College Basketball Saturday: Michigan Knocks Off Ohio State

The Connecticut women's basketball team was going for its 100th consecutive home victory on Saturday. St. John's had other ideas, and the Red Storm's late three gave them a hard-earned 57-56 victory to snap the Huskies' 99-game home winning streak.

Shenneika Smith's three-pointer with eight seconds left in the game gave the Red Storm the lead for good, and Bria Hartley's attempt at a game-winner at the buzzer caught iron, ending a UConn winning streak against St. John's at home that dated to the Reagan administration. Smith had 11 points for St. John's, and Nadirah McKenith and Da'Shena Stevens shared the team scoring lead with 15 points apiece.

Hartley was the only Husky starter to register double figures in points (10), but both Kalenna Mosqueda-Lewis (12 points) and Kiah Stokes (11 points) broke the barrier off the bench. But the Huskies committed 18 turnovers, and made just five of 16 threes, leading them to their first home loss to an unranked team since March 1993.

The loss also came on the same day as a loss by the UConn men's basketball team — the first time since February 1993 that both the men's and women's squads have faltered at home on the same day.

For more on UConn, head to The UConn Blog; for more on St. John's, visit Rumble In the Garden.

Big Ten basketball games are usually more physical than the average game, and rivalry games are usually more physical than the average game, so it should come as no surprise that the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines played something that resembled rugby on Saturday night. The referees let a lot go and Michigan seemed to benefit from the way the game was called. However, it was not physical play or officiating, but big shots that gave them the 56-51 victory at the end.

Deshaun Thomas had a massive game for the Buckeyes with 25 points and 13 rebounds, while Jared Sullinger chipped in with a respectable 14 and eight. They didn't get any help from their teammates, however; the rest of the Ohio State team combined for just 12 points, including none off the bench.

Jordan Morgan had a double-double, while Trey Burke made the clinching bucket to make it a two possession game in the final seconds. Stu Douglass and Zack Novak also made big shots late, hitting back-to-back step-back jumpers late in the second half to keep Michigan's lead at five points.

Ohio State drops to 10-4 in the very competitive Big Ten, while Michigan moves up to 10-4. The Wolverines and Buckeyes are a half-game behind Michigan State in the conference standings, and the Spartans play Purdue on Sunday.

For more on the two teams, check out Ohio State Buckeyes blog Along The Olentangy and Michigan Wolverines blog Maize 'n' Brew.

Kansas bolstered its resume and resumed its charge toward a Big 12 title with an easy 83-50 win over Texas Tech on Saturday.

The Red Raiders were no challenge for the No. 4 Jayhawks, who led 44-22 at halftime. National Player of the Year candidate Thomas Robinson paced the Jayhawks with 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, leading Kansas in all three categories.

All five Kansas starters had at least six points, and Travis Releford, Conner Teahan, and Kevin Young all joined Robinson in double figures. The Jayhawks also had 20 assists on 27 made field goals.

Texas Tech, on the other hand, struggled to get anything going. Javarez Willis led all scorers with 17 points, but was one of just five Red Raiders to score. Two starters, Robert Lewandowski and Luke Adams, failed to break into the box score with points.

For more on the Jayhawks, head to Rock Chalk Talk; for more on the Red Raiders, visit Double T Nation.

Georgetown took an 11-point halftime lead over Providence and clamped down on defense en route to a 63-53 win over the Friars on Saturday.

The Hoyas held Providence to a pitiful 25.9 percent from the field on the night, and the Friars got just 32 points from 14 field goals, making just four shots in a 20-point first half. Three Georgetown starters scored in double figures, and Hollis Thompson and Jason Clark both had 13 points to lead the Hoyas. Henry Sims added 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.

Providence's Vincent Council had 13 points, and Bryce Cotton added nine, but each player had more shots than points: Council went 4-for-14 from the field, and Cotton made three of his 13 threes and none of his four two-pointers. The only Providence player to make more than half of his shots was Ron Giplaye, who made three of four — on two dunks and a tip-in.

For more on the Hoyas, head to Casual Hoya.

Arkansas came into Saturday's game against Florida with a spotless 17-0 record in Fayetteville in the 2011-12 season, and left it as the victim of a 98-68 mauling at the teeth of the Gators.

Erving Walker led Florida with a career high 31 points, and the Gators also got 25 points from Kenny Boynton and 21 points and nine rebounds from Brad Beal in a victory that doubled as just their fourth road win and their biggest win over an SEC foe this year.

