EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — L.J. Cason scored 13 of his 18 points after halftime, helping No. 2 Michigan rally for an 87-75 victory over Nick Martinelli and Northwestern on Wednesday night.
Yaxel Lendeborg added 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Wolverines (23-1, 13-1 Big Ten) erased a 16-point deficit in the second half of their ninth consecutive victory. Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara and Trey McKenney each scored 12 points.
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Michigan grabbed control with a 15-2 run. Lendeborg made a tiebreaking layup with 5:51 left, and Mara’s alley-oop jam off a pass from Cason gave the Wolverines a 75-69 lead with 4:43 remaining.
Michigan shot 55% (16 for 29) while outscoring Northwestern 52-31 in the second half of its 19th double-digit win this season.
Jayden Reid scored 20 points for the Wildcats in their fourth consecutive loss. Martinelli finished with 18 on 5-for-22 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.
Northwestern used an 8-1 run to open a 58-42 lead with 14:22 left. Angelo Ciaravino capped the spurt with a jumper in the paint.
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Michigan then got back in the game by scoring 16 of the next 18 points. Johnson’s alley-oop dunk trimmed Northwestern’s advantage to 60-58 with 9:38 to go, delighting a sizeable contingent of Michigan fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
NO. 6 UCONN 80, BUTLER 70
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Solo Ball scored 24 points and Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as UConn held off Butler for a victory.
Ball was 6 of 12 from 3-point range while Huskies guard Braylon Mullins scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half as Indiana’s reigning Mr. Basketball returned to his home state for the first time as a college player. UConn (23-2, 13-1 Big East) rebounded from Friday night’s loss at St. John’s and moved a half-game ahead of the Red Storm atop the conference standings.
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Butler was led by Drayton Jones with 15 points. Yohan Traore added 14 as the Bulldogs (13-12, 4-10) lost their fifth in a row.
It was an uncharacteristic game for coach Dan Hurley’s UConn squad.
Alex Karaban spent most of the first half on the bench after drawing two fouls in the first 7 1/2 minutes and finished with six points and five rebounds.
Karaban’s teammates had their own foul trouble in the second half as Butler played almost the final 9 1/2 minutes in the bonus. As a result, each time the Huskies looked as though they might take control, the Bulldogs answered — until UConn’s final flurry.
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NO. 14 FLORIDA 86, GEORGIA 66
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Xaivian Lee scored 18 points and Florida finally found its touch from 3-point range, leading from the opening tip for a victory over Georgia.
The Gators (18-6, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) are hitting their stride with March just a few weeks away. The reigning national champions have won nine of 10 games — all but one of those victories by double-digit margins — and are all alone atop the league standings.
Georgia (17-7, 5-6) clearly missed top scorer Jeremiah Wilkinson, who sat out because of a shoulder injury. The Bulldogs simply didn’t have enough firepower without their sophomore guard, who is averaging 17.1 points.
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Blue Cain led Georgia with 17 points.
NO. 16 TEXAS TECH 78, COLORADO 44
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Donovan Atwell scored 20 points with six 3-pointers and JT Toppin matched a career high with 18 rebounds in his 46th career double-double as Texas Tech blew out Colorado.
Toppin, the Big 12’s top rebounder at 10.9 per game, also had 16 points in his league-high 15th double-double this season and 34th in 56 games since arriving at Texas Tech from New Mexico before last season. Christian Anderson added 14 points and seven assists, and Jaylen Petty scored 12 for the Red Raiders (18-6, 8-3).
Isaiah Johnson had 13 points and Ian Inman added 12 for Colorado (14-11, 4-8). The Buffaloes shot a season-worst 29.1% (16 for 55) from the field, including 24% (6 of 25) on 3-pointers.
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Colorado’s only lead came when Barrington Hargress made its first shot of the game for a 2-0 score. Atwell put the Red Raiders ahead to stay with his first 3, and they led 39-22 at halftime. Then they scored the first eight points after the break, maintaining at least a 20-point lead the rest of the way.
VIRGINIA TECH 76, NO. 20 CLEMSON 66
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Jailen Bedford scored 23 points, Ben Hammond had 17 of his 19 points in the second half and Virginia Tech knocked Clemson out of a first-place Atlantic Coast Conference tie with No. 4 Duke, beating the Tigers.
Bedford was the first-half spark with Hammond taking over after halftime as the Hokies (17-8, 6-6) snapped a two-game losing streak with their first win at Clemson since coach Mike Young’s first season in 2019-20.
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The Tigers (20-5, 10-2) moved into tie for the top after the Blue Devils’ drama-filled loss to rival North Carolina on Saturday night. But Virginia Tech used an 11-5 run, fueled by Bradford’s eight points, to close the first half up 40-33.
Clemson got to 40-38 early on in the second half, but gradually fell behind by 12 points, 52-40, on Hammond’s second 3-pointer. The Tigers closed to 69-64 on Carter Welling’s three-point play with 2:36 remaining. Bedford followed with his fourth 3-pointer to thwart Clemson’s comeback hopes.
