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Late Night Snacks: No. 1 Arizona falls, but status of Brandon Ashley more important

ashley

GAME OF THE DAY: No. 2 Syracuse 91, No. 17 Duke 89 (OT)

The first meeting between these two storied program as members of the same conference did not disappoint, with the Orange needing overtime to beat the Blue Devils. Duke made 15 three-pointers against the Syracuse zone and scored 32 points in the paint, but Jabari Parker and Amile Jefferson fouling out late in regulation robbed them of their two best front court players. Syracuse’s C.J. Fair scored 28 points to lead all scorers, while it was Rasheed Sulaimon who led five Blue Devils in double figures with 16. His three-pointer as time expired forced overtime.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

1) California 60, No. 1 Arizona 58

Justin Cobbs’ jumper with nine tenths of a second remaining proved to be the difference, but it was the play of big men David Kravish (14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks) and Richard Solomon (12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks) that put the Golden Bears in position to win the game. The biggest issue for Arizona: the health of Brandon Ashley, who injured his right foot early in the game and per head coach Sean Miller’s post game comments there’s a concern that he may have broken the foot. That would be a far bigger issue for Arizona than the fact that they suffered their first loss of the season.

2) No. 25 Texas 81, No. 6 Kansas 69

Rick Barnes’ Longhorns are now a game out of first place in the loss column, with Isaiah Taylor scoring 23 points and Jonathan Holmes adding 22 to lead the way offensively. Also of note for Texas was the play of young big men Prince Ibeh and Cameron Ridley, who more than held their own against Kansas’ talented front court. As for the Jayhawks, they’ve allowed three straight opponents to shoot better than 40% from the field, and while that may not seem like a big deal Bill Self-coached teams are generally better defensively than that.

3) Georgetown 64, No. 7 Michigan State 60 (OT)

Did Georgetown save its season with this win? That remains to be seen, but the fact of the matter is that the Hoyas were in desperate need of some good news. They also welcomed back Jabril Trawick, who missed time with a broken jaw. Gary Harris scored 20 for Michigan State, but without Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson the sophomore guard didn’t receive enough help.

STARRED

1) Alan Williams (UCSB)

Williams tallied 27 points, 20 rebounds and four assists in the Gauchos’ 82-67 win over UC Davis.

2) Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington)

Harvey made ten of his 15 three-point attempts, scoring 38 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists in the Eagles’ 94-90 overtime win over Northern Colorado.

3) Juwan Staten (West Virginia)

35 points on 8-for-13 shooting, five assists and four rebounds in the Mountaineers’ 81-71 win over Kansas State.

STRUGGLED

1) Nick Johnson and T.J. McConnell (Arizona)

Arizona’s starting backcourt had a rough night in Berkeley, with Johnson shooting 1-for-14 and McConnell not registering a single assist in the Wildcats’ 60-58 loss at Cal.

2) Andrew Wiggins (Kansas)

Wiggins shot 2-for-12 from the field and scored seven points in the Jayhawks’ 81-69 loss at No. 25 Texas.

3) Ashton Moore (The Citadel)

Moore made just two of his 14 attempts from the field, scoring six points in the Bulldogs’ 62-43 loss at Davidson.

NOTABLES


  • No. 3 Florida used stifling defense to roll over another overmatched opponent, beating Texas A&M 69-36 in Gainesville. And on Tuesday night against Missouri, Chris Walker will make his debut.
  • No. 4 Wichita State moved to 23-0, beating Evansville 81-67 after recovering from a slow start. The Shockers, who trailed by 15 in the first half, led by as much as 19 in the second.
  • The wildest finish of the day: that would be Sacramento State’s 78-75 win over Weber State. Dylan Garrity’s 75-footer may have won it, but read this recap of the final 15 seconds by Jonathan Reed of Big Sky Basketball.
  • No. 24 Ohio State picked up a win they really needed, beating No. 14 Wisconsin 59-58 in Madison. And as a result of this it’s now the Badgers who have lost five of their last six.
  • Aaron Harrison led four players in double figures with 21 points and No. 11 Kentucky won 84-79 at Missouri. An Alex Poythress blocked shot in the final minute sealed the outcome.
  • Baylor ended its skid with a 76-70 win at No. 8 Oklahoma State, with Brady Heslip (20 points) and Gary Franklin Jr. (11) playing well in place of the injured Kenny Chery. As for the Cowboys, they need more from Marcus Smart.
  • Chris Collins’ Northwestern Wildcats won again, beating Minnesota 55-54 in Minneapolis with Drew Crawford scoring 17 points to lead the way.
  • Halil Kanacevic scored 18 points to lead Saint Joseph’s to a 73-68 win over No. 21 UMass in Philadelphia. The Minutemen, who began A-10 play 3-0, are now 4-3.
  • Gabriel Olaseni established new career highs with 15 points and 12 rebounds as No. 15 Iowa beat Illinois, 81-74.
  • Kevin Olekaibe and Deville Smith made key plays down the stretch to lead UNLV to a 73-69 win over Boise State. Dave Rice’s Runnin’ Rebels moved to 6-3 in Mountain West play.
  • Tyler Haws scored 33 points to lead BYU to an 84-71 win over Saint Mary’s, moving into a tie for second place in the WCC with San Francisco.

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