Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Tyler Ennis is quickly earning a reputation as a clutch performer. And once again, the freshman standout came up huge down the stretch to preserve Syracuse’s undefeated season. Ennis’ long 3-pointer at the buzzer extended the top-ranked Orange’s best start in school history, while providing the difference in a 58-56 slugfest over No. 25 Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center. Ennis, who came through with a pair of big baskets in the final two minutes of Syracuse’s 59-54 decision over the Panthers at the Carrier Dome last month, put up 10 of his 13 points in the second half of Wednesday’s rematch. C.J. Fair also delivered in crunch time for Syracuse (24-0, 11-0 ACC), netting 10 of his 14 points after intermission. Pittsburgh (20-5, 8-4) led for the majority of the night and appeared poised to spring the upset when Talib Zanna sank a pair of free throws for a 56-55 lead with 4.4 seconds left — just enough time for Ennis to get off his near- miraculous final shot. Zanna finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, with Lamar Patterson recording 14 points for the Panthers.

Final Score: (6) Villanova 87, DePaul 62

Rosemont, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Darrun Hilliard poured in 22 points, Villanova hit 15 3-pointers and the sixth-ranked Wildcats routed DePaul, 87-62, in a Big East clash from Allstate Arena. Hilliard connected on 5-of-7 from distance, while Ryan Arcidiacono hit all four of his tries from the arc for 14 points and a game-high six assists. James Bell posted 16 points, JayVaughn Pinkston had 14 and 11 rebounds and Kris Jenkins scored 11 off the bench in Villanova’s (22-2, 10-1 Big East) seventh straight victory. Brandon Young deposited a game-high 27 points for DePaul (10-15, 2-10), which sits in a tie with Butler on the bottom of the Big East standings and hasn’t won since Jan. 14.

(8) Duke at North Carolina, postponed

Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Wednesday’s game between No. 8 Duke and rival North Carolina has been postponed due to a severe winter storm in the Chapel Hill area. The game will be made up on Thursday, Feb. 20 at a yet-to-be determined time.

Final Score: (14) Kentucky 64, Auburn 56

Auburn, AL (SportsNetwork.com) – Andrew Harrison scored 16 points and No. 14 Kentucky overcame a poor shooting performance to beat Auburn for the 16th straight time, 64-56, on Wednesday. Julius Randle posted 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (19-5, 9-2 SEC), who narrowly avoided a letdown in advance of Saturday’s showdown at home against third-ranked Florida. Aaron Harrison added 10 points for a Kentucky team that was held to 30.9 percent shooting. Chris Denson was the lone Auburn player to score in double figures, finishing with a game-best 26 points. The Tigers (11-11, 3-8) haven’t defeated Kentucky since a 66-63 triumph on Jan. 11, 2000.

Final Score: (20) Memphis 76, UCF 70

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Joe Jackson scored 18 points to go with five rebounds and five assists to lead 20th-ranked Memphis to a 76-70 win over UCF. Shaq Goodwin scored 14 points and Chris Crawford and Michael Dixon, Jr. finished with 10 points apiece for the Tigers (19-5, 8-3 AAC), winners in three straight and seven of their last eight games overall. Tristan Spurlock finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Sykes scored 14 for the Knights (9-13, 1-10 AAC), losers in nine straight.

Final Score: (24) Connecticut 83, South Florida 40

Hartford, CT (SportsNetwork.com) – DeAndre Daniels scored 12 points to lead No. 24 Connecticut to an 83-40 drubbing of South Florida on Wednesday night. Kentan Facey contributed 10 points for the Huskies (19-5, 7-4 AAC), who have won five of their last six games. 12 players scored for UConn, which led wire- to-wire in the rout. Musa Abdul-Aleem scored a team-high eight points for the Bulls (12-13, 3-9), which has dropped 17 of their last 18 games on the road against ranked opponents.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball