P. Tokoto set career highs of 22 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and four blocks for the Tar Heels (8-3), who played their first game since the university announced it would not pursue the reinstatement of P.J. Hairston. The junior guard, who led the team in scoring last season, sat out the first 10 games this season due to eligibility issues. James Michael McAdoo had 19 points with a personal-best five assists as North Carolina bounced back from Wednesday’s home loss to Texas. Brian Sullivan paced the Wildcats (4-8) with a career-high 33 points. He drained seven 3-pointers, but had a potential game-winning trey go off the rim at the regulation buzzer.

Final Score: (15) Memphis 77, SE Missouri State 65

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Shaq Goodwin scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead No. 15 Memphis to a 77-65 victory over Southeast Missouri State on Saturday at FedExForum. Joe Jackson supplied 16 points, while Geron Johnson netted 10 for the Tigers (8-2), who bounced back from Tuesday’s 77-75 setback against Florida. Tyler Stone scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down 11 boards, while Jarekious Bradley added 19 points for the Redhawks (7-4), who have lost two straight on the heels of a five-game win streak.

Final Score: (16) Florida 66, Fresno State 49

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Casey Prather scored 14 points as No. 16 Florida stymied the Fresno State Bulldogs with a 66-49 win as part of the Orange Bowl Classic. The Gators (9-2) held Fresno State to 30 percent shooting and outrebounded their counterparts 41-18. Scottie Wilbekin scored 11 points, while Will Yeguete added nine points and nine rebounds. Patric Young came off the bench and donated eight points and eight boards in Florida’s third straight victory. Cezar Guerrero paced the Bulldogs (6-6) with 17 points, while Marvelle Harris and Paul Watson added 10 apiece in the setback, their third straight defeat.

Final Score: (18) Kansas 86, Georgetown 64

Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) – Tarik Black and Joel Embiid each scored 17 points and combined for 14 rebounds as the No. 18 Kansas Jayhawks easily cruised past the Georgetown Hoyas, 86-64, on Saturday afternoon. Kansas (8-3) returned to Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since Nov. 22 and the friendly confines suited the Jayhawks just fine, as they connected on 54.3 percent of their shots to win going away. Andrew Wiggins added 12 points and Naadir Tharpe chipped in 10 for the Jayhawks, winners of two straight after setbacks at Colorado and Florida. Markel Starks netted 19 points to pace the Hoyas (7-3), who had their six-game winning streak snapped.

Final Score: (19) Kentucky 93, Belmont 80

Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) – Julius Randle had 29 points and 10 rebounds in the 19th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats’ 93-80 victory over the Belmont Bruins on Saturday. Randle missed just two of his 10 shots from the field and went 13-of-19 from the foul line for the Wildcats (9-3), who bounced back from a loss to North Carolina last Saturday. Aaron Harrison tallied 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Kentucky, which went 26-of-36 from the charity stripe. Willie Cauley-Stein donated 16 points and seven boards. Craig Bradshaw and Drew Windler ended with 22 and 21 points, respectively, for the Bruins (8-5), who have lost three in a row.

Final Score: Kansas State 72, (21) Gonzaga 62

Wichita, KS (SportsNetwork.com) – Marcus Foster scored 14 points to help lead Kansas State to a 72-62 victory over No. 21 Gonzaga in the Wichita Wildcat Classic on Saturday afternoon. Thomas Gipson also scored 14 and Wesley Iwundu chipped in 13 points for Kansas State (8-3), which has won six straight. Kevin Pangos paced Gonzaga (10-2) with 14 points and Drew Barham added 13 points. Przemek Karnowski and David Stockton both contributed 10 points for the Bulldogs, who had a six-game winning streak snapped.

Final Score: Florida State 60, (22) Massachusetts 55

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Ian Miller sank two free throws and Okarao White contributed a late basket to help Florida State knock off No. 22 Massachusetts, 60-55, on Saturday afternoon. Aaron Thomas led the way with 18 points and four rebounds for the Seminoles (8-3), while White chimed in with 10. Derrick Gordon totaled 12 points for the Minutemen (10-1), with Cady Lalanne picking up 10 points and a game-best 15 boards along with four blocks in defeat.

Final Score: Illinois 65, (23) Missouri 64

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – For the first time in five years, Illinois has bragging rights over Missouri. It came with the added bonus of ending the Tigers’ unbeaten season. Tracy Abrams scored 22 points, the last two on a pair of foul shots with 4.6 seconds remaining that lifted Illinois to a 65-64 win over No. 23 Missouri in the Braggin’ Rights game on Saturday. In a thrill-a- possession finish at Scottrade Center, Missouri took the lead twice on 3- pointers by Earnest Ross and Jabari Brown and Jon Ekey drained a 3 that moved Illinois in front. On the play that led to the winning points, Abrams lost the ball out of bounds on a spin move in the lane but was fouled by Johnathan Williams, sending him to the line. Missouri botched the inbound pass after Abrams’ foul shots — it hit Jordan Clarkson — but Tony Criswell picked the ball up, missing a long 3-point try just over midcourt at the buzzer. The Illini (10-2) snapped a four-game losing streak in the rivalry and handed the Tigers (10-1) their first loss of the season. Clarkson led Missouri with 25 points and eight assists, Ross scored 13 and Jabari Brown added 10 points.

Final Score: (24) San Diego State 65, McNeese State 36

San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Josh Davis scored 12 points and pulled down 17 rebounds to lead No. 24 San Diego State to a 65-36 win over McNeese State on Saturday. Winston Shepard scored 14 and Aqeel Quinn and Matt Shrigley finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Aztecs (9-1), who have won eight straight since falling to current No. 1 Arizona on Nov. 14. Ledrick Eackles was the only Cowboys player in double figures with 13 points and Craig McFerrin added 12 rebounds. McNeese State (2-9) has dropped six straight.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball