Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Second-ranked Michigan State held off No. 1 Kentucky 78-74 on Tuesday in the first game of the much-anticipated Champions Classic. The game marked the first 1-2 matchup of Associated Press-ranked teams since Feb. 23, 2008, when Memphis — then coached by current Kentucky coach John Calipari — and Tennessee met. Keith Appling had 22 points, eight assists and eight rebounds for the Spartans (2-0), who improved to 4-19 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25. Gary Harris and Adreian Payne tallied 20 and 15 points, respectively. Freshman Julius Randle recorded his third consecutive double-double with 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (2-1), who entered the game 3-0 all-time vs No. 2-ranked teams when ranked No. 1 in the nation. James Young donated 19 points.

Final Score: (3) Louisville 97, Hofstra 69

Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) – Russ Smith picked up a game-high 30 points to go with five assists as No. 3 Louisville downed Hofstra, 97- 69, in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Chris Jones totaled 20 points and seven assists for the Cardinals (2-0), who received 19 points and five rebounds from Montrezl Harrell en route to 51.5 percent shooting from the field. Louisville, which tied a school record with its 18th straight victory, next faces Cornell on Friday. Dion Nesmith poured in 24 points for the Pride (1-2). Zeke Upshaw had 17 points, while Jarnall Robinson totaled 11 points and Stephen Nwaukoni pulled down nine boards in defeat.

Final Score: (5) Kansas 94, (4) Duke 83

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Andrew Wiggins and the fifth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks scored 15 of the game’s final 19 points to beat the fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils by a 94-83 margin in a battle between two of the winningest programs in college basketball. The much-anticipated showdown between Wiggins and Duke forward Jabari Parker highlighted the second game of the Champions Classic. Both players entered the season as the two top prospects in the nation. Wiggins ended with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Parker tallied 27 points and nine boards. Perry Ellis had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Jayhawks (2-0), who went 27-of-35 from the foul line. Wayne Selden, Jr. and Frank Mason each added 15 points. Amile Jefferson finished with 17 points for the Blue Devils (1-1), who fell to 7-3 all- time against Kansas. Rasheed Sulaimon and Rodney Hood tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Final Score: (7) Michigan 93, South Carolina State 59

Ann Arbor, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Caris LeVert had 24 points, Nik Stauskas scored 23 and No. 7 Michigan shot the lights out from 3-point range Tuesday night for an easy 93-59 win over South Carolina State. LaVert was 6-for-7 on 3-pointers, Stauskas went 5-for-6 and the Wolverines (2-0) made 15 3s as a team to fall one shy of tying a school record. Glenn Robinson III added 13 points and nine rebounds in the victory, Derrick Walton Jr. scored 12 and Jon Horford chipped in 15 rebounds and nine points. Michigan was fine again without preseason All-American Mitch McGary, who sat out with a back injury. McGary also missed Michigan’s season-opening 69-42 win over UMass Lowell on Friday. Jordan Smith scored 19 points to lead the Bulldogs (1-2) and Matthew Hezekiah had 11.

Final Score: (8) Oklahoma State 93, Utah Valley 40

Stillwater, OK (SportsNetwork.com) – Marcus Smart had 14 points, nine steals, five rebounds and four assists as No. 8 Oklahoma State routed Utah Valley, 93-40, on Tuesday night. Phil Forte netted 19 points off the bench for the Cowboys (2-0), who defeated Mississippi Valley State in their season opener on Friday. Ben Aird had seven points and six rebounds for the Wolverines (2-1).

Final Score: (9) Syracuse 89, Fordham 74

Syracuse, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – C.J. Fair had 26 points and six rebounds as No. 9 Syracuse took down Fordham, 89-74, on Tuesday night. Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis added 16 points, five assists and four steals, while Jerami Grant contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Orange (2-0), who defeated Cornell in their season opener on Friday. Branden Frazier netted 33 points to lead the Rams (1-1).

Final Score: (10) Ohio State 79, Ohio 69

Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – No. 10 Ohio State knew it had a tough game on the horizon — Saturday’s visit to 17th-ranked Marquette. Its first test this season came earlier than that. Aaron Craft had 18 points, Amir Williams scored 14 and the Buckeyes beat Ohio 79-69 on Tuesday. The Bobcats were within 65-60 with under four minutes to play after Maurice Ndour’s putback, but the Buckeyes held on. Lenzelle Smith Jr. made a 3-pointer to give Ohio State (2-0) a 74-64 lead with 1:55 remaining, all but sealing the win. Smith was lucky to get the ball in the right corner. Fellow guard Shannon Scott lost control of it under the basket and it floated right to him. Sam Thompson had 12 points and LaQuinton Ross scored 10 for the Buckeyes, who beat Morgan State 89-50 on Saturday to open the season.

