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Late Night Snacks: No. 2 Syracuse, No. 15 Kansas win key conference battles

jayhawks

GAME OF THE DAY: No. 15 Kansas 80, No. 9 Oklahoma State 78

At the conclusion of last season’s meeting at Allen Fieldhouse Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart pulled off a celebratory backflip. While both teams stated that last year’s finish would have no effect on Saturday’s meeting, it was clear that these two teams are too fond of each other. A Frank Mason strip of Le’Bryan Nash in the final seconds preserved the victory for the Jayhawks, who received an outstanding performance from center Joel Embiid.

Embiid finished the game with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks, helping the Jayhawks navigate a quiet afternoon from Andrew Wiggins. For the Cowboys it was Phil Forte III who picked up the slack for a struggling Marcus Smart, hitting seven three-pointers and scoring 23 points.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

1) No. 2 Syracuse 59, No. 22 Pittsburgh 54

After years of this being a big matchup in the Big East the Orange and Panthers met with first place in the ACC on the line, and freshman point guard Tyler Ennis was the difference-maker in the end. Ennis, who finished the game with 16 points and three assists, scored six points late to ensure that the Orange would remain undefeated. Pittsburgh dropped its first ACC game, but if anything the Panthers likely proved to the skeptics that they are an ACC contender.

2) Michigan 77, No. 3 Wisconsin 70

Since Mitch McGary was ruled out for the remainder of the season John Beilein’s team has won seven straight games, the most recent being a seven-point win in Madison. Nik Stauskas, who’s expanded his game since last season, put up 23 points, four rebounds and four assists to lead the way. The win is Michigan’s first in Madison since 1999.

3) No. 25 Oklahoma 66, No. 12 Baylor 64

The Sooners didn’t play well in the first half, shooting 23% from the field in Waco. The good news for Lon Kruger’s team at the half: they only trailed by six points. In the second half Buddy Hield scored all 19 of his points and Cameron Clark added ten of his 14 to lead Oklahoma to a solid resume-building victory.

STARRED

1) Andrew Rowsey (UNC Asheville)

The freshman scored 35 points on 10-for-16 shooting in the Bulldogs’ 80-76 win at Charleston Southern.

2) Sam Dower (Gonzaga)

28 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in Gonzaga’s 82-72 win over Loyola Marymount.

3) Richaud Pack (North Carolina A&T)

Pack scored 30 points, dished out eight assists (one turnover) and grabbed five rebounds in the Aggies’ 88-82 win over NJIT. NJIT’s Damon Lynn scored 34 points in a losing effort, shooting 9-for-18 from three.

STRUGGLED

1) N.C. State

The Wolfpack shot just 8-for-16 from the foul line and committed 21 turnovers in their 95-60 loss at No. 23 Duke.

2) Branden Frazier (Fordham)

The Rams’ second-leading scorer (19.0 ppg) ran into No. 24 Saint Louis’ stingy defense and the results weren’t good, as he went scoreless and shot 0-for-10 from the field.

3) Yogi Ferrell (Indiana)

Ferrell shot 2-for-14 from the field, finishing with nine points and just one assist in the Hoosiers’ 54-47 home loss to Northwestern.

NOTABLES


  • Styles make fights, and in the case of Florida State and Virginia this may simply be a bad matchup for the Seminoles. The Cavaliers won 79-66, sweeping the season series with both wins being convincing.
  • No. 13 Kentucky rebounded from a slow start to beat Tennessee 74-66 in Knoxville. Andrew Harrison led the way with a career-high 26 points.
  • No. 23 Duke looked like the team many expected them to be on Saturday afternoon in their 95-60 win over N.C. State. Jabari Parker scored 23 points and five other Blue Devils scored at least nine points.
  • Utah picked up a huge win for its program on Saturday afternoon, beating No. 25 UCLA 64-59 in Salt Lake City. Jordan Loveridge led four Utes in double figures with 17 points (and nine rebounds).
  • No. 5 Wichita State moved to 19-0 with a 68-48 win over Indiana State, with Ron Baker leading four Shockers in double figures with 16 points.
  • Toledo made a nice statement within the MAC, winning 75-61 at Akron in a matchup of two of the early favorites to win the conference. Julius “Juice” Brown scored 25 points and J.D. Weatherspoon added 20 and 14 rebounds for the Rockets.
  • Georgetown’s in trouble, as they fell to Seton Hall at home 67-57. Prior to this year the Hoyas hadn’t lost to the Pirates and Providence in the same season since the 2003-04 campaign.
  • Speaking of the Friars they won their third consecutive game, beating No. 20 Creighton, 81-68. Bryce Cotton led five Friars in double figures with 23 points.
  • No. 18 Louisville picked up an important resume-building victory, winning 76-64 at UConn. UConn head coach Kevin Ollie wasn’t around for the finish, and Russ Smith scored 23 and Montrezl Harrell added 18 and 13 rebounds to lead the winners.
  • Jonathan Holmes scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Texas to an 86-76 win over No. 8 Iowa State.
  • Casey Prather made his return in No. 7 Florida’s 68-61 win at Auburn and he played well, scoring 21 points and grabbing six rebounds off the bench.

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