Top 25 Roundup: No. 24 Illinois Takes Down No. 10 Michigan St.

Illinois Fighting Illini forward Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk (13) drives to the basket as Michigan State Spartans forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (30) defends, during the first half at State Farm Center, in Champaign, Ill., on Jan. 25, 2022. Ron Johnson/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media

Trent Frazier tallied 16 points and five assists and No. 24 Illinois held off No. 10 Michigan State 56–55 on Tuesday in Champaign, Ill., and took first place from the Spartans in the Big Ten.

Alfonso Plummer contributed 11 points and four assists for the Fighting Illini (14–5, 7–2 Big Ten), who were without top scorer and rebounder Kofi Cockburn for a second consecutive game due to a concussion.

Marcus Bingham Jr. had 13 points and six rebounds for the Spartans (15–4, 6–2), and Gabe Brown added 10 points.

Michigan State rallied from a 14-point deficit and had a chance to tie it with 0.2 seconds left, but Malik Hall missed one of two free throws and Illinois escaped with the one-point win.

No. 1 Auburn 55, Missouri 54

Led by K.D. Johnson’s 17 points, Auburn protected its first-ever No. 1 ranking by edging Missouri in Columbia, Mo., and winning its 16th straight game.

Johnson took over in the final 1:27 by completing a three-point play and scoring on another driving basket to put Auburn up 55–51 with 47 seconds left. Missouri’s Javon Pickett hit a 3-pointer to cut Auburn’s lead to one with 35 seconds to play, but Auburn grabbed three consecutive offensive rebounds and Missouri could not get the ball back for another shot.

Walker Kessler had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Auburn (19–1, 8–0 SEC), while Pickett scored 17 points for Missouri (8–11, 2–5), which lost for the sixth time in its last eight games.

No. 7 UCLA 75, No. 3 Arizona 59

Balanced scoring, led by 15 points each from Jules Bernard and Johnny Juzang, and the Bruins’ defense were too much for the Wildcats in Los Angeles.

UCLA (14–2, 6–1 Pac-12) also got 12 points from Cody Riley and 10 from Jaime Jaquez Jr. The Bruins shot 50 percent from the field, including 8 of 17 from 3-point range.

Arizona (16–2, 6–1) shot 30.7 percent from the field and 7 of 28 from beyond the arc. Bennedict Mathurin scored 16 points to lead the Wildcats, but Kerr Kriisa finished scoreless, missing all 12 of his field-goal attempts, nine of them from 3-point range.

No. 4 Baylor 74, Kansas State 49

LJ Cryer led four players in double figures as the Bears trounced the visiting Wildcats in Waco, Texas.

Cryer scored 14 points, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Adam Flagler added 13 points each and Kendall Brown had 10 for Baylor (18–2, 6–2 Big 12). Tchamwa Tchatchoua added 12 rebounds and Brown contributed 11.

Nijel Pack led Kansas State (10–9, 2–6) with 13 points. Markquis Nowell scored 11, all in the second half.

No. 9 Duke 71, Clemson 69

Paolo Banchero shook off early foul trouble to score 19 points and the Blue Devils beat the Tigers for the 20th straight time in Durham, N.C.

Wendell Moore Jr. added 13 points, reserve Joey Baker posted 11 points and Mark Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (16–3, 6–2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won four of five.

PJ Hall led Clemson with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Hunter Tyson had 13 points and Chase Hunter 12. The Tigers (11–9, 3–6) have lost four of their past five games.

No. 12 Kentucky 82, Mississippi State 74 (OT)

Kellan Grady scored eight of his 18 points in overtime and the Wildcats hung on to defeat the Bulldogs in Lexington, Ky.

Grady connected on a layup and a pair of 3-pointers in a span of 1:56 to push the Wildcats (16–4, 6–2 Southeastern Conference) to an 80–74 lead with 1:13 remaining in the extra session. The nation’s leading rebounder, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, totaled 21 points and 22 rebounds.

Iverson Molinar, who notched a career-high 30 points for the Bulldogs (13–6, 4–3), sank two free throws with 22.2 seconds left in regulation for a 72–72 tie. The Bulldogs shot 62.1 percent (18 of 29) from the floor in the second half to rally from a 16-point deficit.

No. 14 Villanova 67, DePaul 43

Justin Moore scored 16 points and Collin Gillespie added 14 as the host Wildcats beat the Blue Demons for the 22nd consecutive time.

Eric Dixon contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (15–5, 8–2 Big East).

Javan Johnson scored 16 points and Jalen Terry 10 for the Blue Demons (10–9, 1–8), who have lost three straight and haven’t beaten Villanova since Jan. 3, 2008.

No. 20 UConn 96, Georgetown 73

Adama Sanogo scored 19 points and Isaiah Whaley added 15 in a dominant effort inside as the Huskies never trailed in a victory over the Hoyas in Storrs, Conn.

In winning its fourth straight, UConn (14–4, 5–2) outrebounded Georgetown 40–28 and outscored the Hoyas 42–28 in the paint.

Georgetown (6–11, 0–6) lost its seventh in a row. Aminu Mohammed tallied 15 points and seven rebounds for the Hoyas, and Collin Holloway scored 11 points.