Wednesdays Top 25 Capsules
February 26th, 2009 Posted in NCAA basketball news, NCAA college basketball(2) CONNECTICUT 93, (10) MARQUETTE 82
MILWAUKEE A J Price hit a career-best eight 3-pointers en route to a career-high 36 points as second-ranked Connecticut overcame No 10 Marquette, 93-82, in a Big East Conference clash.
Hasheem Thabeet had 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks and Stanley Robinson scored 19 and pulled down 10 boards for the Huskies (26-2, 14-2 Big East), who pulled one-half game ahead of Louisville (13-2) for the top spot in the Big East.
Also, coach Jim Calhoun became the seventh mens Division I coach to reach 800 career wins.
The Golden Eagles (23-5, 12-3) had a chance to pull even with Connecticut and Louisville in the standings but suffered an even bigger loss with a serious injury to Dominic James.
Marquettes leader in assists and steals, James suffered a fractured left foot in the opening minutes and may be done for the remainder of the season.
Despite the loss of their senior guard, the Golden Eagles did have a 74-73 edge after Jerel McNeals jumper with 7:15 remaining. The Huskies then went on an 11-0 run to take control.
Marquette was within 84-81 following another jumper by McNeal with 2:32 to play, but Jeff Adrien was fouled grabbing an offensive rebound on UConns next possession and sank two free throws.
Prices last 3-pointer made it 89-81 with 1:12 left.
McNeal finished with 26 points for the Golden Eagles.
VIRGINIA TECH 80, (13) CLEMSON 77
CLEMSON, South Carolina Malcolm Delaney scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half as Virginia Tech got a much-needed victory with an 80-77 triumph at No. 13 Clemson.
A.D. Vassallo added 21 points for the Hokies (17-10, 7-6 ACC), who shot 11-of-18 from the arc to help snap a three-game losing streak.
Delaney made a key 3-pointer to give Virginia Tech a 75-70 lead with 3:35 to go but Clemson fought back and eventually cut the deficit to 78-77 on Trevor Bookers layup with 20 seconds left.
Vassallo made a pair of free throws to make it an 80-77 game with 12 ticks on the clock and Demontez Stitts desperation 3-pointer from the left side of the arc was off the mark as time expired.
Terrence Oglesby scored 22 points and Booker had 21 and 13 rebounds to pace the Tigers (22-5, 8-5).
(7) DUKE 78, MARYLAND 67
COLLEGE PARK, Maryland In a contest that featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes, Duke used a few timely outside shots to finally create separation down the stretch.
Gerald Henderson scored 19 points and freshman Elliot Williams added 15 as No. 7 Duke pulled away for a 78-67 victory over Maryland.
Kyle Singler had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Jon Scheyer scored 12 for the Blue Devils (23-5, 9-4 ACC), who have won three straight games.
Neither team led by more than four for the opening 35 minutes of the game until Henderson and Singler made consecutive 3-pointers to give Duke a 66-60 advantage with 4:33 remaining.
Maryland (17-10, 6-7) never got back in it as Greivis Vasquez fouled out with 3:24 left and Scheyer hit a big 3-pointer from the right wing to give Duke a 72-63 lead with 1:54 to play.
(8) MISSOURI 94, KANSAS STATE 74
COLUMBIA, Missouri Unfortunately for Kansas State, Missouri is nowhere near the team it was whey they first met in late January.
DeMarre Carroll scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as eighth-ranked Missouri was hardly threatened in a 94-74 victory over Kansas State.
Leo Lyons and Laurence Bowers both had 16 points for the Tigers (24-4, 11-2 Big 12), who won for the seventh staright time.
Prior to that win streak, Missouri absorbed an 88-72 setback in Manhattan on January 28, dropping its second league loss in six games. Since then, the Tigers have been on a roll, picking up NCAA Tournament resume wins at Texas and home against Kansas while climbing up to their highest ranking of the season.
Missouri put that newfound strength on display against the Wildcats, taking a 16-8 lead seven minutes in and building a 55-32 advantage at the break. Matt Lawrence had 12 of his 13 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Tigers notched 22 points in the paint and went 17-of-20 on free throws.
Missouri extended the lead to 29 points early in the second half behind six free throws by Lyons and cruised the rest of the way.
(9) MICHIGAN STATE 62, IOWA 54
EAST LANSING, Michigan A pair of freshmen helped Michigan State stay atop the Big 12 Conference.
Delvin Roe scored a season-high 16 points and Korie Lucious had a season-best 12 as the ninth-ranked Spartans defeated Iowa, 62-54.
Goran Suton chipped in nine points for Michigan State (22-5, 12-3 Big Ten), which leads Purdue (10-4) by 1 1/2 games in its pursuit of the schools first regular-season Big Ten title since 2001.
Michigan State led by 10 at the break and maintained at least a five-point advantage throughout the second half despite going through a number of sluggish stretches.
Jake Kelly scored 20 points to lead the Hawkeyes (14-14, 4-11), who have lost 10 of their last 13 games.
(12) VILLANOVA 74, DEPAUL 72
CHICAGO Scottie Reynolds and Villanova knew not to look past DePaul due to their last trip to the Windy City, but it almost didnt matter.
Reynolds scored 15 of his 18 points after halftime as No. 12 Villanova used a big second-half run to hold on for a 74-72 victory at lowly DePaul.
Dante Cunningham also had 18 points and six rebounds for the Wildcats (23-5, 11-4 Big East), who won for the eighth time in nine games and maintained their fifth-place standing in the Big East Conference.
Villanova, which trailed 33-25 at the half, took control with a 21-5 run, pulling ahead 52-44 on Antonio Penas three-point play with 10:56 to play.
Although they have yet to claim a win in the Big East, the Blue Demons threatened the Wildcats all night. However, they came up short trying to repeat last years 84-76 victory here on January 3.
DePaul (8-20, 0-15) was paced by Will Walker, who scored 23 points and connected on a career-high six 3-pointers.
(24) TEXAS 87, TEXAS TECH 81
AUSTIN, Texas A.J. Abrams scored 23 points and Damion James added 20 and 10 rebounds as 24th-ranked Texas wore down Texas Tech, 87-81, in a Big 12 Conference game.
The Red Raiders, who were without suspended coach Pat Knight, gave Texas all it could handle in a physical contest.
Texas (19-8, 8-5) used a 10-2 lead to grab a 55-50 advantage in the second half. However, Texas Tech (12-16, 2-11) didnt give in, hanging around but never able to regain the advantage.
Nick Okorie drilled a 3-point shot with five minutes left to cut the Red Raiders deficit to 73-71.
A minute later, James made a strong drive to the basket and banked home a shot to give Texas a 77-73 advantage. Justin Mason followed with a layup and the margin was six.
After Mike Singletary split a pair of fouls hots, Abrams hit a pair of free throws to make it 81-74, but the Red Raiders refused to wilt and countered with a pair from the line by Alan Voskuil.
Abrams went back to the line and knocked down another pair to make it a seven-point game again with less than 90 seconds left.
