Late Night Snacks: Oregon holds off Arizona State in battle of Pac-12 undefeateds

Game of the Day: Oregon 68, Arizona State 65 

When the season began who expected tonight’s meeting between the Ducks and Sun Devils to be a matchup of teams still undefeated in conference play? Not sure if even the most passionate of fans of the two teams would have envisioned such a scenario but that’s exactly what happened in Eugene. Once again Dana Altman’s team relied on its offensive balance as they completed a 2-0 weekend against the Arizona schools, with four starters reaching double figures.

Carlos Emory, Damyean Dotson and Tony Woods scored 14 points apiece and Dominic Artis added ten for Oregon who is now 3-0 in Pac-12 play. Jahii Carson led all scorers with 20 points (seven rebounds and four assists as well) but a Carrick Felix shot as time expired fell left on the basket as ASU dropped to 3-1 in the conference. If there’s one statistic that stuck out in Oregon’s victory it’s the fact that they outscored Arizona State by nine at the foul line. The Ducks shot 14-of-15 from the charity stripe while Arizona State made just five of their eight attempts.

Important Outcomes 

1. No. 15 Ohio State 56, No. 2 Michigan 53

Thanks to the Buckeyes there are no more undefeated teams in college basketball. Deshaun Thomas was the lone Buckeye to reach double figures as he led all scorers with 20 points, but Ohio State’s defense (Michigan did help them out by settling for three-pointers down the stretch instead of attacking the basket on occasion) helped make up for a cold second half from the field. Trey Burke (15 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (12) led the way for the Wolverines but shot a combined 9-of-28 from the field in doing so. The question now: who should be number one in the polls come Monday?

2.  Evansville 71, No. 23 Wichita State 67 

The Shockers were far too generous with the basketball on Sunday afternoon and the Purple Aces made sure to take advantage, scoring 27 points off of 22 Wichita State turnovers. Malcolm Armstead scored 21 points and Cleanthony Early added 16 to lead Wichita State, who shot 54.3% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc while also out-rebounding Evansville 33-19. But those turnovers and the 24 points and eight assists tallied by Evansville guard Colt Ryan proved to be too much to overcome.

3. No. 22 Michigan State 66, Nebraska 56 

Essentially there were two victories in this one for the Spartans: the game itself and the fact that Branden Dawson was able to return to the game after having his left leg buckle on a drive to the basket in the second half. Without Brandon Ubel (fractured elbow) the Huskers hung around for much of the game (David Rivers led the way with 18 points and six rebounds) but the Spartans closed the game on an 11-2 run (6-of-6 FT). Derrick Nix led the way for Michigan State with 17 points and five rebounds, and Adreian Payne added 14 off the bench.

Starred

1. G Sean Armand (Iona) 

When Armand gets rolling from deep look out. That’s what happened in the Gaels’ 97-87 win over Canisius as Armand hit nine three-pointers and finished with 32 points. He also tallied five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

3. G Colt Ryan (Evansville) 

Ryan shot 9-of-19 from the field but without him the Purple Aces don’t upset No. 23 Wichita State. Ryan finished with 24 points and eight assists and had a hand in every field goal made by Evansville in the second half (scoring three himself and assisting on the other six).

3. G Chaz Williams (UMass) 

Williams tallied 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the Minutemen’s 77-73 win at Fordham. UMass moves to 1-1 in the Atlantic 10 with the victory, and if they’re to contend this was a game they had to have after losing at Saint Louis on Thursday night.

Struggled

1. Maryland and Miami

The Hurricanes left with the 54-47 win and that’s the objective. But neither team shot the ball well at the Bank United Center. The worst numbers: Maryland shooting 31.6% from the field, the two teams shooting a combined 8-of-35 from three and the Hurricanes going 5-of-13 from the foul line. Another issue Maryland needs to address: Nick Faust and Pe’Shon Howard continue to struggle (1-of-13 combined, two points).

2. Seton Hall 

Wichita State wasn’t the only team to do itself in with turnovers, as the Pirates committed 15 of their 17 turnovers in the first half of a 67-55 loss to Providence. The other problems for Seton Hall: Providence scoring 23 second chance points on 22 offensive rebounds and another front court injury. Brandon Mobley left the game in the first half with a right shoulder injury and will undergo an MRI on Monday.

3. Penn State 

Without Tim Frazier the Nittany Lions are bound to have rough games offensively and that’s exactly what happened in their 60-42 loss at Purdue. As a team Penn State shot 25.9% from the field and the three players expected to pick up the slack with Frazier done for the year, D.J. Newbill, Jermaine Marshall and Brandon Taylor, combined to shoot 10-of-39 from the field (that means the rest of the team shot 5-of-19).

The Bonus

In No. 20 NC State’s win over No. 1 Duke on Saturday the students stormed the floor, with Will Privette being one of the revelers. The wheelchair-bound Privette discussed his experience with Nicole Auerbach of USA Today hours after the game (credit C.J. Leslie with an important assist) and today he posted the video he shot with his iPhone on YouTube.

Video credit: @thrill21

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.