College basketball scores: Ranked teams can’t escape evening slate
Kentucky, Iowa State, Michigan State, Saint Louis, Texas and Creighton all lost.
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Despite winning seven out of eight games in the heart of SEC play, the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats are suddenly no longer a lock for the second seed in the conference tournament.
Brenton Williams scored 24 points to lift South Carolina to an upset over Kentucky at home on Saturday, giving the Wildcats their third loss in four games.
Kentucky coach John Calipari was ejected midway through the second half, and although his team responded with a run to bring them closer, it was not enough. Williams and Sindarius Thornwell each hit two free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the win for the Gamecocks.
Aaron Harrison had 21 points to lead the Wildcats, while Julius Randle had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Kentucky out-rebounded South Carolina 46-28, but shot just 27 percent for the game.
Kansas State 80, No. 15 Iowa State 73
Kansas State took a huge step closer to an NCAA Tournament bid on Saturday by knocking off a ranked team for the sixth time this season. The Wildcats earned a season split with the Cyclones after falling by six in Ames in January.
Melvin Ejim (30 points) and DeAndre Kane (24 points) led Iowa State, but no other Cyclone scored more than eight points. Five Kansas State players scored in double figures, led by Shane Southwell, who had 13.
Illinois 53, No. 18 Michigan State 46
After suffering another loss on Saturday, Michigan State is suddenly reeling, having dropped three out of four and six out of 10 games.
Gary Harris led all scorers with 19 points, mainly on five three-pointers, but the Spartans also turned the ball over 16 times and did not get any major contributions elsewhere.
Tracy Abrams had 12 points, five steals and four assists for Illinois, which has now won three in a row. Still, the Illini might need to win the Big Ten Tournament to secure an NCAA Tournament bid.
VCU 67, No. 10 Saint Louis 56
The Billikens started the Atlantic 10 season 12-0, but have now lost two straight games with only two more remaining.
The Rams' vaunted havoc defense forced 17 Saint Louis turnovers while Treveon Graham led VCU with 17 points to go along with three steals. Jordair Jett had 18 to lead the Billikens.
VCU is now 14-0 at home this season and has climbed to third place in the A-10.
Oklahoma 77, No. 24 Texas 65
The Sooners moved into a four-way tie for second place in the Big 12 with a 12-point win at home over the Longhorns to complete a season sweep.
Oklahoma led by as many as 17 in the second half and was led by Isaiah Cousins, who scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Cameron Ridley had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Texas in the loss.
Texas has now lost three of its last four and will likely fall out of the Top 25 when polls are released on Monday.
Xavier 75, No. 9 Creighton 69
Doug McDermott had 27 points and 12 rebounds, but he could not carry the Bluejays to the road win on Saturday as Xavier picked up a much-needed win and probably stayed on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
The Musketeers notched their 10th Big East win behind 21 points from Semaj Christian, who played the entire game. Justin Martin had a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
Creighton now moves to a half-game behind Villanova for first place in the conference despite having swept the Wildcats in convincing fashion.
No. 16 Michigan 66, Minnesota 56
The Wolverines were the lone ranked team to survive the early-evening games, and they did so behind another big night from Nik Stauskas. He had 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three to lead all scorers and account for more than half of Michigan’s makes from beyond the arc.
The loss was a huge hit for Minnesota, which has now lost three out of four and might be on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament, though there is still time to change that. Austin Hollins had 16 points to lead the Golden Gophers.
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