Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

Syracuse, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – C.J. Fair’s layup with 6.7 seconds left proved to be the winning bucket as No. 1 Syracuse escaped for a 56-55 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday. Tyler Ennis was called for an offensive foul with nearly 15 seconds remaining, giving the Wolfpack the ball for an inbounds. T.J. Warren took a lob pass down court, and Trevor Cooney fouled him on the floor before his layup went was counted. On the ensuing inbounds, Rakeem Christmas stole the ball off a poor pass from the corner from Anthony Barber, and Fair went down the court for the game-winning layup that counted after Ralston Turner pushed the ball out of the net and was called for goaltending. Warren hit the front of the rim on a jumper with a second to go and Syracuse (25-0, 12-0 ACC) swatted the ball away to deny NC State (16-9, 6-6) the upset. It was the second straight heart-stopping win for the Orange. On Wednesday, Ennis’ long 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Syracuse a 58-56 win at Pittsburgh.

Final Score: (3) Florida 69, (14) Kentucky 59

Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) – Casey Prather scored a game-high 24 points to lead third-ranked Florida to a 69-59 win over No. 14 Kentucky at Rupp Arena. Scottie Wilbekin added 23 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the free throw line and Patric Young gave 10 points for the Gators (23-2, 12-0 SEC), who tied a school record with their 17th consecutive win. Andrew Harrison scored 20 points, James Young added 19 and Julius Randle finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (19-6, 9-3), who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Final Score: (5) San Diego State 64, Air Force 56

San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Winston Shepard led a balanced San Diego State attack with 16 points and nine rebounds to lead the fifth-ranked Aztecs to a 64-56 win over Air Force at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl. Dwayne Polee II and Xavier Thames both finished with 13 and Josh Davis scored seven points to go with 10 boards for the Aztecs (22-2, 11-1 MWC), who bounced back from a 68-62 loss at Wyoming on Tuesday. Fourteen of Shepard’s 16 points came in the second half. Max Yon led all scorers with 20 points and Kamryn Williams added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Falcons (10-14, 4-9), losers in seven of their last eight games.

Final Score: (7) Kansas 95, TCU 65

Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) – Perry Ellis scored a career-high 32 points as seventh-ranked Kansas rolled to a 95-65 victory over TCU in a Big 12 clash from Allen Fieldhouse. Ellis connected on 13-of-15 field goal attempts and all four of his free throw tries to offset the absence of center Joel Embiid, who was held out due to a knee sprain and a sore back. The freshman center’s loss wasn’t felt at all on the offensive end, as Kansas (19-6, 10-2 Big 12) shot a scorching 61.5 percent from the floor and overcame a hot start by the Horned Frogs to win going away. Andrew Wiggins chipped in 17 points on a 7- of-11 success rate and Wayne Selden added 15 points to the rout. TCU (9-15, 0-13) was dealt a 13th consecutive defeat despite a 25-point effort from Kyan Anderson. Amric Fields was the only other Horned Frog in double figures, finishing with 12 points.

Final Score: (8) Duke 69, Maryland 67

Durham, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Jabari Parker scored 23 points and put in the go-ahead dunk with 1:17 remaining, as No. 8 Duke held off Maryland, 69-67, in the final regular season ACC matchup between the schools. Rodney Hood and Rasheed Sulaimon each posted 11 points for the Blue Devils (20-5, 9-3 ACC), who have won three straight. Amile Jefferson gave seven points and 12 rebounds. Jake Layman had 18 points and six rebounds, Dez Wells gave 17 points and six boards, while Charles Mitchell had 12 points and six rebounds for the Terrapins (14-12, 6-7), who have dropped three of their last four. Maryland will move to the Big Ten next season.

Final Score: (10) Cincinnati 73, Houston 62

Cincinnati, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Sean Kilpatrick produced a game-high 28 points to go with six assists, as 10th-ranked Cincinnati downed Houston, 73-62, on Saturday. Justin Jackson totaled 13 points and Shaquille Thomas added 11 for the Bearcats (23-3, 12-1 AAC), who rebounded nicely from a 21-point loss at SMU last week to win for the 16th time in 17 games. Danrad Knowles recorded 11 points for the Cougars (12-13, 4-8), while L.J. Rose, Danuel House and TaShawn Thomas totaled 10 points apiece in their sixth loss over the last seven outings.

Final Score: (11) Iowa State 70, Texas Tech 64

Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) – Melvin Ejim put in a go-ahead layup with three minutes remaining, spurring a late Iowa State run that pushed the 11th-ranked Cyclones past the upset-minded Texas Tech Red Raiders, 70-64, on Saturday. Iowa State (19-5, 7-5 Big 12) blew an 18-point lead in the second half but scored nine of the last 11 points to come away victorious and put Monday’s 25- point loss to West Virginia in the rearview mirror. Ejim scored 13 points through foul trouble, Georges Niang and DeAndre Kane added 17 apiece and Naz Long went for 14 off the bench for the victors. The Red Raiders, winners of three in a row coming in, lost despite owning a 20-9 advantage at the free throw line and outrebounding the Cyclones 40-30. They did, however, shoot just 37 percent from the field and commit 13 turnovers to Iowa State’s seven. Jaye Crockett carried Texas Tech (13-12, 5-7) with a career-high 23 points to go with 11 rebounds, while Toddrick Gotcher chipped in with 14 points.

