LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Down 23 points with less than 10 minutes to play at No. 16 Louisville Tuesday night, No. 2 Duke unleashed a furious comeback to stun the Cardinals 71-69 in ACC basketball at the KFC Yum! Center.
Cam Reddish hit two free throws with 14.9 seconds left capping a game-ending 7-0 run for the Blue Devils (22-2, 10-1 ACC) to extend their winning streak to eight games.
Zion Williamson led Duke with 27 points and 12 rebounds despite playing the final 12:14 of the game with four fouls. Reddish had 22 points. RJ Barrett scored 13 points for Duke.
Louisville (17-8, 8-4) led 59-36 with 9:55 to play but hit only two field goals the rest of the game after the Blue Devils switched to a zone defense in the half court. Duke outscored the Cardinals 35-10 from that point forward to complete the second largest second-half comeback in school history.
On Dec. 30, 1950, the Blue Devils rallied from 31 points down in the second half to beat Tulane 74-72 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski admitted he feared Louisville could beat his team by 35 points as the Cardinals lead grew and grew in the second half. But his team, with four freshmen starters, didn’t let that happen.
“In the last 10 minutes we were spectacular,” Krzyzewski said. “In order to overcome that difference in competitive spirit, we needed to be spectacular because it was that pronounced.”
With the game tied at 69, Reddish was initially called for an offensive foul with 14.9 seconds left. But the officials reviewed the replay monitor to determine Louisville’s Ryan McMahon was inside the restricted area of the lane. That reversal gave Reddish two free throws which he sank to put Duke in front.
Louisville’s Christen Cunningham missed a shot in the lane with two seconds left. Williamson grabbed the rebound to seal the win for Duke.
Jordan Nwora scored 23 points to lead the Cardinals.
No. 19 LSU 73,
No. 5 KENTUCKY 71
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kavell Bigby-Williams’s tip-in at the buzzer lifted LSU to a win over Kentucky.
With the game tied after Keldon Johnson made two free throws with 6 seconds left, Skylar Mays drove the length of the court. His shot missed but Bigby-Williams got the offensive rebound and scored to give the Tigers their first win over the Wildcats since 2009. It was just the sixth time ever that LSU (20-4, 10-1 Southeastern Conference) has beaten Kentucky (20-4, 10-2).
Tremont Waters, who finished with 15 points to lead the Tigers, hit two free throws with 20 seconds left to give LSU a two-point lead before Johnson’s free throws tied it.
Naz Reid and Emmitt Williams scored 12 each and Mays had 11 for the Tigers.
PENN STATE 75,
No. 6 MICHIGAN 69
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Lamar Stevens scored 15 of his 26 points in the first half and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Penn State to an upset of Michigan.
Penn State pulled away in the first half as its star heated up and Michigan played the second without its coach.
Michigan coach John Beilein received back-to-back technical fouls and was ejected for arguing with officials as the teams entered the locker rooms after the first half.
The usually mild-mannered Beilein appeared to be upset after Penn State guard Jamari Wheeler barreled over Zavier Simpson to free up Rasir Bolton’s buzzer-beating layup. Beilein needed to be calmed down by assistants DeAndre Haynes and Saddi Washington as he approached the scorer’s table to argue, then again after he was assessed another violation as he was walking away.
Myles Dread chipped in 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers, for the Nittany Lions (9-15, 2-11 Big Ten). The win snapped Penn State’s eight-game skid against Michigan.
Charles Matthews scored 24 points and Jordan Poole added 17 for the Wolverines (22-3, 11-3) who never led after the first 2:24.
No. 10 MARQUETTE 92,
DEPAUL 73
CHICAGO — Markus Howard scored 36 points, Sam Hauser had 17 and Marquette cruised by DePaul.
Howard went 12 for 21 from the field and 8 for 10 at the free-throw line in another impressive performance. He has scored at least 30 points in four of his last five games.
Sacar Anim added 12 points as Marquette (21-4, 10-2 Big East) won its second straight game since a disappointing 70-69 loss to St. John’s.
It was mostly smooth sailing for the Golden Eagles all night long. Hauser went to the locker room after he was poked in his right eye with 6:51 left, but he returned to the bench to watch the final minute with his jubilant teammates.
No. 11 MICHIGAN STATE 67,
No. 20 WISCONSIN 59
MADISON, Wis. — Cassius Winston scored 23 points to help Michigan State beat Wisconsin.
In doing so, the Michigan State (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) star outdueled Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ, who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
At times, the game seemed like a contest between the two heavyweights as Winston seemed to answer every Happ hook shot with a floater or 3-pointer.
But Wisconsin (17-7, 9-4) staggered at home, going more than five minutes without a point as the Spartans put the game away.
No. 24 MARYLAND 70,
No. 12 PURDUE 56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Jalen Smith scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, and Maryland used a strong defensive performance to beat Purdue, ending the Boilermakers’ eight-game winning streak.
Down by eight at halftime, the Terrapins (19-6, 10-4 Big Ten) took the lead for the first time with 10 minutes left before pulling away. The comeback was fueled by Smith, Eric Alaya and fellow freshman Aaron Wiggins.
Maryland outscored Purdue 40-18 in the second half, limiting the Boilermakers to 1-for-16 shooting from beyond the arc.
Ayala scored 15, Anthony Cowan Jr. added 12 and Fernando Bruno had 12 points and 12 rebounds, his seventh straight double-double and 16th of the season. Wiggins scored 11 on 4-of-6 shooting.
Carsen Edwards scored 24 for Purdue (17-7, 10-3), but was limited to seven points after halftime on 2-for-13 shooting. The Boilermakers went 6 for 36 from the floor in the second half.
No. 18 KANSAS STATE 71, TEXAS 64
AUSTIN, Texas — Barry Brown and Xavier Sneed each scored 16 points, and Kansas State beat Texas for its ninth straight Big 12 victory.
Three other Wildcats scored in double figures, Dean Wade with 12 points, and Kamau Stokes and Makol Mawien with 11 apiece.
Kerwin Roach led Texas (14-11, 6-6 Big 12) with 17 points, and Courtney Ramey added 10.
Kansas State (19-5, 9-2 in Big 12) converted nearly 55 percent of its field goal attempts, including 56.5 in the second half.
No. 25 BUFFALO 76, AKRON 70
AKRON, Ohio — CJ Massinburg scored 21 points, Dontay Caruthers added 15 and Buffalo turned up its defensive intensity in the second half and held on to beat Akron, dropping the Zips to 0-31 against ranked teams.
The Bulls (21-3, 9-2 Mid-American Conference) were held to one of the lowest point totals this season, but the defending conference champions were able to do enough against the Zips (14-10, 6-5), ranked 13th nationally in scoring defense.
Caruthers came off the bench and gave the Bulls some solid minutes at both ends, drawing a charging foul during a key second-half stretch for Buffalo, which forced two 30-second clock violations after halftime.
Loren Cristian Jackson scored 20 and Tyler Cheese 16 for the Zips, who kept fighting and closed within 73-70 on Daniel Utomi’s 3-pointer with 16.3 seconds left.
