College basketball roundup: No. 5 Illinois rolls; Duke upsets No. 7 Virginia
MINNEAPOLIS — From pregame warmup drills though the pickup-game vibe of the second half, the Illinois players kept filling Minnesota’s mostly empty arena with chants and cheers.
There’s a fun and relentless energy around the Fighting Illini, making an already talented team even tougher to beat.
Ayo Dosunmu had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season, Kofi Cockburn scored 22 points in 24 minutes, and No. 5 Illinois cruised past Minnesota 94-63 on Saturday for its seventh consecutive victory.
“I always tell my teammates, ‘Enjoy this moment,’ †Dosunmu said. “Don’t let COVID or not being able to see your family affect it, because this is memories that’s going to last for a lifetime.â€
Jaylen Clark hits a free throw with just over a second left to complete UCLA’s victory over Arizona State and give Mick Cronin his 400th coaching victory.
Trent Frazier added 15 points and six steals to help the Illini (15-5, 12-3) stay in second place in the bruising Big Ten with two weeks to go in league play. The Illini had a 31-8 advantage in fast-break points, shot 56% from the field and forced 18 turnovers as Frazier stifled Gophers star Marcus Carr.
“You’ve got to have guys who are enjoying doing what they’re doing and enjoying doing it with each other,†Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.
Freshman Jamal Mashburn Jr. led Minnesota (13-10, 6-10) with 16 points and six rebounds, with his father, former NBA player Jamal Mashburn, watching in person for the first time in his college career. Nothing beyond that was worth remembering for the sputtering Gophers.
“Just have a sense of pride. We can’t let guys come in like today and just do what they want to do,†backup forward Eric Curry said.
Whether a thunderous one-handed dunk by the 7-foot, 285-pound Cockburn or a slick lob pass from Dosunmu to Giorgi Bezhanishvili for a slam, the Illini had a lot to smile about.
Duke 66, No. 7 Virginia 65
DURHAM, N.C. — Freshman Jaemyn Brakefield scored the go-ahead basket on a reverse layup with 1:58 left, and Duke came up with a final-possession stop to upset Virginia.
Matthew Hurt scored 22 points to lead the Blue Devils (10-8, 8-6 Atlantic Coast Conference). They claimed a much-needed third straight win to improve their uncertain chances of making the NCAA tournament.
Brakefield’s scoring drive, while drawing a foul on Jay Huff, finally got Duke a slim lead. Freshman DJ Steward had a chance to increase the margin but missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 9.6 seconds left.
USC lost to Arizona 81-72 at Galen Center on Saturday, ending its win streak at seven. The Trojans fell to 12-3 in the Pac-12 and are tied with UCLA.
Huff got the rebound and got the ball to Kihei Clark, who bobbled the dribble at the other end to lose time and had to force up an off-balance three-point attempt over Hurt to beat the clock. The ball was well short, with Huff catching the airball and stuffing it in well past the final horn.
Huff finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers (15-5, 11-3). They followed a blowout loss at No. 16 Florida State with a second loss this week in yet another close matchup with the Blue Devils.
No. 1 Gonzaga 106, San Diego 69
SPOKANE, Wash. — Drew Timme scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half, Jalen Suggs added 17 points, and Gonzaga won its 26th straight game by routing San Diego.
Corey Kispert added 16 points to help the Bulldogs (22-0, 13-0 West Coast) get their 14th straight victory against the Toreros and 49th consecutive win at home.
The Bulldogs are a win away from matching a program-best 50-game home winning streak. Gonzaga will have a chance to break the mark next week with home games against Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount that were rescheduled to make up for earlier postponements.
Josh Parish led San Diego (3-8, 2-5) with 13 points.
No. 8 Alabama 82, Vanderbilt 78
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jaden Shackelford scored a season-high 27 points, and Alabama beat Vanderbilt to move within a victory of clinching at least a share of its first Southeastern Conference regular-season title in 19 years.
Jahvon Quinerly made a late three-pointer and a clinching free throw with two seconds left to help the Crimson Tide (18-5, 13-1) turn back the Commodores (6-12, 2-10).
Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 24 points for Vanderbilt.
No. 9 Oklahoma 66, Iowa State 56
AMES, Iowa — Austin Reaves scored 20 points to lead Oklahoma past Iowa State.
The Sooners (14-5, 9-4 Big 12) won their third straight.
The Cyclones (2-16, 0-13) trailed by 21 in the first half before rallying to a 46-45 lead on Tre Jackson’s three-pointer with 11:29 remaining. Oklahoma responded with a 16-4 run.
Rasir Bolton led Iowa State with 14 points and six assists.
No. 10 Villanova 68, Connecticut 60
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Collin Gillespie scored 20 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 17 points and 11 rebounds to help Villanova beat Connecticut.
Justin Moore added 11 points for the Wildcats (14-3, 9-2 Big East).
James Bouknight, in his second game back after missing eight because of elbow surgery, scored 21 points for the Huskies (10-6, 7-6).
No. 13 West Virginia 84, No. 12 Texas 82
AUSTIN, Texas — Sean McNeil and West Virginia erased a 19-point deficit in the second half, then withstood a flurry of last-second misses to hold off Texas.
