Weekend Recap
Ashton Gibbs hit a clutch 3-pointer in Pitt's triple-overtime win over West Virginia. (Icon SMI)
By Matthew Dagen
mdago88@hotmail.com
Monday, February 15, 2010
Most of the Top 25 saw some action this weekend. Bookended with a thrilling triple overtime Big East rivalry matchup on Friday and some stunning upsets on Sunday, with plenty of great games in between, the home stretch to Selection Sunday is gearing up to be a good one.
FRIDAY:
Pittsburgh 98, #5 West Virginia 95 (3OT)
Pitt got embarrassed in Morgantown a few weeks ago, but came through in three extra periods to knock off the Mountaineers in Pittsburgh. Da'Sean Butler scored 32 and grabbed 11 boards for West Virginia, but it wasn't enough to avoid the upset in this bitter rivalry. Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker each scored 24 points for the Panthers, with Wanamaker also dishing out 10 assists.
SATURDAY:
#1 Kansas 73, Iowa State 59
Bill Self picked up his 400th career win and the Jayhawks won their 56th straight at home, the nation's longest active streak, while improving to 10-0 in the Big 12. Cole Aldrich led the way for Kansas, providing another double-double with 11 points and 12 boards. Freshman Xavier Henry led the Jayhawks in scoring with 18.
#3 Kentucky 73, #14 Tennessee 62
Kentucky's talented freshman propelled them to a victory over SEC rival Tennessee in a key conference matchup. John Wall led all scorers with 24, Eric Bledsoe added 16, and DeMarcus Cousins contributed 12 rebounds. The win keeps the Wildcats atop the SEC East, giving them a three-game lead over the Vols.
#4 Villanova 92, Providence 81
The Friars kept it close for most of the game, but the amazing ability of Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher helped the Wildcats stay in the hunt for a Big East regular season crown. The two guards combined for 44 points, with Reynolds scoring 17 of his 22 in the final period. Villanova faces off with UConn and Pittsburgh in the coming week.
#6 Purdue 63, Iowa 40
Purdue won one in its typical grind-it-out fashion against Iowa, holding the Hawkeyes to under 30 percent shooting and just 40 points for the game. JaJuan Johnson had 21 points and 10 rebounds in helping Purdue win its seventh straight. The win puts Purdue a game out of first in the Big Ten, with big games against Ohio State and Illinois forthcoming.
#7 Duke 77, Maryland 56
Maryland tends to be one of the few teams that can go into Cameron Indoor Stadium and beat the Blue Devils. That didn't happen during this meeting between two of the ACC's best. Duke blew Maryland out of the water early and never looked back. Jon Scheyer led Duke with 22 points, and got great production from Brian Zoubek's 16 points and 17 boards.
#8 Kansas State 68, Colorado 51
The Wildcats picked up their 20th win of the season in beating Colorado by double digits. Kansas State got a balanced scoring effort from their stars, getting 10 from Denis Clemente, 12 each from Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels, and a team-high 15 from Jacob Pullen, who also had 10 assists.
#10 New Mexico 68, Utah 65 (OT)
The Lobos don't have very much success in Salt Lake City, but they were able to pull out an overtime win against Utah over the weekend. Ramon Martinez hit a 3-pointer late in the extra period to put New Mexico up for good. New Mexico sits atop the Mountain West Conference at 9-2, with a matchup against second place BYU in a few weeks.
#11 Michigan State 65, Penn State 54
Kalin Lucas returned to the starting lineup for the Spartans, and his leadership showed in Michigan State's win over Big Ten cellar-dweller Penn State. Lucas recorded a game-high 24 points in helping his squad end a three-game losing streak. The Spartans remain tied for first in the conference with Ohio State at 10-2.
#12 Texas 91, Nebraska 51
Texas ended their two game losing streak with authority, running all over Nebraska and finding some rhythm on offense. Avery Bradley led the Longhorns in scoring with 25 points on 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. No Nebraska player scored more than nine points.
#13 Butler 70, Cleveland State 59
Matt Howard and Gordon Hayward each recorded double-doubles in helping Butler extend the nation's longest active winning streak to 15 games. Howard had game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (13). Hayward added 19 points and 11 boards for the Bulldogs.
#15 Gonzaga 82, San Diego 65
The Zags seem to be getting back into stride since their loss to sub-.500 San Francisco a few weeks ago. Steven Grey scored 19 and Matt Bouldin added 16 to lead Gonzaga to their ninth win in conference play. Gonzaga jumped out to a 19-0 lead five minutes into the game and never saw that lead slip away.
#17 Wisconsin 83, Indiana 55
Jason Bohannon dropped a career-high 30 points for the Badgers in their blowout win over the Hoosiers. Bohannon hit seven of the team's 10 3-point baskets. The win keeps Wisconsin in the hunt for the Big Ten regular season crown, as the Badgers remain a game behind Ohio State and Michigan State.
#18 Vanderbilt 77, LSU 69
Coming off a huge win over Tennessee and missing one of their starters, Vanderbilt was set up for a let-down. Because of reserve Lance Goulbourne, Vandy prevailed and remains only one game behind Kentucky in the SEC standings, with that matchup coming up this week. Goulbourne scored 18 off the bench for the Commodores.
#19 Temple 78, #21 Rhode Island 56
In picking up its 20th win of the season, it seemed as if Temple couldn't miss. The Owls didn't miss a 3-pointer on six attempts and hit nearly 69 percent from the field for the game. Sophomore Michael Eric scored a career-high 19 for Temple. The loss drops Rhode Island two games back in the loss column from A-10 leaders Temple and Richmond.
#20 BYU 91, Air Force 48
BYU remained in the hunt for the Mountain West crown with their blowout win over last place Air Force. Senior Jonathan Tavernari came off the bench to score a season-high 19 to lead the Cougars in scoring. BYU hit 12 3-pointers as a team and shot over 55 percent from the field.
Bradley 68, #22 Northern Iowa 59
Saturday's big upset saw Missouri Valley-leading Northern Iowa fall to Bradley on Bradley's home court. The Panthers could have locked up the regular season crown with a win, but will have to wait to fight another day. Northern Iowa shot a dismal 19.2 percent in the second half as opposed to Bradley's 56.5 percent from the field, during which the Braves rallied from a nine-point deficit to win.
Wake Forest 75, #23 Georgia Tech 64
The Demon Deacons have won four straight and are the hottest team in the ACC not wearing a Duke uniform. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, is on a downward spiral they are going to want to fix fast. The Yellow Jackets dropped to eighth in the ACC standings with the loss, while Wake jumped to second. Ishmael Smith surpassed 1,000 career points with his shot that put Wake up for good with just over a minute left.
San Diego State 68, #24 UNLV 58
The Aztecs picked up their second win of the season against a Top 25 foe, this one coming at the hands of UNLV. The win for San Diego State moves them up to 7-4 in the Mountain West, tied with UNLV, and two games back from BYU and New Mexico. Billy White scored a game-high 19 for the Aztecs.
#25 Texas A&M 67, Texas Tech 65
The Red Raiders led by seven midway through the second half, but a 10-2 by the Aggies, keyed by J.B. Holmes' long range shooting, propelled Texas A&M to the win. Holmes shot 4-of-7 from outside the arc for the game, including a key 3-pointer to start the run. He finished with a team-high 18.
SUNDAY:
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