Florida got all but four of its points from its five starters — Patric Young and Erik Murphy combined for 17 points in the frontcourt — but Will Yeguete, returning to action after a concussion against Tennessee, had 11 rebounds off the bench. The Gators roared out to a 53-27 halftime lead, buoyed by nine threes in the first half, and cruised in the second.

Arkansas' B.J. Young matched Walker's 31 points, but the only other Razorback in double figures was Devonta Allen, who had 11. And Arkansas sent Florida to the line 34 times with 27 fouls and was outrebounded 38-21.

For more on the Gators, visit Alligator Army. For more on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.

Isaiah Canaan scored a game-high 23 points while shooting 5-for-8 from three-point range to lead No. 16 Murray State past No. 21 Saint Mary's, 65-51, at CFSB Center.

Donte Poole added 11 points and six rebounds for Murray State (26-1), which was playing its first game as a ranked team against a ranked opponent.

Ivan Aska and Ed Daniel netted eight points apiece in the Racers' third straight win after their lone loss of the season. The Racers have already clinched the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title, but needed a few more quality wins since beating Memphis in early December.

Matthew Dellavedova was the lone member of Saint Mary's (23-5) to reach double digits with 17 points as the Gaels dropped their third contest in four tries. Dellavedova also had six assists, giving him 512 for his career and making him the all-time leader for Saint Mary's.

For more Saturday college hoops action, stay with this stream.

One of college football's most storied rivalries has turned into one of college basketball's best biannual matchups. I'm talking, of course, about Michigan-Ohio State. Saturday night, the No. 17 Michigan Wolverines will try to beat the No. 6 Ohio St. Buckeyes for the first time in their last seven tries.

The key matchup in this game will be the battle of the two best point guards in the Big Ten — Ohio State's Aaron Craft and Michigan's Trey Burke. Burke, a freshman, has been an offensive force for the Wolverines, averaging 14 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. Craft, on the other hand, might be the best point guard defender in the whole country. He plays intelligent, foul-free man-to-man, and uses superior quickness to prevent guards like Burke from penetrating.

If Michigan wants to beat the Buckeyes, big man Jordan Morgan will have to contain Ohio State's Jared Sullinger down low. Morgan has been known to get into foul trouble, but after him, the Wolverines are desperately small and will get dominated on the block by the big bodies of the Buckeyes.

Game Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 18, 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN (National)

For more on these two teams, visit Michigan blog Maize N Brew and Ohio State blog Along The Olentagy. Also make sure to visit Big 10 blog Off Tackle Empire.

To say that Illinois Fighting Illini and their head coach Bruce Weber have been struggling for the past couple weeks would be an understatement. And to say that their 80-57 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday was much worse than the score indicates tell you just how bad things have gotten.

It's the fifth-straight loss for the Illini and eighth of their last nine. It's also their fifth straight Big Ten road loss.

At one point during the first-half, Illinois led 24-16. Nebraska then commenced a 50-12 run that blew out the Illini and turned this one into a laugher, though not the kind many would have thought.

Bo Spencer scored 27 for the Huskers while D.J. Richardson led Illinois with 15 points.

It was as recently as Jan. 10 that the Illini were 15-3, 4-1 in the Big Ten, and seemed on their way to another solid season. Since then, the bottom has dropped out and Bruce Weber's job looks to be in serious peril.

After the game, Weber spoke to the media using the kind of broad-stroke terms that drive home just how defeated he and the team are at this point:

"The weight of the world is on our shoulders, and it just caved us in...it was..a snowball going, and it didn't stop...I'm so proud of them. I've enjoyed coaching them..If you went in that locker room you'd know that they care...We've got great kids. They care, we care, we've just gotta keep fighting, that's all we can do...they were making shots that they haven't made. Our kids did not quit. There's a lot of tears in the locker room."

To drive that final point home, Tom Dienhard tweeted about those tears and how they started before the Illini even made it into the locker room.

Meyers Leonard crying on the bench. #Illini #B1G

— Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) February 18, 2012

For more on Illinois, visit Hail To The Orange. For more on Nebraska, check out Corn Nation.

Michael Lyons poured in a game-high 27 points to go with four steals as Air Force knocked off 13th-ranked San Diego State, 58-56, on Saturday.

Max Yon finished with 10 points, while Mike Fitzgerald totaled seven points and seven rebounds for the Falcons (13-11, 3-7 MWC), who improved to 2-1 under new head coach Dave Pilipovich and have won two straight since dropping seven in a row.

