Tommy Kuhse scored 14 points and No. 23 Saint Mary’s posted an epic wire-to-wire 67–57 victory over top-ranked Gonzaga on Saturday night in their West Coast Conference matchup at Moraga, Calif.
It marked the second time the Gaels have defeated a No. 1 team in 13 opportunities. The other time was the school’s memorable 60–47 victory over Gonzaga in the 2019 West Coast Conference Tournament title game.
Matthias Tass added 13 points as Saint Mary’s (24–6, 12–3 WCC) halted the Bulldogs’ 17-game winning streak. The Gaels ended a seven-game skid in the series while beating Gonzaga (24–3, 13–1) for just the fifth time in the past 27 meetings.
Colorado 79, No. 2 Arizona 63
Jabari Walker had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Tristan da Silva scored 19 points, and the Buffaloes upset the Wildcats in Boulder, Colo., denying the visitors a chance to clinch a share of the Pac-12 Conference titleKeeshawn Barthelemy also scored 15 points for Colorado (19–10, 11–8 Pac-12), which has won five straight home games against Arizona. The Buffaloes made 10 of their first 13 shots out of halftime to erase a five-point Arizona lead.
No. 17 Tennessee 67, No. 3 Auburn 62
Kennedy Chandler scored 13 points, including a key floater in the lane with 32 seconds left, and the Volunteers rallied from 11 points down in the second half to knock off the Tigers in their Southeastern Conference matchup in Knoxville, Tenn.Santiago Vescovi scored nine of his 14 points in the final seven minutes, and Zakai Zeigler added 13 points and three steals as Tennessee (21–7, 12–4 SEC) snapped a six-game losing streak against Auburn and improved to 15–0 at home. The Volunteers also tightened the SEC race, pulling within a game of first-place Auburn (25–4, 13–3) and tying No. 6 Kentucky and No. 18 Arkansas for second.
Michigan State 68, No. 4 Purdue 65
Tyson Walker hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining as the Spartans bolstered their NCAA Tournament hopes with an upset of the Boilermakers in East Lansing, Mich.Gabe Brown scored 13 points and Julius Marble scored 12 points for Michigan State (19–9, 10–7 Big Ten). Max Christie and A.J. Hoggard each had 11 points.
No. 10 Baylor 80, No. 5 Kansas 70
Flo Thamba scored 18 points and Jeremy Sochan added 17 as the Bears roared back from a slow start and tightened the Big 12 race by downing the Jayhawks at Waco, Texas.Baylor (24–5, 12–4 Big 12) triumphed for the fifth time in six games. James Akinjo netted 12 points and Adam Flagler scored 13 for the Bears, who fell behind 16–4 at the outset and did not lead until the second half. Matthew Mayer added nine points and 12 rebounds, while Thamba grabbed nine boards.
No. 18 Arkansas 75, No. 6 Kentucky 73
JD Notae scored 30 points and Jaylin Williams registered 16 points and 12 rebounds to help the Razorbacks edge the Wildcats 75–73 in Fayetteville, Ark.The Razorbacks (23–6, 12–4 SEC) stretched their winning streak to four games while snapping a two-game run for the Wildcats (23–6, 12–4) as the programs pulled into a second-place tie behind Auburn atop the conference standings.
No. 7 Duke 97, Syracuse 72
Mark Williams scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting and Paolo Banchero and A.J. Griffin lit it up from beyond the arc as the visiting Blue Devils dominated the Orange.In the final regular-season matchup between Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim—the two winningest coaches in Division I history—the Blue Devils stormed out of the gates and never looked back. Krzyzewski, who is retiring at season’s end, improved to 12–5 all-time against Boeheim.
TCU 69, No. 9 Texas Tech 66
Mike Miles Jr. racked up 26 points and had a huge steal in the final seconds as the Horned Frogs roared back and owned the final minutes in a win over the Red Raiders in a Big 12 Conference dustup in Fort Worth, Texas.Emanuel Miller added 11 points and Damion Baugh had 10 for TCU (18–9, 7–8 Big 12), which won for the second time in its past three games in its fight for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs were playing their fourth game in a stretch of eight days.
No. 11 Providence 72, Creighton 51
A.J. Reeves shot 7-for-10 from 3-point range and scored 23 points as the Friars clinched their first Big East regular-season title in program history with a victory over the visiting Bluejays.Nate Watson and Al Durham each contributed 12 points while Justin Minaya had 11 rebounds for Providence (24–3, 14–2 Big East), which had three conference games canceled because of a COVID-19 pause in January.
No. 12 UCLA 94, Oregon State 55
Tyger Campbell had 20 points and five assists while Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points as the Bruins, playing without the injured Johnny Juzang, bounced back from a loss at Oregon two nights earlier and routed the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore.Jules Bernard added 16 points for the Bruins (21–6, 13–5 Pac-12). Juzang, who leads UCLA in scoring with 17.0 points per game, sat out with an ankle injury. Cody Riley added 13 points and Jaylen Clark had 10 for the Bruins, who shot 13-for-20 (65 percent) from 3-point range.
No. 13 Wisconsin 66, Rutgers 61
Johnny Davis scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half as the Badgers held off the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, N.J., to take over the top spot in the Big Ten Conference.Wisconsin (23–5, 14–4 Big Ten) moved a game in front of fourth-ranked Purdue, which lost 68–65 at Michigan State on Saturday. The Boilermakers, who fell 74–69 to the Badgers on Jan. 3, play at Wisconsin on Tuesday.
No. 16 USC 70, Oregon 69
Drew Peterson’s game-winning 3-pointer with 14 seconds left capped his 20-point night as the Trojans ran their winning streak to six by defeating the Ducks in Eugene, Ore.Peterson’s 3-pointer gave USC (25–4, 14–4 Pac-12) its 10th lead of the contest, and the Trojans avoided a season sweep by the Ducks (18–11, 11–7). Isaiah Mobley finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.
No. 19 Murray State 70, Southeast Missouri State 68
Justice Hill hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 39 seconds left as the Racers rallied for a victory over the host Redhawks in Cape Girardeau, Mo.The Racers (28–2, 18–0 Ohio Valley Conference) became the sixth team in the 74-year history of the OVC to go unbeaten in conference play.
No. 20 Texas 82, West Virginia 81
Timmy Allen scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds as the Longhorns outlasted the reeling Mountaineers in Big 12 Conference play in Morgantown, West Virginia.Marcus Carr finished with 15 points, and Jase Febres added a season-best 14 for the Longhorns, who shot 63.4 percent (26-for-41) from the field for the game.
No. 24 Alabama 90, South Carolina 71
Jaden Shackelford came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points as the Crimson Tide raced to a 23-point halftime lead and defeated the Southeastern Conference rival Gamecocks in Tuscaloosa, Ala.Jahvon Quinerly added 20 points and five assists for the Crimson Tide (19–10, 9–7 Southeastern Conference), and Keon Ellis finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Reserves Charles Bediako and JD Davison contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Erik Stevenson scored 17 points and dished out six assists for the Gamecocks (17–11, 8–8), who had their four-game winning streak snapped.