McNeil played only two minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls and scored all 16 of his points after the break. Miles McBride had 17 for the Mountaineers (15-6, 8-4 Big 12).
Courtney Ramey scored a career-best 28 points for the Longhorns (13-6, 7-5), making a career-high seven three-pointers in eight attempts.
No. 23 Kansas 67, No. 15 Texas Tech 61
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Christian Braun hit a corner three with 24 seconds left, David McCormack scored 17 points, and Kansas beat Texas Tech.
Ochai Agbaji had 14 points and Jalen Wilson added 11 for the Jayhawks (17-7, 11-5 Big 12). Braun and Marcus Garrett each had 10 points.
Marcus Santos-Silva and Kevin McCullar each scored 12 points for the Red Raiders (14-7, 6-6).
No. 16 Florida State 79, Pittsburgh 72
PITTSBURGH — Raiquan Gray had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Florida State beat Pittsburgh for its third straight victory.
Malik Osborne had 12 points and nine rebounds and RayQuan Evans also scored 12 points for the Seminoles (13-3, 9-2 ACC).
Justin Champagnie had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers (9-9, 5-8).
Kentucky 70, No. 19 Tennessee 55
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Isaiah Jackson scored 16 points as Kentucky matched a season high with its third straight victory, beating Tennessee.
Davion Mintz hit all five of his three-point shots in the first half and had 15 points for the Wildcats (8-13, 7-7 SEC).
Victor Bailey scored 18 points for the Volunteers (15-6, 8-6).
No. 20 Missouri 93, South Carolina 78
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dru Smith scored 17 points, Mark Smith had 13, and Missouri beat South Carolina to end a three-game losing streak.
The Tigers (14-6, 7-6 SEC) opened a 19-point lead in the first half and stayed comfortably in front the rest of the way.
AJ Lawson had 22 points for South Carolina (5-11, 3-9). The Gamecocks have lost five in a row.
No. 25 San Diego State 75, Fresno State 57
FRESNO — Jordan Schakel scored 14 points — 12 on three-pointers in the first half — and San Diego State beat Fresno State for its eighth straight victory.
Matt Mitchell and Terrell Gomez scored 13 apiece for the Aztecs (17-4, 11-3 Mountain West).
Deon Stroud scored 17 points for the Bulldogs (9-9, 7-9).
Washington State 85, Stanford 76 (3 OTs)
PULLMAN, Wash. — Noah Williams scored a career-high 40 points, and Washington State outlasted Stanford in triple overtime.
Williams, who scored his previous career high of 32 in the Cougars’ win over California on Thursday, made 12 of 35 shot attempts, including eight of 18 from beyond the arc, and eight of 10 free throws with nine turnovers. His 40 points were the most for WSU since Klay Thompson scored 43 in 2011. The sophomore’s father, Guy Williams, scored what was then a WSU-record 43 points in 1983. The record is 45 by Brian Quinnett in 1986.
Efe Abogidi scored five points, Aljaz Kunc added a bucket and Williams scored the game’s final points on a floater as Washington State (14-10, 7-10 Pac-12) blanked Stanford 9-0 in the final overtime.
Abogidi finished with 14 points, and Kunc and Andrej Jakimovski had 11 each. Jakimovski added nine assists.
The Cougars ended a nine-game skid to Stanford (14-9, 10-7) and dealt a blow to the on-the-bubble Cardinal’s NCAA tournament hopes. And they did it all without their their leading scorer, Isaac Bonton (18.4 points per game), out for the third consecutive game with an ankle injury.
Stanford’s Oscar da Silva, the Pac-12’s second-leading scorer coming in at 19.1 points per game, finished with 11 in 28 minutes of play before fouling out in the second overtime. Michael O’Connell scored 17 points for the Cardinal.
Colorado 61, Oregon State 57
CORVALLIS, Ore. — McKinley Wright IV scored 21 points and moved to No. 7 on Colorado’s career scoring list as the Buffaloes beat Oregon State.
Colorado won its fifth conference road game of the season, its most since the 1961-62 season. Evan Battey added 10 points for the Buffaloes (17-7, 11-6 Pac-12), who never trailed in the second half.
Ethan Thompson had 18 points and seven assists for the Beavers (11-11, 7-9), moving to No. 3 on Oregon State’s career assists list at 462.
Oregon 67, Utah 64
EUGENE, Ore. — Chris Duarte and LJ Figueroa scored 15 points apiece, and Oregon beat Utah for the Ducks’ fifth straight win.
Eugene Omoruyi added 13 points for Oregon (14-4, 9-3 Pac-12) before fouling out with 3:29 to play.
Alfonso Plummer hit four three-pointers and finished with 17 points and Timmy Allen scored 15 for the Utes (9-10, 6-9).
Washington 62, California 51
SEATTLE — Quade Green scored 17 points, Jamal Bey added 10 of his 15 in the second half, and Washington held off California in a matchup of teams at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings.
The Huskies (5-17, 4-13) led by as many as 14 in the second half and then held off every charge by the Golden Bears over the final 10 minutes to win for the second time in three games.
Matt Bradley led California (8-17, 3-15) with 13 points but struggled from the field, going three for 16.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
