NO. 8 TEXAS TECH 72, NO. 2 WEST VIRGINIA 71
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Freshman Zhaire Smith cradled the inbounds pass as the final eight-tenths of a second ticked off the clock and the frenzied Texas Tech fans rushed the court.
The Red Raiders will savor this moment, even if the rough-and-tumble Big 12 Conference is just getting started.
Keenan Evans scored 20 points, Brandone Francis had a career-high 17 and No. 8 Texas Tech won its first Top 10 matchup on its home court, beating second-ranked West Virginia 72-71 on Saturday.
The Mountaineers (15-2, 4-1 Big 12) couldn't hold an 11-point lead in the final 13 minutes and had their nation-leading 15-game winning streak stopped.
They were the last team in the Big 12 with an undefeated league record. Now Texas Tech (15-2, 4-1), led by former University of Arkansas at Little Rock coach Chris Beard, is part of a four-way tie atop arguably the nation's toughest conference -- with 13 league games to go.
"I've got a great friend who this week told me, 'Prince today, frog tomorrow,' " Beard said. "And for some reason, in the heat of the game -- you might think about what I wonder in these moments -- I kept on thinking about that.
"I know we're going to be a frog again at some point. It's the Big 12. But I want to be a prince one more day."
Jevon Carter scored 28 points -- one off his career high -- for West Virginia, which was denied its first 5-0 start in its sixth season in the Big 12. Esa Ahmad added 18 points in his season debut following an NCAA academic suspension.
Sagaba Konate had a game-high 11 rebounds, but one of his misses on an ill-advised long jumper signified West Virginia's game for coach Bob Huggins.
"We just had guys that were really out of character," Huggins said. "We got our center shooting whatever that was, a three-point shot from the top of the key. We just did a lot of things out of character from what we normally do."
NO. 1 VILLANOVA 78, ST. JOHN’S 71
NEW YORK — Donte DiVincenzo hit six three-pointers and scored 25 points to help No. 1 Villanova (16-1, 4-1 Big East) hold off upset-minded St. John’s (10-8, 0-6) at Madison Square Garden. Shammorie Ponds scored a career-high 37 points for St. John’s in front of 17,123 fans at the Garden.
MICHIGAN 82, NO. 4 MICHIGAN STATE 72
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Moritz Wagner scored a career-high 27 points, lifting Michigan to a victory over the fourth-ranked Spartans.
Wagner was 8 of 13 from the floor, making 3 of 4 three-pointers.
The Wolverines (15-4, 4-2 Big Ten) have won eight of nine games this season and two consecutive against their rivals.
The Spartans (16-3, 4-2) are struggling, losing two of three games with an overtime win over Rutgers in between the setbacks. They were led by Miles Bridges, who had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
NO. 9 OKLAHOMA 102, NO. 16 TCU 97, OT
NORMAN, Okla. -- Trae Young scored 29 of his 43 points after halftime, and No. 9 Oklahoma defeated No. 16 TCU in overtime.
Young, the freshman who leads the nation in scoring and assists, matched a season scoring high and also had 11 rebounds and seven assists. He made 10 three-pointers, one short of the school record of 11 set by Brent Price against Loyola Marymount in 1990. He pushed his season scoring average to 30.1 points per game.
Brady Manek added 22 points for the Sooners (14-2, 4-1 Big 12), who made a school-record 19 three-pointers.
Jaylen Fisher had a career-high 22 points and Vladimir Brodziansky added 21 for TCU (13-4, 1-4).
NO. 12 KANSAS 73, KANSAS STATE 72
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- It took 23 points from Devonte Graham, two go-ahead free throws from Malik Newman with 15 seconds left, and some salty defense on the final possession for No. 12 Kansas (14-3, 4-1 Big 12) to hold off Kansas State (12-5, 2-3)
It was the Jayhawks' third Big 12 victory by a combined 10 points and they defeated the Wildcats for the sixth consecutive time and 12th in a row at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas State had an opportunity to win the game, but Barry Brown's rushed three-pointer from well beyond the arc was no good.
In other men’s Top 25 games, Vincent Edwards scored 25 points in 29 minutes on 9-of-14 shooting as No. 5 Purdue (17-2, 6-0 Big Ten) won its 13th consecutive game, routing Minnesota (13-6, 2-4) 81-47 in Minneapolis. … No. 5 Wichita State (15-2, 5-0 American Athletic Conference) was led by Landry Shamet and Conner Frankamp, who both scored 16 points in the Shockers’ 72-69 victory over Tulsa (10-8, 3-3) in Tulsa. … A virus kept Mike Krzyzewski from coaching No. 7 Duke (15-2, 3-2 ACC), but the Blue Devils got 30 points and 11 rebounds from Marvin Bagley III in a 89-71 victory over Wake Forest (8-9, 1-4) in Durham, N.C. Assistant coach Jeff Caple filled in for Krzyzewski. … Trevon Bluiett scored 24 points to lead No. 10 Xavier (16-3, 4-2 Big East Conference) to a 92-70 victory over No. 25 Creighton (14-3, 4-2) in Cincinnati. … Shannon Evans scored 22 points to lift No. 11 Arizona State (14-3, 2-3 Pac-12) to a 77-75 victory over Oregon State (10-7, 2-3) in Tempe, Ariz. … Desi Rodriguez and Myles Powell each scored 19 points to lead No. 13 Seton Hall (15-3, 4-1 Big East) past Georgetown (12-5, 2-4) 74-61 in Newark, N.J. … Jarron Cumberland had 18 points and No. 14 Cincinnati (15-2, 4-0 AAC) rolled to a 78-55 victory over South Florida (7-11, 0-5) in Tampa, Fla. ... Johnathan Williams had 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists to help No. 15 Gonzaga (16-3, 6-0 West Coast Conference) defeat San Francisco (10-9, 2-4) 75-65 in San Francisco. … Allonzo Trier scored 25 points, Deandre Ayton added 24 points and No. 17 Arizona (14-4, 4-1 Pac-12 Conference) defeated Oregon (12-6, 2-3) 90-83 in Tucson, Ariz. … Donte Grantham had 18 points, including four three-pointers, and Mark Donnal had 12 points, including two critical second-half three-pointers, to help No. 19 Clemson (15-2, 4-1 ACC) defeat No. 18 Miami 72-63 in Clemson, S.C. … Joel Berry hit two free throws with 7.1 seconds left and finished with 15 points as No. 20 North Carolina (14-4, 3-2 ACC) earned a 69-68 victory over Notre Dame (13-5, 3-2) in South Bend, Ind. … Christ Koumadje had a career-high 23 points and Phil Cofer added 16 points for No. 23 Florida State (13-4, 2-3 ACC) in a 101-90 victory over Syracuse (12-6, 1-4) in Tallahassee, Fla.
Sports on 01/14/2018