Chase Tapley paced the Aztecs (20-6, 6-4) with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tim Shelton contributed a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Xavier Thames added nine points and five assists for San Diego State, which has dropped three straight with four games remaining. San Diego St. clearly missed scorer Jamaal Franklin, as the Aztecs shot just 34.6% from the field as a team.

For updates, head over to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of this matchup, head over the MWC blog Mountain West Connection. And for news and notes from around college hoops, visit SB Nation's NCAA basketball news hub.

Kentucky's offensive depth was too much for upset-minded Ole Miss. Terrence Jones posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, as the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats came away with a 77-62 win over the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday.

Jones was one of five Kentucky players in double figures. Doron Lamb paced the team with 16 points, Darius Miller scored 14, Kyle Wiltjer supplied 13 and Anthony Davis added 10 with four blocks.

The Wildcats (26-1, 12-0 SEC) won their 18th straight game and extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 50 games.

Terrance Henry had a game-high 18 points in the loss, the fourth in five games for Ole Miss (15-11, 5-7).

Murphy Holloway finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals in defeat.

It took Kentucky less than five minutes to build a double-digit lead, as Lamb hit a three-pointer to make it 16-5. But the Rebels battled back to go up 31-29 on a dunk by Demarco Cox with 4:48 left in the first half.

The Wildcats, though, drained three straight three-pointers -- two by Miller and one by Lamb -- to take a 43-35 halftime lead, and they never trailed following the break.

For more on the Wildcats, head over to A Sea of Blue. For more on the Rebs, visit Red Cup Rebellion.

The Clemson Tigers have never won against North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Entering the teams' Saturday afternoon clash in the Dean Dome, they were 0-55, and they weren't ever all that close to ending that unbelievable streak. The No. 8 Tar Heels cruised, separating themselves in the second half and winning 74-52.

Harrison Barnes was dominant in this one, scoring 24 points on 9-18 shooting with seven rebounds, playing the kind of game that has made NBA scouts drool over him for the last three years. The Heels dominated on the inside, out-rebounding the Tigers 37-23. John Henson, Tyler Zeller and Barnes combined for 22 of those 37 rebounds. Kendall Marshall continued his runaway candidacy for the Bob Cousy award for the nation's best point guard, amassing 13 assists and turning it over three times.

The Tigers needed a big performance from their best player, Milton Jennings, and he came up way short, scoring just nine points to go with five turnovers. He was dominated physically by the Tar Heels' massive front line all night. Point guard Andre Young was the only Tiger in double-digits with 13, but he shot just 5-13 from the field, typifying his team's performance as a whole.

For more on these two teams, visit Tar Heel blog Carolina March and Clemson blog Shakin The Southland.

The Big 12 has proved to be a conference where the home team has dominated all season, but the Kansas St. Wildcats went to Waco, Texas, Saturday afternoon and upended the No. 9 Baylor Bears, 57-56. Baylor (22-5, 9-5) had numerous opportunities in the final two minutes to take the lead but failed to score a single point -- a disappointing performance for a team that supposedly has national title aspirations.

The Wildcats (18-8, 7-7) got 15 points apiece from guards Angel Rodriguez and Rodney McGruder, who use head coach Frank Martin's ball-movement, aggressive style of basketball to their advantage. The Wildcats had 16 assists as a team on 24 made baskets, which makes the team's 15 turnovers a little more excusable (the win also helps).

Freshman Quincy Miller scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but missed a jumper with four seconds left in the game that would have given the Bears the victory. After a Pierre Jackson three-pointer with 2:15 to go to take a 56-55 lead, the Bears offense completely stagnated and couldn't get anything going. Quincy Acy, who was a defensive force down the stretch, scored 14 points but missed a layup with just over a minute left that could have taken the lead.

For more on these two teams, visit Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats and Baylor blog Our Daily Bears.

The Missouri Tigers won their seventh in a row and improved to 7-0 in the state of Texas on Saturday with a 71-62 win over Texas A&M. Mizzou is now 25-2 on the year under new head coach Frank Haith. The Tigers jumped out to a seven-point halftime lead and had too much offensive firepower in the second half for the Aggies.

Kim English led Mizzou with 21 points, hitting three three-pointers and going six of eight from the free-throw line. English was able to consistently penetrate and get into the lane and get to the line. Haith's four-guard attack was at it once again as Phil Pressey, Marcus Denmon, and Mike Dixon all scored in double figures in support of English. Dixon was very impressive off the bench, scoring 15 points and dishing six assists. Denmon and Pressey had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Led by their dominant guards, the Tigers shot 56 percent from the floor but committed 14 turnovers which kept A&M in it throughout.

