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College basketball: No. 7 Duke outlasts North Carolina; No. 4 SDSU goes to 24-0

Duke's Wendell Moore, right, and teammate Jordan Goldwire react after Moore's winning basket Feb. 8, 2020.
Duke’s Wendell Moore, right, and teammate Jordan Goldwire react after Moore’s winning basket Saturday.
(Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)
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Freshman Wendell Moore scored on a putback as time expired to help No. 7 Duke rally past North Carolina 98-96 in overtime in a wild renewal of the rivalry Saturday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Moore’s follow of Tre Jones’ missed off-balance jumper finally ended this one, a game that saw the Blue Devils rally from 13 down in the final 4½ minutes of regulation. Jones forced overtime, hitting a contested jumper at the regulation horn after corralling his own intentionally missed free throw.

Jones finished with 28 points to lead Duke (20-3, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which trailed most of the night and led for only 1:47 of game action.

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“He was at another level tonight,” Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We won because of that kid.”

Cole Anthony scored 24 points to lead the Tar Heels (10-13, 3-9), who appeared unexpectedly in control of this one much of the way — only to be undone by missed free throws and an inability to come up with one or two more clutch plays to close this one out.

A disputed no-call in the final seconds of overtime gave Duke the ball and its chance to win. After a driving basket by Moore brought the Blue Devils to within 96-95 with 12 seconds left, the Tar Heels tried to inbound the ball to Andrew Platek — only to see Moore knock the ball away and off Platek while making contact near the sideline.

Jones drew a foul with 6.6 seconds left on a drive and hit the first free throw to make it 96-all, but he missed the second only to have the rebound batted out beyond the arc. The Blue Devils got it back, and Jones tried to follow his overtime-forcing shot with an even bigger one.

He missed, but Moore was right at the rim for an easy putback at the horn, sending the Blue Devils spilling from their bench onto the court to celebrate one of the wildest games in the rivalry’s recent history.

“If you don’t care who won the game, you had to enjoy that as a big-time college basketball game,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “I care who won the game, so I did not enjoy the final outcome.”

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Colorado overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to beat visiting Stanford 81-74; the Cardinal’s Oscar Da Silva needed stitches after a scary fall.

Feb. 8, 2020

No. 4 San Diego State 89, at Air Force 74: KJ Feagin scored 21 points, hitting five three-pointers, and the Aztecs (24-0, 13-0 Mountain West) remained the nation’s lone unbeaten team by beating the Falcons (9-15, 3-9) in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Jordan Schakel had 18 points, Malachi Flynn 17 and Matt Mitchell 16 for San Diego State. The Aztecs’ season-opening run is the nation’s best since the 2016-17 Gonzaga team began the year 29-0.

The Aztecs’ 13-0 conference opening is also the best start to a season in Mountain West history.

Chris Joyce scored 23 points to lead Air Force, which fell to 4-86 against ranked opponents. The Aztecs tied for the highest ranked opponent to play Air Force at Clune Arena. The Falcons hosted No. 4 ranked Utah there on Jan. 22, 1998.

Lavelle Scottie had 16 points for the Falcons, who lost their sixth straight.

at No. 1 Baylor 78, Oklahoma State 70: MaCio Teague scored 24 points to lead five players in double figures for the Bears (21-1, 10-0 Big 12 Conference), who stretched their winning streak to 20 with a victory over the Cowboys (11-12, 1-9) in Waco, Texas.

Teague hit six consecutive free throws in the final 14 seconds, including four after frustrated Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton Jr. was assessed two consecutive technical fouls and ejected from the game. Jared Butler added 15 points for Baylor.

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Lindy Waters III , playing with a protective mask after he missed the Cowboys’ last game because of a fracture near his sinus area, had 16 points.

No. 2 Gonzaga 90, at St. Mary’s 60: Drew Timme scored 20 points in Moraga, Calif., and the Bulldogs (25-1, 11-0 West Coast Conference) made 14 of their first 15 shots to send the Gaels (20-6, 7-4) to their worst home loss in 19 years.

Gonzaga turned the highly anticipated showdown between the fierce rivals into a laugher by taking a 20-point lead midway through the first half and never letting up after that.

This was the first meeting between the teams since the Gaels shocked the top-ranked Bulldogs 60-47 in the conference tournament final last March.

The loss was the most lopsided at home in Gaels coach Randy Bennett’s 19 seasons, topping a 28-point defeat to Gonzaga in 2014. The last time the Gaels lost by more points at home came in a 102-48 defeat to the Bulldogs during a 2-27 season in 2001.

Killian Tillie scored 19 points and Filip Petrusev added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Gonzaga.

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Jordan Ford had 23 points to lead St. Mary’s.

No. 3 Kansas 60, at Texas Christian 46: Udoka Azubuike had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the Jayhawks (20-3, 9-1 Big 12) matched an NCAA record with their 31st consecutive 20-win season, beating the Horned Frogs (13-10, 4-6) in Fort Worth for coach Bill Self’s 700th career victory.

Devon Dotson added 18 points and 11 assists as Kansas joined North Carolina (1971 to 2001) as the only teams to win 20 games in 31 consecutive seasons.

Desmond Bane had 20 points for TCU (13-10, 4-6), which has lost five in a row. RJ Nembhard had 11 points.

Six weeks after his 57th birthday, Self became the second-youngest coach in NCAA history to reach 700 wins. Bob Knight was 56 when he got his 700th win.

at No. 5 Louisville 80, Virginia 73: Steven Enoch scored 13 points, including two key free throws with 2:47 remaining, and the Cardinals (21-3, 12-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) earned their 10th consecutive victory with a win over the Cavaliers (15-7, 7-5) in Louisville, Ky.

Louisville led most of the way before Virginia stormed back to go ahead 70-68 on Kihei Clark’s two technical free throws with 3:25 left. David Johnson’s jumper tied it before Enoch’s two free throws put the Cardinals ahead for good.

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Jordan Nwora had 22 points for Louisville, which finished shooting 51% despite hitting just 37% in the second half.

Tomas Woldetensae had 20 of his 27 points in the second half for Virginia (15-7, 7-5).

Former Indiana coach Bob Knight, 79, made an emotional return to Assembly Hall for the Hoosiers’ game against Purdue on Saturday.

Feb. 8, 2020

at No. 6 Dayton 71, St. Louis 65: Obi Toppin scored 17 points and Jalen Crutcher led a second-half rally as the Flyers (21-2, 10-0) defeated the Billikens (17-7, 6-5) in Dayton, Ohio, and remained unbeaten atop the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Dayton has won 12 straight, vaulting to its highest ranking in 53 years. St. Louis has given the Flyers their two closest calls.

Crutcher’s last-second three-pointer in overtime rallied the Flyers to a 78-76 victory Jan. 17 on the Billikens’ court. He scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half as Dayton broke open a tight game.

Jordan Goodwin led St. Louis with 22 points.

at No. 8 Florida State 99, Miami 81: M.J. Walker and Patrick Williams each scored 14 points to lead the Seminoles (20-3, 10-2 ACC) past the Hurricanes (11-12, 3-10) in Tallahassee, Fla.

Devin Vassell had 13 points for Florida State, which connected on 13 of 26 three-point attempts.

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Isaiah Wong had a career-high 23 points on eight-for-12 shooting for Miami.

The Seminoles outrebounded the Hurricanes 46-24.

No. 12 Seton Hall 70, at No. 10 Villanova 64: Myles Powell had 19 points, Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half, and the Big East-leading Pirates (18-5, 10-1) snapped a 17-game road skid to the Wildcats (17-6, 7-4) with a victory in Philadelphia.

Quincy McKnight added 14 points for Seton Hall, which had last won at Villanova on Feb. 26, 1994.

Saddiq Bey scored 22 points for the Wildcats, who have lost three in a row.

at No. 11 Auburn 91, No. 18 Louisiana State 90 (OT): J’Von McCormick hit a floater with 0.1 seconds left in overtime, lifting Auburn (21-2, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) to a victory over LSU (17-6, 8-2) in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half and moved into a tie with LSU for the league lead. It’s Auburn’s third overtime win in the last four games, and this one took 18 three-pointers.

