Umoja Gibson scored 22 points and Javan Johnson had 16 as host DePaul edged No. 8 Xavier 73-72 on Wednesday night in Chicago to end the Musketeers’ 11-game winning streak.
The Blue Demons (9-10, 3-5 Big East) shot 42.6 percent overall and 45 percent from long range (9-for-20) to hand the Musketeers their first league loss of the season.
Da’Sean Nelson’s layup with 28 seconds to go put the Blue Demons ahead by the final margin. A Jack Nunge desperation shot at the buzzer fell short for the Musketeers (though it was ruled to be after the final buzzer).
Xavier (15-4, 7-1) lost for the first time since Nov. 27 despite producing four scorers in double figures. Zach Freemantle (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Nunge (16 points, 13 rebounds) both notched double-doubles.
No. 10 Virginia 78, Virginia Tech 68
Kihei Clark scored 20 points and dealt five assists, helping propel the Cavaliers a victory over the Hokies in Charlottesville, Va.
Jayden Gardner snapped out of a slump to score 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Armaan Franklin contributed 15 points, making 6 of 9 shots as Virginia (14-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its fourth straight. It was the sixth straight loss for Virginia Tech (11-7, 1-6), which was paced by 13 points from Darius Maddox and 12 from Grant Basile.
Virginia led by two points with 12:18 to go. From that point, though, the Cavaliers dominated. Clark was the catalyst, scoring 12 of his points in the final 11 minutes. His step-back 3-pointer gave Virginia a 62-55 lead with 7:37 left. He added another trey with 4:29 to go that put the Cavaliers up 71-60.
West Virginia 74, No. 14 TCU 65
Kedrian Johnson scored 20 points and Jimmy Bell Jr. added 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Mountaineers held on to beat the Horned Frogs in Morgantown, W.Va.
West Virginia (11-7, 1-5 Big 12) was up by 18 points late in the first half and by 15 at halftime before TCU roared back to pull to within 62-60 on a layup by JaKobe Coles with 5:14 to play. West Virginia gathered itself and reeled off the next six points to create some separation.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. added 10 points for the Mountaineers, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Mike Miles Jr. led all scorers with 21 points while Emanuel Miller and Damion Baugh added 13 each for the Horned Frogs (14-4, 3-3), who lost for the third time in four games.
Seton Hall 67, No. 15 UConn 66
KC Ndefo made the game-winning putback layup with 1.4 seconds left and the Pirates stormed back from a 17-point deficit to stun the Huskies in Newark, N.J.
Down one point in the final seconds of regulation, Seton Hall created an open 3-point look for Femi Odukale. He missed short, but Ndefo snatched up the rebound and was fouled on his putback. He missed the ensuing free throw, but the Huskies had no time to get up a desperation heave.
Odukale made a flying slam dunk with two minutes left to cut the Pirates’ deficit to 64-63. After a stop, Kadary Richmond’s basket gave Seton Hall (12-8, 5-4 Big East) its first lead of the game with 1:12 to go. UConn (15-5, 4-5) lost for the fifth time in six games following a 14-0 start to the season.
No. 16 Auburn 67, LSU 49
Jaylin Williams collected 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks to lift the Auburn Tigers to a victory over the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, La.
Wendell Green Jr. scored 14 points and Allen Flanigan recorded eight points and seven rebounds for Auburn (15-3, 5-1 Southeastern Conference), which has won four in a row. KJ Williams collected 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks and Trae Hannibal added 16 points off the bench for LSU (12-6, 1-5), which has lost five straight games.
LSU whittled a 15-point deficit down to two early in the second half after KJ Williams hit a jumper in the lane. Flanigan and LSU’s Justice Williams each traded a 3-pointer before Auburn went on a 24-7 run to take a 61-42 lead, highlighted by K.D. Johnson and Green each converting from beyond the arc and Lior Berman converting a three-point play.
No. 20 Marquette 83, No. 22 Providence 75
Kam Jones scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half to help the Golden Eagles hold off the Friars for a win in a Big East Conference clash in Milwaukee.
Jones shot 8 of 14 from the field, hit four shots from 3-point range and added three steals to pace the Golden Eagles (15-5, 7-2 Big East). Rhode Island native Tyler Kolek contributed 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Marquette, which is 11-1 at home this season.
Ed Croswell (20 points) led Providence (14-5, 6-2), which was without point guard Jared Bynum (abdominal injury) for a third straight game. Bryce Hopkins (19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) and Devin Carter (18 points) rounded out the Friars’ top scorers.
Missouri 79, No. 25 Arkansas 76
Sean East II, Kobe Brown and Nick Honor combined to hit all eight of their free throws in the final 29 seconds as the Tigers came back to top the struggling Razorbacks in Columbia, Mo.
Trailing by 10 with less than five minutes to play, Missouri (14-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) scored 10 straight points to knot the game at 67 with 2:28 to play and set up the win at the foul line,. East sank four free throws and Brown and Honor — who had a crucial steal with 18 seconds left — each made a pair.
The victory snapped the Tigers’ two-game losing streak and gave them a split of the season series with Arkansas (12-6, 1-5). They lost the first meeting 74-68 on Jan. 4.
–Field Level Media
