Late Night Snacks: Saint Louis clamps down on No. 9 Butler

Game of the Night: Niagara 93, Iona 90 (OT) 

The thriller between the Purple Eagles and Gaels featured an amazing finish to regulation, with Niagara missing three attempts to tie the game before Juan’ya Green hit a three-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Green would be the hero in overtime as well, knocking down the game-winning three with five tenths of a second remaining.

Green (26 points) and Antoine Mason (30) led the way for Niagara, who now leads Iona by two games in the MAAC standings. And with Canisius and Loyola (MD) three games back at 7-4, it’s safe to say that Joe Mihalich’s team is in firm control of the conference race.

Important Outcomes

1. Saint Louis 75, No. 9 Butler 58

Jim Crews’ Billikens clamped down defensively, forcing 23 turnovers in an emphatic victory at Chaifetz Arena. With Butler’s loss there are now seven teams in the Atlantic 10 with two conference losses, with VCU and Xavier currently sitting atop the standings at 5-2. “Figuring out” the conference when it comes to how to rank the teams is nearly impossible at this point, but there are a number of opportunities for teams to pick up resume-building wins in February. Hopefully the Atlantic 10 doesn’t get punished for beating up on each other when Selection Sunday rolls around.

2. Middle Tennessee 66, Florida International 64

Last season the Blue Raiders won 25 regular season games and won the Sun Belt regular season title by two games (they won their division by six games), only to wind up in the NIT after losing to Arkansas State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament. With a strength of schedule of 103 according to warrennolan.com Kermit Davis’ team can ill-afford to lose games like Thursday’s against FIU if they want to entertain any thoughts of an at-large bid.  That’s what made Shawn Nolan’s tip-in of a lob as time expired so important. Now 19-4 overall (10-1 Sun Belt), Middle Tennessee continues on their quest to reach the NCAA tournament.

3. No. 13 Michigan State 80, Illinois 75 

While there is the need to focus on the play of Michigan State guard Keith Appling (24 points, seven assists) down the stretch of this contest, there’s also the need to take a look at the Fighting Illini. Illinois got off to a good start offensively and led 37-27 at the half, but they didn’t bring the same effort defensively in the second half.

Michigan State shot 87.5% from the field and 23-of-32 from the foul line in the second half, and it’s tough to win anywhere (much less at Breslin) when allowing a team to shoot that well. While it’s important that Illinois hit their perimeter shots, if they don’t toughen up defensively the Fighting Illini will have a tough time reaching the NCAA tournament.

4. Arizona State 63, Washington 59 

Jahii Carson scored a game-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, making a pair of key baskets down the stretch to lead the Sun Devils past the Cougars in Pullman. Evan Gordon added 13 points and Carrick Felix posted his fourth double-double in Pac-12 play while also defending Washington State’s Brock Motum (3-of-13 FG, 11 points and 11 rebounds) for much of the night. Now 6-2 in conference play (17-4 overall, best record since the 1980-81 season), Herb Sendek’s team has to be considered a factor in the Pac-12 race. And that’s something few people expected back in November.

Starred

1. F Roosevelt Johnson (Southeast Louisiana) 

Johnson scored 28 points (10-of-18 FG), grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out five assists in the Lions’ 70-69 win at Central Arkansas. Johnson scored on a lob with seven tenths of a second remaining to give the Lions the victory.

2. G Juan’ya Green and G Antoine Mason (Niagara) 

In a matchup of two of the MAAC’s best backcourts this tandem combined to score 56 points in the Purple Eagles’ 93-90 overtime win over Iona. Mason scored a game-high 30 points while Green added 26 and eight assists, not to mention those two key shots mentioned above.

3. C Jarred Shaw (Utah State)

Shaw was a big reason why the Aggies (who have been without Preston Medlin and Kyisean Reed) were able to end their four-game losing streak, scoring 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds in Utah State’s 77-67 win at Idaho.

Struggled

1. Loyola Marymount

Yes, No. 7 Gonzaga is one of the best teams in the country. But the Lions were overwhelmed from the start in the 88-43 beating, shooting 6-of-25 from the field and scoring 18 points in the first half. For the game Max Good’s team shot 25%.

2. North Texas

Remember when the Mean Green had the look of a team that could win the Sun Belt? That was back in November, and at this point in the season North Texas looks like a team counting down days until the end of the season. The Mean Green lost 105-74 at Louisiana-Lafayette, giving up 60 points in the second half.

3.  UMKC

The Kangaroos scored just 12 points in the first half and finished with more turnovers (18) than field goals (11) in their 71-34 loss at North Dakota State.

Three Facts 

1. Thanks to a Matt Carlino three-pointer in the final minute of play BYU was able to hold on to beat Pepperdine 63-61 in Malibu. And with a resume that lack a marquee victory this was a contest that would have done major damage to the Cougars’ at-large hopes had it gone the other way.

2. Connecticut picked up their first win at Providence since 2006, hanging on to beat the Friars 82-79 in overtime. And the Huskies won despite being out-rebounded 55-24, a margin that ties a Big East record originally set in 1997 (St. John’s vs. Seton Hall).

3. While Butler and VCU have received a lot of publicity for their adjusting to a new conference, Belmont and Oral Roberts have both adjusted well to new leagues. Rick Byrd’s Bruins moved to 9-0 in the OVC with a 93-74 win over Morehead State, and ORU is 9-1 in the Southland after beating Nicholls State 90-78.

Top 25 Scores

No. 7 Gonzaga 88, Loyola Marymount 43

No. 8 Arizona 57, Washington 53

Saint Louis 75, No. 9 Butler 58

No. 13 Michigan State 80, Illinois 75

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