College basketball Saturday schedule, results

Louisville dominated the first half, leading 40-22 after twenty minutes. The Cardinals played particularly well on the defensive end, holding the Hilltoppers to 40 percent shooting from the field. Louisville shot 51 percent from the floor and forced 19 Western Kentucky turnovers.

This season’s rendition of St. Bonaventure vs. N.C. State wasn’t nearly as exciting as last year’s as the No. 25 Wolfpack dominated for essentially all 40 minutes to earn a 92-73 victory Saturday afternoon.

Despite being a blowout throughout, NC State head coach Mark Gottfried elected to only use an eight-man rotation until about the two-minute mark with last year’s barn burner still fresh in his mind.

The Jackrabbits led by four at halftime and were able to hold on late by simply shooting the ball better than the Lobos.

New Mexico forced the Jackrabbits into 18 turnovers but couldn’t get over their poor shooting game to prevent the upset.

Michigan State burst out of the gates to a 12-4 lead behind a raucous home crowd, but Texas quickly recovered and took control of the first half. The Longhorns opened up a 33-28 lead at halftime, with the Spartans’ only saving grace being the strong play of Nix, who scored 14 points in the half to keep his team afloat prior to their big second half.

Lewis finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 from the field. The Longhorns were hampered by turnover problems all game, coughing the ball up 18 times.

While there aren’t very many of the same faces from this April left on either No. 7 Ohio State or No. 9 Kansas’ rosters, both teams certainly know that their seasons start this Saturday in a Final Four rematch in Columbus.

For Ohio State, whose only test so far this season was No. 2 Duke back in November, a win at home would give some added credibility to their top-ten ranking and prepare them for a brutal slate ahead in the Big Ten conference.

College basketball fans have waited patiently over the past two weeks as major coach after major coach has used “finals” and “the holidays” as excuses for his team’s time away from the court or the absence of quality opponents.

That patience pays off today.

Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. ET at the Scottrade Center and the game will be televised on ESPN 2.