Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules
Omaha, NE (SportsNetwork.com) – Doug McDermott scored 29 points as No. 11 Creighton survived to take a 72-71 win over Seton Hall on Sunday. Grant Gibbs scored 16 points while Ethan Wragge gave nine points for the Bluejays (23-4, 13-2 Big East), who have won their past four games to move a half-game ahead of Villanova for first place in the conference. McDermott now has 2,917 points in his college career as he passed Alfredrick Hughes for 10th on the NCAA all-time scoring list. Fuquan Edwin had 21 points, Gene Teague added 14 points and 11 boards, while Patrik Auda had 12 points and five rebounds for the Pirates (14-13, 5-9), who have dropped four of their last five.
Final Score: (20) Michigan 79, (13) Michigan State 70
Ann Arbor, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Nik Stauskas scored 25 points and Caris LeVert added 23, as 20th-ranked Michigan earned a 79-70 victory over No. 13 Michigan State in a battle between the top two teams in the Big Ten at Crisler Center. Glenn Robinson III chipped in 15 points for the Wolverines (19-7, 11-3 Big Ten), who bounced back from last Sunday’s home loss to Wisconsin and moved one-half game ahead of Michigan State for first place in the conference. Michigan also beat its state rival on Jan. 25 and swept the season series for the second time in four years to earn a potential tiebreaker. Gary Harris scored 21 points and Denzel Valentine finished with 13 for the Spartans (22-6, 11-4), who have lost two of their last three. Adriean Payne contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds in defeat. Michigan State shot 54.2 percent and held a 31-24 edge on the boards, but the Spartans turned the ball over 13 times compared to just three giveaways for Michigan.
Final Score: SMU 64, (21) Connecticut 55
Storrs, CT (SportsNetwork.com) – Nic Moore and Nick Russell both scored 15 points to help visiting SMU knock off No. 21 Connecticut 64-55. It’s the second time this season the Mustangs defeated a ranked Huskies team. They posted a 74-65 win over then-No. 17 UConn on Jan. 4. Markus Kennedy finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for the Mustangs (22-6, 11-4 AAC), who improved to 4-1 overall against ranked opponents. UConn (21-6, 9-5) was led by Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright with 15 points apiece, but both struggled shooting the ball against an SMU defense that entered second in the nation in field-goal defense. Napier was 5-for-16 from the field, while Boatright made only 3-of-12 shots. The Huskies, who never led Sunday, had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Categorized in: NCAA Basketball