Top 25 Capsules for Saturday.
November 30th, 2008 Posted in NCAA basketball news, NCAA college basketball(2) CONNECTICUT 88, BRYANT 58
HARTFORD, Connecticut Leaving Paradise did not slow down second-ranked Connecticut.
Hasheem Thabeet led five players in double figures with 16 points and 12 rebounds to help the Huskies to an 88-58 romp over Bryant University.
UConn (6-0), which is coming off a victory in the Paradise Jam tournament, continued its scorching start against the overmatched Bulldogs (1-3).
Craig Austrie scored 15 points and A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien added 14 apiece for the Huskies, who have won their first six games by an average margin of 23.2 points.
UConn withstood an early 3-point flurry by Bryant before closing the first half with an 18-5 run to take a 45-28 lead at intermission.
Cecil Gresham scored 19 points, including six 3-pointers for the Bulldogs, who were coming off a 59-50 win over Quinnipiac.
Bryant kept it close early behind the long-range shooting of Gresham, who connected on his first three shots from the arc. His fourth 3-pointer of the opening half got the Bulldogs within 27-23 before the Huskies pulled away.
A dunk and two free throws by the 7-3 Thabeet and a 3-pointer by Austrie sparked a 9-0 run that pushed the lead to double digits.
Thabeet also blocked three shots and helped UConn to an overwhelming 47-23 edge on the backboards.
DAYTON 89, (15) MARQUETTE 75
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois Dayton toppled a pair of heavyweights en route to bringing home some hardware.
Rob Lowery scored a career-high 21 points, including 10 in the second half, as Dayton knocked off No. 15 Marquette, 89-75, in the title game of the Chicago Invitational.
Chris Wright had 13 points and 13 rebounds and freshman Chris Johnson added 12 and 11 for the Flyers (6-0), who upset an opponent from a major conference for the second straight day.
After edging Auburn, 60-59, in overtime on Friday, Dayton took control of the contest early in the second half, grabbing a 49-41 advantage with 15:31 remaining behind a 9-3 run. Reserve guard Stephen Thomas had all five of his points during the burst, including a three-point play off a turnover by Dominic James.
Marquette (5-1) could get no closer than six points in absorbing its first loss of the season.
Matthews scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half for the Golden Eagles, who shot 39 percent (24-of-61) from the field, including 4-of-20 on 3-pointers.
Second-leading scorer Jerel McNeal was nearly nonexistent after halftime, going just 2-of-8 from the field for four points while committing all five of his fouls. The senior guard finished with 16 points on 7-of-23 shooting.
(4) PITTSBURGH 57, WASHINGTON STATE 43
NEWARK, New Jersey Sam Young scored 15 points as fourth-ranked Pittsburgh grinded out a 57-43 victory over Washington State in the championship game of the Legends Classic.
Levance Fields had 14 points and DeJuan Blair added seven and 11 rebounds for the Panthers (6-0), who continued their tear in November under coach Jamie Dixon, improving to 31-0.
In a battle of two defensive stalwarts, Pittsburgh held a 31-27 edge with 16 1/2 minutes remaining before it put together a 9-0 run. The Panthers also had an 11-0 spurt near the end of the contest.
Despite the runs, Pittsburgh shot just 35 percent (17-of-49), including 3-of-17 on 3-pointers.
Daven Harmeling was the lone player in double figures for Washington State (5-1) with 12 points.
(11) UCLA 89, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 54
LOS ANGELES Freshman Jrue Holiday scored a season-high 20 points and Darren Collison had 11 and seven assists as No. 11 UCLA crushed Florida International, 89-54.
Holiday played just 18 minutes and made all eight of his shots from the field and was 3-of-4 from the foul line for the Bruins (4-1), who shot 65 percent (34-of-52) as a team.
UCLA used a 26-1 run early in the first half to take a 28-5 bulge with 8:30 left and never looked back.
Nikola Gacessa scored 21 points to lead the Golden Panthers (3-4), who lost their third straight game.
(19) WISCONSIN 67, WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE 46
MADISON, Wisconsin Wisconsin handed intrastate rival Wisconsin-Milwaukee its annual beating.
Trevon Hughes led all scorers with 16 points while Joe Krabbenhoft and Marcus Landry added 12 apiece as the Badgers cruised to a 67-46 victory over the Panthers at the Kohl Center.
It marked the 16th consecutive victory for Wisconsin (5-1) over the Panthers (3-4), whose only win in 26 all-time meetings came in 1992.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee did play the Badgers tight through the first 15 minutes and led 19-17 at one point, but saw the game get away when Wisconsin closed the half with a 13-4 run to forge a 37-27 lead.
Jon Leuer had six of his nine points during the run, which was capped by Tim Jarmuszs 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Things quickly got out of hand early in the second half as the Badgers opened with a 15-3 run to take a commanding 52-30 lead.
Wisconsin, looking for a bounce-back game after suffering its first loss of the season to No. 2 Connecticut on Monday, held the Panthers to 36 percent (16-of-45) shooting.
Deonte Roberts and Tony Meier each registered 11 points for Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which has dropped three straight.
(20) XAVIER 60, MIAMI OH 53
CINCINNATI Derrick Brown scored 21 points and No. 20 Xavier held on for a 60-53 win over upset-minded Miami, Ohio.
B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson scored 13 points apiece for the Musketeers (6-0), who are off to their best start since the 1997-98 season.
Kenny Hayes had 19 points for the Redhawks (2-3), who have lost seven of the last nine meetings with Xavier. Miami, which nearly upset then-No. 4 UCLA earlier this month, gave the Musketeers all they could handle.
The Redhawks led, 36-30, early in the second half, but the Musketeers took control with a 17-6 run. Raymonds 3-pointer gave Xavier a 41-38 lead, and Andersons layup made it 47-42 with 4:58 to play.
Michael Bramos 3-pointer cut the lead to one point at 48-47 with 3:13 to play. That was as close as the Redhawks would get.
Bramos scored 15 points for Miami, which shot just 32 percent (19-of-58) from the floor.
(21) MIAMI FL 79, STETSON 65
CORAL GABLES, Florida Cyrus McGowan led four players in double figures with 14 points as No. 21 Miami continued its success against Stetson with a 79-65 victory.
Jack McClinton and Dwayne Collins both scored 12 points and James Dews chipped in 10 for the Hurricanes (4-1), who defeated their in-state foe for the sixth straight time.
The contest was tied at 11-11 with just over 13 minutes left in the first half when McGowan ignited a 19-5 run with six straight points. Miami went on to take a 39-27 lead at the half, and led by no less than 10 points thereafter.
Garfield Blair scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half for the Hatters (2-3).
(22) VILLANOVA 78, RHODE ISLAND 65
PHILADELPHIA Dante Cunningham had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Corey Fisher scored all 14 of his points in the first half as No. 22 Villanova posted a 78-65 victory over Rhode Island.
Scottie Reynolds chipped in 13 points and Reggie Redding had 11 and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (6-0), who had five players score in double figures.
Reynolds scored five points during a 13-2 run as Villanova held an 18-8 lead with 13:03 left in the first half.
Rhode Island refused to go away, cutting the deficit to 31-28 with 2:56 left in the half, but Villanova closed strong and took a 40-33 advantage into the locker rooms. Fisher converted a three-point play with four seconds left in the half.
The Wildcats kept the Rams at bay early in the second half, using a 7-0 burst to take a 47-35 advantage with 17:48 left.
Baron finished with 23 points to lead the Rams (5-2), who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
