Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules
Syracuse, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Trevor Cooney made sure Syracuse wouldn’t have a letdown, as the sharpshooter poured in a career-high 33 points behind nine 3-pointers to carry the top-ranked Orange past the upset-minded Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 61-55, on Monday. Notre Dame cut a 13-point halftime deficit down to three coming down the stretch. Cooney, though, scored six points during an 8-1 run that restored the double-digit lead, and the Orange (22-0, 9-0 ACC) held on to continue their best start in school history. Syracuse won despite rare off-nights from C.J. Fair and Jerami Grant, who were both coming off career-best performances against Duke but combined for just 15 points on 5-of-21 shooting on Monday. Garrick Sherman and Steve Vasturia led Notre Dame (12-11, 3-7) with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
Final Score: (6) Villanova 81, Xavier 58
Villanova, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – James Bell propelled the No. 6 Villanova Wildcats to an 81-58 victory over the Xavier Musketeers with a game-high 27 points on Monday. Bell shot 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and added eight rebounds, while Darrun Hilliard supplied 17 points and three assists. JayVaughn Pinkston had 11 points and eight rebounds in Villanova’s (20-2, 8-1 Big East) fourth straight victory. Semaj Christon paced the Musketeers (15-7, 5-4) with 17 points and four assists, while Matt Stainbrook contributed 14 points and 11 boards as Xavier dropped its third game in a row.
Final Score: (16) Iowa State 98, (19) Oklahoma State 97 (3-OT)
Stillwater, OK (SportsNetwork.com) – DeAndre Kane had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and No. 16 Iowa State edged No. 19 Oklahoma State 98-97 in three overtimes on Monday night. Melvin Ejim nearly won the game in regulation, but his putback dunk on Kane’s missed 3-pointer came after the buzzer. Naz Long nailed a game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left in the second overtime to force the third extra session. Ejim tallied 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Cyclones (17-4, 5-4 Big 12), who snapped their 18- game losing streak in Stillwater. It was their first win there since Mar. 2, 1988 (97-88). Le’Bryan Nash netted 26 points to go with nine boards for Oklahoma State (16-6, 4-5), which has dropped three straight. Marcus Smart registered 20 points and eight assists, but had just one point in the first half when he took only one shot from the floor.
Categorized in: NCAA Basketball