COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Minnesota Turns It Around Against Indiana

Minnesota never thought it was as bad as its 46-point loss to Indiana last month.

The Gophers made their point at Minneapolis on Wednesday night, beating the fourth-ranked Hoosiers, 71-67, to knock them out of a first-place tie with Ohio State in the Big Ten.

“We’re all sitting here quiet because we can’t really believe we beat a team like Indiana. It’s a dream come true to beat Indiana,” said Arriel McDonald, whose two free throws with 13 seconds left sealed the upset.

The Gophers (15-9, 7-4) had been pointing to this game since Jan. 9, when they lost, 96-50, to Indiana (17-4, 8-2) in their Big Ten season opener. It was the largest margin of defeat in school history.

“We try not to think of it as revenge,” McDonald said. “We expect to win at home. I think the first time, our younger guys didn’t realize what it took to compete in the Big Ten. Now they do.”

Two of those young players are freshmen Voshon Lenard, who scored 16 points, and Jayson Walton, who added 10.

Lenard’s three-pointer with 10:37 to play gave the Gophers a 50-49 lead. He then followed with a layup, and Walton later tipped in a shot to give Minnesota a 54-49 lead. The Gophers led the rest of the way, with Lenard scoring seven and Walton six of Minnesota’s last 24 points.

Colorado 57, No. 2 Oklahoma State 53--Colorado used a zone defense to hold Byron Houston to seven points, and the Buffaloes upset a ranked team in a Big Eight game at Boulder, Colo. for the second time in a row.

Donnie Boyce’s free throw with three seconds remaining sealed the victory, which came on the heels of an overtime victory over Oklahoma last week.

Colorado (11-9, 2-5) trailed, 30-22, at halftime but rallied behind the defense, which helped hold Houston well under his 20.9 scoring average.

The Cowboys (21-2, 5-2) had 20 turnovers and shot only 39%; Colorado finished at 47%.

Colorado took the lead for good at 47-45 with 5:54 remaining on a basket by Pancho Hodges.

No. 1 Duke 71, Georgia Tech 62--Grant Hill scored 20 points and Thomas Hill had 18 as the Blue Devils (19-1, 9-1) used their defense and exceptional second half free-throw shooting to turn back a mile upset bid by Georgia Tech (16-8, 4-6) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Atlanta.

Duke missed seven of its first eight free throws but hit 18 in a row at one stretch of the second half to maintain control.

Grant Hill had six points and Thomas Hill five as the Blue Devils built a 30-20 lead with 3:12 left in the half.

No. 4 Kansas 91, Iowa State 60--Adonis Jordan scored 25 points as the Jayhawks (18-2, 6-1) handed the Cyclones (17-6, 3-4) their 10th loss in a row at Allen Fieldhouse in a Big Eight game at Lawrence, Kan.

No. 9 Missouri 67, Kansas State 59--Anthony Peeler and Jamal Coleman each scored 19 points and the Tigers (17-3, 5-2) held off a challenge by the Wildcats (12-8, 2-5) at Columbia, Mo.

No. 11 Arkansas 91, Vanderbilt 71--Todd Day scored 25 points as the Razorbacks (18-5, 7-2) ended a two-game losing streak in a Southeastern Conference game at Fayetteville, Ark.

Vanderbilt (10-10, 2-7) led by as much as six in the early going, but the 21-3 spurt over five minutes gave Arkansas a 45-30 lead.

No. 12 Michigan State 76, Wisconsin 61-- Kris Weshinskey, relieving an ill Shawn Respert, had a personal-best 14 points at East Lansing, Mich. in the Big Ten victory over the Badgers (11-12, 2-8).

The Spartans (16-4, 6-4) played all but the first three minutes of the game without Respert, a redshirt freshman and their leading scorer, who was bothered by stomach cramps.

No. 17 Michigan 79, Iowa 74--Jimmy King scored seven of his 13 points in the final 3:09 to lead the Wolverines (15-5, 6-4) to their 11th victory in a row at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., in a Big Ten game.

The Hawkeyes (13-7, 5-5) were held to 39% shooting. In an earlier loss to Michigan, Iowa shot 35%

Georgetown 70, No. 18 Connecticut 63--Robert Churchwell scored 19 points and Alonzo Mourning had 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Hoyas (14-6, 7-4) handed the Huskies (16-5, 7-5) their fourth loss in a row in a Big East game at Hartford, Conn.

No. 19 Kentucky 107, No. 16 Alabama 83--Deron Feldhaus scored 10 points in a row in the second half at Lexington, Ky. where the Wildcats (17-5, 7-3) ended the Crimson Tide’s (19-5, 6-4) five-game winning streak in a Southeastern Conference game.

No. 24 Cincinnati 108, Brooklyn College 54--Anthony Buford scored 19 points and the Bearcats extended their winning streak to seven at Cincinnati.

Cincinnati (18-3), ranked for the first time in 14 years, overpowered and confused the Kingsmen (5-16).

OTHER GAMES

Stephen Howard scored 14 points and David Booth added 13 to lead DePaul to a 68-50 victory over Bradley at Rosemont, Ill. It was the fourth victory in a row for the Blue Demons. . . . Freddie Barnes made six free throws in the final minute to lift Penn State to a 67-64 victory over Butler at State College, Pa. . . . Rodney Rogers scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half to lead Wake Forest to a 60-48 victory over Clemson in an ACC game at Winston-Salem, N.C. . . . Providence forward Michael Smith scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Friars to a 73-51 Big East victory over Miami at Miami.