Final Score: (12) Saint Louis 64, VCU 62

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Dwayne Evans led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 12 Saint Louis held on to defeat VCU, 64-62, in an A-10 battle from Chaifetz Arena. Jordair Jett and Rob Loe both contributed 14 points and Mike McCall Jr. scored 12 with four assists as the Billikens (23-2, 10-0 A-10) extended their winning streak to a school-record 17 games. Treveon Graham hit a jumper to get VCU within 63-60 with 10 seconds to go. Graham quickly fouled Loe, who split his free throws. The Rams’ Juvonte Reddic then tipped in Briante Weber’s missed jumper with under a second to go, but Saint Louis quickly inbounded the ball to end the game. Graham supplied 16 points and eight rebounds for the Rams (20-6, 8-3), who won seven of eight entering the contest. Reddic had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Weber tallied 12 points, nine boards, and five assists in the loss.

Final Score: (16) Iowa 82, Penn State 70

University Park, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Melsahn Basabe led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds as No. 16 Iowa used a strong second half to dispatch Penn State, 82-70, at Bryce Jordan Center. Roy Devyn Marble posted 15 points, Aaron White added 14 with seven boards and Mike Gesell connected for 13 and seven assists for the Hawkeyes (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten), winners in three of their last four. D.J. Newbill poured in a game-best 22 points for the Nittany Lions (13-13, 4-9), who have dropped three of four. John Johnson and Tim Frazier each totaled 11 in defeat.

Final Score: (17) Virginia 63, Clemson 58

Clemson, SC (SportsNetwork.com) – Malcolm Brogdon scored nine of his 14 points in the second half, including four critical free throws in the final 16.7 seconds, to send 17th-ranked Virginia to a 63-58 win over Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum. Joe Harris nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 16 to lead the Cavaliers (21-5, 12-1 ACC), who notched their ninth straight victory and snapped a four-game skid at Clemson. Mike Tobey matched Brogdon with 14 points and Anthony Gill added 12 off the Virginia bench. K.J. McDaniels had 24 points in the Tigers’ (15-9, 6-6) season-worst third consecutive loss. No other Clemson player scored more than seven.

Final Score: (19) Texas 88, West Virginia 71

Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Javan Felix scored 18 points to lead No. 19 Texas in an 88-71 rout of West Virginia on Saturday. All five Longhorns (20-5, 9-3 Big 12) starters scored in double-digits as Cameron Ridley had 17, Isaiah Taylor 14 and Jonathan Holmes and Demarcus Holland each finished with 11. Holland also had seven assists and five rebounds while Holmes pulled in seven boards for Texas, which has won its past two since a loss to Kansas State. Eron Harris scored 21 points while Juwan Staten had 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Mountaineers (15-11, 7-6), who have dropped two of their last three.

Final Score: (24) Connecticut 86, (20) Memphis 81 (OT)

Hartford, CT (SportsNetwork.com) – Shabazz Napier nearly ended Saturday’s game in regulation, but the star guard and his Connecticut teammates did enough in overtime to get by Memphis 86-81 in a tight Top-25 showdown at XL Center. The 24th-ranked Huskies (20-5, 8-4 AAC) forced 18 turnovers and outscored the No. 20 Tigers 29-6 at the free throw line to complete a sweep of the home-and-home series from their American Athletic Conference foe. Napier, who had a 3-point try rim out at the regulation buzzer, finished with a career-high 34 points, while Ryan Boatright provided 21 in UConn’s sixth victory in its last seven games. Memphis (19-6, 8-4) shot 54.8 percent from the floor, owned a 38-28 rebounding advantage and had four players finish in double figures, but it wasn’t enough to extend a three-game winning streak. Joe Jackson led the way with 24 points and seven assists, while Geron Johnson and Chris Crawford added 15 and 12 points, respectively, in the setback. Johnson also grabbed eight boards but fouled out early in the extra session.

Final Score: (22) Ohio State 48, Illinois 39

Champaign, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Aaron Craft led with 14 points as the No. 22 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini, 48-39, at State Farm Center. LaQuinton Ross supplied nine points and six rebounds, while Marc Loving had eight points off the bench for the Buckeyes (20-6, 7-6 Big Ten), who have won four of their last five. Tracy Abrams scored 13 points, Rayvonte Rice contributed 11, and Nnanna Egwu had 14 boards for the Fighting Illini (14-12, 3-10), who have dropped two straight and 10 of their last 11. Illinois shot 28.3 percent (15-of-53) from the field.

Final Score: North Carolina 75, (25) Pittsburgh 71

Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – James Michael McAdoo racked up 24 points and 12 rebounds, Marcus Paige hit five 3-pointers and resurgent North Carolina delivered its sixth straight win, a 75-71 decision over 25th-ranked Pittsburgh at the Smith Center. McAdoo went 11-of-18 from the field and Paige missed just once from beyond the arc as the Tar Heels (17-7, 7-4 ACC) dealt Pitt a second tough loss in four days. The Panthers entered Chapel Hill off Wednesday’s heartbreaking 58-56 setback to No. 1 Syracuse, in which the Orange’s Tyler Ennis sunk a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. Brice Johnson added 13 points and seven rebounds in the victory. Lamar Patterson paced Pittsburgh (20-6, 8-5) with 16 points and Jamel Artis had a career- high 13 along with seven rebounds in the loss, the Panthers’ fourth in six games.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball