College basketball roundup: Illinois uses swarming defense to upset No. 9 Michigan State 79-74

Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points, and Illinois used a swarming defense to upset No. 9 Michigan State 79-74 on Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill.

Giorgi Bezhanishvili scored 16 for Illinois (8-15, 4-8 in Big Ten) and Trent Frazier added 15 as the Illini handed the Spartans (18-5, 9-3) their third straight loss.

Cassius Winston led the Spartans with 21 points. Xavier Tillman added 16.

Illinois led for all but a three-minute stretch late in the game, pushing ahead by as many as 14 points before Michigan State rallied to take a 64-63 lead on Kenny Goins’ three-pointer with 6:21 remaining.

But Illinois, behind its defense, held on and took a 71-68 lead on Dosunmu’s three-pointer with 2:35 left. Dosunmu made another three with 1:57 remaining, and the Illini held on as the Spartans missed their last four field-goal attempts.

at No. 1. Tennessee 72, Missouri 60: Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams scored 13 points each as Tennessee (21-1, 9-0 SEC)extended its school-record winning streak to 17 games, the longest active winning streak of any Division I team.

at No. 2 Duke 80, Boston College 55: No. 2 Duke has the highest-scoring duo in the country — and if Cameron Reddish can stay hot, yet another effective scoring option.

Reddish scored 24 points, helping the Blue Devils pull away to beat Boston College 80-55 on Tuesday night.

Zion Williamson had 16 points and a season-best 17 rebounds, RJ Barrett finished with 19 points and Tre Jones added 11 points for Duke (20-2, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Williamson and Barrett average a combined 45.4 points — the most by two teammates in Division I.

at No. 5 Kentucky 76, South Carolina 48: Kentucky used a stellar defense to maintain its roll and throw South Carolina off kilter.

PJ Washington scored 20 points, and routed South Carolina 76-48 Tuesday night for its ninth consecutive victory.

The Wildcats (19-3, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) shot just 41 percent but held the Gamecocks to just 28 percent in the second half and 36 percent overall. It was the seventh time in eight games they’ve held an opponent below 40 percent. Kentucky outscored 17-4 over the final 5:14 to lead 39-28 at the break and stretched its advantage to 29 with 3:23 remaining.

No. 7 Michigan 77, at Rutgers 65: Coming off their worst game of the season, No. 7 Michigan did almost everything right to give coach John Beilein a school record-setting win on his 66th birthday.

Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis scored 23 points, Zavier Simpson came close to the triple-double and the Wolverines (21-2, 10-2 Big Ten) hit nine of their first 11 shots in opening a big lead and beating Rutgers 77-65 on Tuesday night.

at No. 8 North Carolina 113, North Carolina State 96: Luke Maye scored a season-high 31 points to go with 12 rebounds, and No. 8 North Carolina beat North Carolina State 113-96 on Tuesday night.

Freshman Coby White added 21 points for the Tar Heels (18-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who swept the regular-season set with their nearby rival for the 12th time in 16 seasons under Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams.

UNC was in control all night, shooting 56 percent while dominating the glass and repeatedly getting to the line. The Tar Heels led 56-40 by halftime and pushed that margin to 27 points in the opening minutes of the second half.

St. John’s 70, at No. 10 Marquette 69: Shamorie Ponds scored 28 points, including a go-ahead layup with 16 seconds left, as St. John’s (17-6, 5-5 Big East) ended Marquette’s eight-game winning streak. It was the Golden Eagles’ first defeat at their new home this season after 14 victories.

Marquette (19-4, 8-2), which trailed 49-34 early in the second half, took a 69-68 lead on a three-pointer by Sacar Amin with 32 seconds left. Marquette’s Markus Howard missed an off-balance three with 1.9 seconds left.

at Kansas State 74, No. 13. Kansas 67: Barry Brown scored 18 points, Xavier Sneed hit a crucial three-pointer with a minute to go, and Kansas State (17-5, 7-2) snapped a frustrating eight-game losing streak against its biggest rival.

Sneed finished with 14 points and Dean Wade added 12 for the Wildcats, who maintained their place atop the Big 12.

No. 22 Florida State 80, at Syracuse 62: Terance Mann scored 22 points, Mfiondu Kabengele added 18 and No. 22 Florida State beat Syracuse 80-62 on Tuesday night.

Florida State (17-5, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its fourth straight after starting conference play with four losses in five games, including consecutive setbacks on the road to Boston College and Pittsburgh.

Syracuse (16-7, 7-3 ACC) entered the game 2-3 against ranked teams, having beaten two on the road — Ohio State in late November and Duke three weeks ago. But the Orange fell far behind early against the Seminoles, rallied to within a point in the second half and then fizzled at the end.

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