Robert Turner made two free throws with 16 seconds left to put Texas Tech on the verge of a huge upset at home over Kansas. But with the Jayhawks trailing by one in the final seconds, Andrew Wiggins came up with the biggest layup of his young collegiate career to win the game, 64-63.
College basketball scores: Kansas and Villanova survive on the road
Wednesday night featured several near upsets, but a few clutch plays helped ranked teams avoid disaster on the road.
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Spo
Kansas jumped out to a 17-7 lead behind consecutive threes from Wayne Selden and Andrew Wiggins, and held an advantage through the first half. But an 8-2 run from Texas Tech brought the Red Raiders to within a point by intermission.
In the second half, neither team led by more than four points, with the lead changing hands three times in the final 31 seconds.
Wiggins had 19 and Joel Embiid had 18 for Kansas, but no other Jayhawk scored more than six points. Five Red Raiders scored in double figures, led by 16 from Jordan Tolbert on 7-10 shooting.
No. 9 Villanova 82 Providence 79 (2 OT)
It took two overtimes, but Villanova was finally able to dispose of Providence despite some late heroics from the Friars at home.
Down 63-60 with 24 seconds to go in regulation, Providence forward LaDontae Henton hit a three to tie the game and force the first extra session.
The Friars took the lead in overtime less than a minute in on a three from Tyler Harris. That was the first Providence advantage since the score was 31-30 late in the first half, but the Wildcats stayed close and eventually took the lead back on a three from Darrum Hilliard to make it 72-70. Bryce Cotton responded with a layup with 38 second to go to force the second overtime.
For a moment, it looked like Cotton would provide the heroics again. With 29 seconds left in double overtime, he hit a three to tie the game at 79, but all that did was set up the game-winning play from Ryan Arcidiacono.
Arcidiacono led Villanova with 21 points and JayVaughn Pinkston had 20 more inside. Cotton had 22 and Kadeem Batts had 21 for Providence.
No. 14 Virginia 57 Virginia Tech 53
The Cavaliers continued the trend of ranked teams avoiding road upsets with a late comeback over their in-state rivals. The Hokies, now just 2-11 in the ACC, led by 11 with 14:43 to play, but Virginia went on a 13-3 run to pull to within a point just six minutes later.
In the final 3:27, Justin Anderson hit two threes and Joe Harris added another on three straight possessions to put the Cavaliers up by five, a lead they would never relinquish. In all, Virginia outscored Virginia Tech 23-6 in the game's final 14 minutes.
The win keeps Virginia just percentage points behind undefeated Syracuse for first place in the ACC, while Virginia Tech fell into sole possession of last place with a 2-11 record.
Despite shooting just 39 percent and getting out-rebounded, Virginia was able to hold on, partly by hitting nine shots from three and partly by forcing 14 Hokies turnovers while giving the ball up just seven times themselves.
No. 17 Iowa State 85 No. 19 Texas 76
In the only game of the night featuring two ranked teams, Iowa State protected its home court to win for the fifth time in six games. The Cyclones led for almost the entire night, fueled by three players scoring 20 or more points.
Melvin Ejim led the way with 25 on 9-14 shooting with eight rebounds. DeAndre Kane had 22 points and Georges Niang contributed 20 more. Isaiah Taylor led all scorers with 26 points for Texas in the loss.
Overall, the Longhorns were hampered by 33-percent shooting while allowing Iowa State to shoot 49 percent from the field. Iowa State climbed to within a game of Texas in the Big 12 standings with the win.
No. 18 Kentucky 84 Ole Miss 70
For a while, this one looked like a laugher. Kentucky built a 17-point halftime lead and extended it to 21 before Ole Miss came roaring back late.
Marshall Henderson hit four threes in the second half to fuel the comeback and Anthony Perez added another with just under two minutes left to bring the Rebels to within six points.
But the Wildcats held Ole Miss scoreless from there and made six free throws in the final minutes to keep the Rebels at bay. Julius Randle had 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead Kentucky. The Harrison twins combined for 27 points and James Young had 16 more. Jarvis Summers led the Rebels with 22.
No. 8 Duke 68 Georgia Tech 51
Duke never trailed and had little problem taking care of the Yellow Jackets Wednesday night for their fourth win in a row.
Jabari Parker had 16 points as the Blue Devils jumped out to an 18-8 lead and never looked back, leading by 16 at halftime.
The win gave the fifth-ranked team in the country 10 ACC victories this season heading into a showdown at rival North Carolina on Thursday. The Blue Devils turned the ball over just five times and shot 10-18 from three and the Yellow Jackets could not keep up. Robert Carter Jr. had 13 off the bench to lead Georgia Tech.
No. 11 Louisville 80 South Florida 54
The divide between the top and bottom halves of the American Athletic Conference appeared stronger than ever on Wednesday when Louisville dismantled the Bulls at home.
The Cardinals forced USF into 20 turnovers, including five each from Victor Rudd and John Egbunu. Rudd did lead all scorers with 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, but he had little support from his teammates.
Russ Smith had 19 as one of four Louisville players in double figures scoring. The win was the fifth in a row for the Cardinals, who remain a game back of Cincinnati for first place in the AAC. USF has lost four in a row and for the most part has not been able to compete with the top half of the conference.
No. 6 San Diego State 60 Utah State 55
The Aztecs appear to be back on track after dropping a game to Wyoming last week then struggling against Air Force. On Wednesday, they held Utah State to just 45 points and 34 percent shooting, not allowing any Aggie to record more than 10 points.
San Diego State wasn't exactly on fire from the field either, but Matt Shrigley hit four threes to contribute to his game-high 15 points. With Utah State struggling to do anything offensively, that was all the firepower the Aztecs needed.
San Diego State is now 11-1 in the Mountain West, but has two games remaining with New Mexico, the team directly behind it in the standings.
See More:
