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Late Afternoon Snacks: Curry burns Owls; Berger released

Seth Curry, Jake O'Brien

Duke guard Seth Curry (30) takes a shot over Temple forward Jake O’Brien (22) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in in East Rutherford, N.J., Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Curry had 23 points in Duke’s 90-67 win. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

AP

Saturdays are too action-packed for us to wait for Late Night Snacks. We’ll do a reset at the halfway point every Saturday, so you can catch up with the stuff you missed while you were out Christmas shopping, and prepare for the stuff you’ll watch this evening.

Usually, we try to stick to scores from the day’s big games, but when a college basketball player survives a near-death experience, we might occasionally stray from the script to celebrate a really big off-court win.

Important Results

No. 2 Duke 90, Temple 67 – This seemed like the type of game that could have tripped the Blue Devils up - a true roadie against an unbeaten A-10 team. Seth Curry hit 5-9 three-pointers on his way to 23 points, and Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly notched frontcourt double-doubles to hand the Owls their first loss, while keeping Duke’s record spotless at 9-0.

Danny Berger released from a Utah hospital - We’ve been hearing encouraging news from Berger all day long. First he declared that he expects to suit up and play for Utah State again after his heart stopped during a practice. Now we’re hearing that the big guy is headed home.

Good news for Utah State’s Danny Berger: He’ll leave the hospital tomorrow, has been cleared to play. bit.ly/TMHOah (via @kylegoon)

— Bill Oram (@tribjazz) December 8, 2012


Our best to Berger, one tough, and lucky kid.

No. 3 Michigan 80, Arkansas 67 – The Wolverines got a balanced contribution, with all five starters in double figures, as they battled through Arkansas’ vaunted pressure to remain undefeated. Marshawn Powell led all scorers with 18 points, but Michigan took advantage of a 17-point day from Glenn Robinson III and a big rebounding effort from Jordan Morgan (6 offensive boards, 10 overall) to win out.

No. 19 Michigan State 73, Loyola (Chi) 61 – Loyola was picked to finish seventh in the Horizon League this year, so for the Ramblers to head into the locker room up 32-30 on the Spartans in Breslin says more about the home team’s mistakes than it does about the visitors’ talent. Freshman Gary Harris was the only MSU starter in double figures, with 20 points, but he found backup on the bench. Adreian Payne had a 14/10 double-double to help Sparty avoid the upset.

Games of the Evening

No 13 Illinois at No. 10 Gonzaga - We’ll have at least one less undefeated college hoops team when we wake up in the morning, as the Illini and Bulldogs meet with identical 9-0 records on the line. Brandon Paul (17.o ppg, 3.9 apg) leads the visitors into a hostile Kennel, where Elias Harris (16.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and his talented teammates are waiting to throw down.

Valparaiso at No. 18 New Mexico - Valpo has an impressive attack, with Ryan Broekhoff (16.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Kevin Van Wijk (14.8, 5.3) figuring to be Horizon League leaders this season. We’ve seen the Lobos wear down visitors in the Pit a few times already this season, but they’ll have to stay vigilant against this ambitious mid-major foe.

No. 8 Arizona at Clemson - A rare East Coast non-conference road game for the Wildcats. Brad Brownell likes to play slow, grind-it-out ball in Littlejohn, and his teams make a habit of playing keep away/take away ball. It could be a trap!

Eric Angevine is the editor of Storming the Floor. He tweets @stfhoops.