Late Night Snacks: No. 2 Indiana falls to Wisconsin, Marshall Henderson is a hero

Game of the Day: Ole Miss 89, Vanderbilt 79

Vanderbilt’s Kevin Bright hit a three-pointer with 3.2 second remaining to give the Commodore’s a 78-75 lead and what looked to be the shot that would let his team escape with a win. Ole Miss inbounded the ball and junior Marshall Henderson caught a pass just over half-court and sank a 35-footer to tie the game as time expired.

Ole Miss pulled away in overtime and won by 10, 89-79. Credit goes to the Ole Miss defense, which finally kicked in fully in the second half and used increased pressure to make Vanderbilt uncomfortable. The Rebels erased a 13-point second-half deficit to force overtime and get the win.

Important Outcomes 

1. Wisconsin 64, No. 2 Indiana 59

Wisconsin defeats Indiana for the 11th straight time and improves to 4-0 in the conference. The Badgers locked down on defense in the second half to contain Cody Zeller, a stark contrast from the first half. Indiana got little production from its bench. Ryan Evans had 13 points and eight rebounds to lead Wisconsin.

2. St. John’s 67, No. 20 Notre Dame 63

All-Conference forward Jack Cooley sat on the bench for some key moments of St. John’s upset victory over the Irish, but much credit goes to the Red Storm, as well. St. John’s has now beaten two ranked teams, having beaten Cincinnati earlier in the season. The young, athletic Red Storm are building a strong foundation for the future.

3. Kentucky 75, Tennessee 65

Nerlens Noel came alive in the second half for Kentucky after not registering a point in the first half. Kyle Wiltjer and Julius Mays both provided scoring in key spots, including two Mays threes down the stretch that put Kentucky ahead for good. After losing to Texas A&M over the weekend, the win was important for coach John Calipari and the Wildcats.

Starred

1. Marshall Henderson (26 points, 7-of-17 FG, 4-of-11 3pt FG)

Henderson played 41 minutes in Ole Miss’ overtime win and scored 26 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the floor. Oh, not to mention he hit a 35-foot heave to save his team and force the extra period.

2. Doug McDermott (34 points, four rebounds)

McDermott continues to build his National Player of the Year resume, this time in a win over Northern Iowa. Tuesday was McDermott’s second straight game of 30+ points. He scored 39 against Missouri State on Friday.

3. Cleveland Melvin (32 points, 14-of-20 FG)

Melvin has continually been one of the most talented players on an underachieving team. His 32 points kept DePaul in the game Tuesday, though they ultimately fell to Cincinnati.

Struggled

1. Indiana Bench

In the Hoosiers’ loss to Wisconsin Tuesday, the IU starters carried almost all of the offensive weight. Will Sheehey and Remy Abell both failed to register a point in their combined 31 minutes. By comparison, Wisconsin got 16 points of production from freshman Sam Dekker and sophomore Frank Kaminsky.

2. Jarnell Stokes

Stokes struggled with foul trouble in Tennessee’s loss to Kentucky and was unable to get it going on the defensive end as a result. he picked up his third foul early in the second half and was forced to sit, then picked up his fourth a short time later. Kentucky was able to work it into the interior on the offensive end and Stokes finished with four points on 2-of-5 shooting and had four fouls.

3. Vanderbilt in the 2nd half

The Commodore lead grew to as much as 13 in the second, but Ole Miss began to press and Vanderbilt slipped up under the trap. Their three-point shooting, which was so hot in the first half (12-of-20) went cold in the second (5-of-20) and contributed to the overtime loss.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_