McCormick drove toward the basket in the final moments for the game winner. It came after Skylar Mays and Emmitt Williams led an LSU comeback from a quick seven-point deficit in the extra period.

Samir Doughty led Auburn with 26 points. McCormick had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

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Mays led all scorers with 30 points and also collected eight assists and seven rebounds. He scored nine in overtime.

at Oklahoma 69, No. 13 West Virginia 59: Kristian Doolittle scored 27 points for the Sooners (15-8, 5-5 Big 12) and played a critical role in helping overcome defensive pressure by the Mountaineers (18-5, 6-4).

Though Oklahoma finished with 19 turnovers, much of West Virginia’s defensive success happened late, after the Sooners already had built an 18-point lead.

Doolittle also grabbed 12 rebounds. Brady Manek added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Jermaine Haley led the Mountaineers with 15 points.

No. 15 Kentucky 77, at Tennessee 64: Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points, and the Wildcats (18-5, 8-2 SEC) beat the Volunteers (13-10, 5-5) in Knoxville, Tenn., to win for the sixth time in seven games.

Kentucky defeated Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time in Rick Barnes’ five-season tenure as Volunteers coach.

Tennessee had won its last four home games with Kentucky, including two instances in which the unranked Vols beat a ranked Wildcats squad.

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Quickley was one of five Kentucky players to score in double figures. Tyrese Maxey and Nick Richards each had 15 points.

Santiago Vescovi scored 18 points for Tennessee, which lost for the fourth time in its last five games.

Not every NBA team has fully embraced Houston’s new attitude, one in which height can be subbed out for more shooting.

Feb. 8, 2020

at Michigan 77, No. 16 Michigan State 68: Isaiah Livers scored 14 points in his return to the lineup, leading the Wolverines (14-9, 5-7 Big Ten) to a victory over the Spartans (16-8, 8-5) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Livers injured his groin Dec. 21 and missed nine of the next 10 games, but he was in the starting lineup and helped Michigan salvage a split of the regular-season series against its in-state rival. Michigan also snapped a three-game home skid.

Cassius Winston, who scored 32 points in Michigan State’s 87-69 win over the Wolverines last month, had 20 in the rematch but shot just five for 18 from the field. The Spartans have lost three straight.

at No. 17 Iowa 96, Nebraska 72: Joe Wieskamp scored a career-high 30 points and Luka Garza added 22 to help the Hawkeyes (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) bounce back from their worst loss of the season with a win over the Cornhuskers (7-16, 2-10) in Iowa City, Iowa.

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Garza and Wieskamp came into the game averaging a combined 38 points per game, the sixth-best scoring duo in NCAA Division I play.

It was the ninth consecutive Big Ten game of 20 or more points for Garza, who leads the conference in scoring.

Iowa was coming off a 104-68 loss at Purdue on Wednesday.

UCLA coach Cori Close, who won her 100th Pac-12 game on Friday, said “potential doesn’t mean a whole lot unless it’s actualized on a consistent basis.”

Feb. 8, 2020

at No. 21 Creighton 94, St. John’s 82: Marcus Zegarowski scored 23 points to lead six Creighton players in double figures, and the Bluejays (18-6, 7-4 Big East) beat the Red Storm (13-11, 2-9) in Omaha.

Creighton shot a season-best 60% from the field and matched its season high with 13 three-pointers but couldn’t separate from St. John’s until the middle of the second half. That’s when Zegarowski scored on a drive and a three on back-to-back possessions as the lead grew to 17 points.

Marcellus Earlington scored a career-high 25 points for the Red Storm.

at No. 22 Penn State 83, Minnesota 77: Lamar Stevens scored a career-high 33 points, powering the Nittany Lions (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten) past the Gophers (12-11, 6-7) in State College, Pa., for their sixth straight win.

Penn State snapped a five-game skid to Minnesota.

Daniel Oturu had a career-high 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Golden Gophers, who lost their second straight. Marcus Carr added 20 points.

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