Final Score: (20) Wisconsin 59, (11) Florida 53

Madison, WI (SportsNetwork.com) – Traevon Jackson scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists to guide 20th-ranked Wisconsin to a 59-53 win over No. 11 Florida on Tuesday. Sam Dekker added 16 points and Ben Brust had 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists for the Badgers (2-0), who improved to 91-7 against non-conference opponents at Kohl Center under Bo Ryan. Michael Frazier II scored a game-high 20 points and Casey Prather scored 12 points for the Gators (1-1), who shot just 40.4 percent (19- for-47) from the field.

Final Score: (14) VCU 59, (25) Virginia 56

Charlottesville, VA (SportsNetwork.com) – Virginia dictated the pace, but Virginia Commonwealth finished. Treveon Graham had 22 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining, to lift No. 14 VCU past No. 25 Virginia, 59-56, on Tuesday night. The Rams (2-0) ended the game on a 10-1 run. The anticipated clash between teams with completely different defensive philosophies was the first meeting between the schools since 1998. The Rams like to force turnovers with their ball hawking “Havoc” full-court pressure defense, while Virginia likes to stifle opponents with its contesting half-court “Pack Line” style. After Darion Atkins’ right baseline jumper staked the Cavaliers (1-1) a 55-49 cushion with 2:55 left, Juvonte Reddic’s putback dunk and Jordan Burgess’ right corner triple on back-to-back touches whittled the deficit to 55-54 with 2:21 to play. A little more than a minute later, Graham forced a steal and got his right baseline floater to fall for a 56-55 VCU lead with 1:18 on the clock. Joe Harris missed a 3-pointer at the other end, but the Rams’ Briante Weber clanked the front end of a one-and-one with 27 ticks remaining. The Cavs’ Malcolm Brogdon drew a foul with 9.7 seconds left and split the pair to knot the tilt at 56-56. Following a VCU timeout, Rob Brandenberg dribbled around a screen at the top of the arc before firing to Graham, who drained his deep jumper from several feet beyond the left side of the arc. Justin Anderson’s desperation triple at the horn ricocheted sharply off the glass.

Final Score: (17) Marquette 114, Grambling State 71

Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) – Chris Otule scored 17 points to lead No. 17 Marquette to a 114-71 victory over Grambling State on Tuesday. Steve Taylor added 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had four assists and Deonte Burton scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Golden Eagles (2-0), who won their 27th consecutive game at the Bradley Center. Marquette will prepare for a big matchup Saturday at home against 10th-ranked Ohio State. Tigers reserve Chandler Thomas led all scorers with 26 points and also tied the game high with 11 rebounds. A’Torri Shine pitched in with 17 points for Grambling State (0-2), which has lost 30 straight.

Final Score: (23) Baylor 66, South Carolina 64

Waco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Even when it couldn’t make a bucket down the stretch, Baylor still clamped down defensively. Brady Heslip knocked down five 3-pointers and netted 18 points as No. 23 Baylor edged South Carolina, 66-64, on Tuesday afternoon. The Bears didn’t record a field goal in the final 7:14 of the contest, while the Gamecocks were held without a basket for the last 4:20. Kenny Chery split a pair from the foul line to give Baylor a 66-64 lead with 21 seconds remaining. Sindarius Thornwell, who poured in a game-high 20 points for South Carolina, wasn’t able to convert on a right baseline drive at the other end. He then snatched his own miss following a scrum, but again didn’t get his shot to drop. Michael Carrera then grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled on a shot attempt, but following a review, Carrera did not get the shot off before the final horn.

Final Score: (24) UCLA 91, Oakland 60

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Jordan Adams scored 22 points to pace the 24th-ranked UCLA Bruins to a 91-60 victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Pauley Pavilion. Tony Parker had 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Norman Powell added 18 points for the Bruins (2-0). Travis Bader scored 19 points, Tommie McCune netted 12 and Khalil Felder added 10 for Oakland (0-2), which lost its season opener to nationally-ranked North Carolina last Friday. Bader, Felder and Corey Petros tried as hard as they could to keep the Golden Grizzlies close early, scoring 18 of the first 20 points for Oakland.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball