Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules
Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – North Carolina won’t be unranked for long, not after its statement-making closeout performance against Duke on Thursday. Leslie McDonald scored 21 points and the Tar Heels used a late run to take down the fifth-ranked Blue Devils 74-66 in another tight Tobacco Road battle. UNC (19-7, 9-4 ACC) closed it out with an 18-6 flurry, and the Dean Dome student section emptied to celebrate an unranked Tar Heels team beating a ranked Duke team for the first time since March 9, 2003. James Michael McAdoo finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Marcus Paige chipped in with 13 points for the victors. Jabari Parker totaled 17 points and 11 boards for Duke (21-6, 10-4), which also got 17 points from Quinn Cook and 16 from Rodney Hood.
Final Score: (13) Michigan State 94, Purdue 79
West Lafayette, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – Gary Harris and Adreian Payne fueled Michigan State’s outside shooting prowess as the 13th-ranked Spartans set a single-game school record by making 17 3-pointers in a 94-79 win at Purdue. Harris drained six 3-pointers and finished with 25 points, two off his career high, and Payne knocked down four shots from beyond the arc en route to 23 points for the Spartans (22-5, 11-3 Big Ten), who rebounded from Sunday’s home loss to Nebraska. They have yet to lose back-to-back games this season. Denzel Valentine had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists for Michigan State, which moved a half-game ahead of Michigan for first place in the conference standings. The rivals clash in Ann Arbor on Sunday. Kendall Stephens scored 15 of his career-best 19 points in the first half for the Boilermakers (15-11, 5-8), who have lost six straight to Michigan State. Ronnie Johnson supplied 17 points in defeat.
Final Score: (21) Connecticut 68, Temple 55
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Shabazz Napier had 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as No. 21 Connecticut took a 68-55 win over Temple. Ryan Boatright scored 14 points, DeAndre Daniels gave 13 points and Amida Brimah added 10 points and five boards for the Huskies (21-5, 9-4 AAC), who have won four straight. Quenton DeCosey had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Owls (7-18, 2-11), who have lost five of their last six. Dalton Pepper contributed 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Final Score: (22) Memphis 64, Rutgers 59
Piscataway, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – Michael Dixon had 15 points to lead No. 22 Memphis to a 64-59 decision over Rutgers on Thursday. Joe Jackson had 11 points and five rebounds for the Tigers (20-6, 9-4 AAC), who had dropped an overtime decision to UConn on Saturday. Austin Nichols and Shaq Goodwin each dropped 10. Kadeem Jack had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (10-17, 4-10), who have lost three straight. Myles Mack gave 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds and Malick Kone gave 10 points and six rebounds.
Final Score: BYU 73, (25) Gonzaga 65
Provo, UT (SportsNetwork.com) – Anson Winder scored 17 points and BYU picked up a signature win, 73-65, over No. 25 Gonzaga on Thursday. The Cougars (19-10, 11-5 WCC) forced 16 turnovers and never trailed in the second half en route to their sixth win in the last seven games. Matt Carlino supplied 15 points, Eric Mika added 13 and Tyler Haws had 12 in the victory. Sam Dower and Kevin Pangos netted 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs (23-5, 13-2), whose magic number to win the West Coast Conference regular season crown outright remains one with three games remaining.
Categorized in: NCAA Basketball