Kris Middleton, who has been injured for much of the season, led the Aggies with 15 points while Jordan Green added 14. But this game was all about Mizzou's English, who scored his 21 on just 10 shots while grabbing six boards and four steals. He was all over the floor leading the Tigers to momentary sole possession of first place in the Big 12. Mizzou now hosts Kansas State on Tuesday night looking to avenge one of their two losses this season.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Tigers, visit Rock M Nation, SB Nation's Mizzou blog. For all your Texas A&M news, check out I Am The 12th Man, SB Nation's Aggies blog. Check out Big 12 Hoops for all your conference basketball news.

Ian Miller continues to be a boon for the Florida State Seminoles since returning from academic suspension in December. Since Jan. 10, he has helped the Noles to a 10-1 record, the latest victory coming Saturday against the N.C. State Wolfpack. Miller notched 17 points in the 76-62 win, and Florida State never trailed.

The Wolfpack struggled offensively throughout the game, committing 17 turnovers and shooting just 29.3 percent from the field. They were able to use their athleticism to force 31 free throw attempts, converting 25 of them. It wasn't enough to overcome the poor night shooting, however. Bernard James blocked four shots, and the Seminoles blocked nine as a team.

C.J. Leslie still managed to score 21 points on 8-for-14 from the field. Scott Wood and Richard Howell were a combined 2-for-16, however. James had 12 points, with Okaro White and Michael Snaer chipping in 10 points each. The Seminoles shot 49 percent for the game. They led by double digits throughout the second half.

For more on the Seminoles, head over to the SB Nation blog Tomahawk Nation. For more on the Wolfpack, check out Backing The Pack. Stay tuned to our college basketball hub for more results from around the country.

In a battle between two of the Mountain West's best teams, the New Mexico Lobos clamped down on the defensive end in the second half and blew out No. 11-ranked UNLV 65-45 in Albuquerque on Saturday. After trailing by one at the half, the Lobos held UNLV to just 18 points in the second to cruise to the comfortable "upset" win. They have now won their last seven games and lead the ranked Rebels by two games in the conference standings. UNLV has dropped three of their past four games.

Drew Gordon dominated the game for New Mexico, controlling the paint for a 20-20 performance. He scored 27 points on 13 of 22 from the floor while pulling down 20 rebounds against a Rebels front line that was simply overmatched. Gordon was the first MWC player with a 20-20 game in five years, putting up what could be the game of the year in the conference. Along with Gordon, the story of the game was New Mexico's defense which held UNLV to just 31 percent shooting from the floor and forced 15 turnovers.

New Mexico now travels to Colorado State while the Rebels will go looking for answers on Wednesday night when they host conference cellar dweller Boise State.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on New Mexico and UNLV, visit Mountain West Connection, SB Nation's MWC blog.

Tony Bennett's Virginia Cavaliers notched their twentieth win of the season on Saturday with an impressive 71-44 home win over Maryland. The Cavs, which had cracked the top twenty this season in the polls, had lost two in a row coming into their matchup with the Terps. After a 31-31 tie at halftime, UVA blitzed the Terps in the second half, holding them to just 13 points and blowing out Mark Turgeon's club.

Mike Scott, who's been a monster on the inside all season and a potential ACC Player of the Year, once again dominated the paint with 25 points against Maryland's overwhelmed front line. Scott also grabbed seven boards in the winning effort. But it was a slew of role players that helped build a double digit lead for the Cavs in the second half. Sammy Zeglinski and Malcolm Brogdon scored 11 and 14 points, respectively. They were hitting from long-range and combined with Scott for constant inside-outside pressure.

Maryland was simply out of gas, trying to come back on one day's rest after Thursday night's win over Boston College. The ACC's leading scorer Terrell Stoglin, was 0 for 7 in the second half and went scoreless after scoring 13 points in the first. As a team, the Terps shot a miserable 27 percent from the the floor - at one point, scoring only two points in nearly an 11 minute stretch.

Virginia now plays state rival Virginia Tech on Tuesday night while the Terps host Miami looking to get their offense back on track.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Terps, visit Testudo Times, SB Nation's Maryland blog. For more on the Cavaliers, visit Streaking The Lawn, SB Nation's UVA blog.

The Wichita State Shockers put on a clinic Saturday, shooting 80 percent from the field during the second half of their 91-74 road win over the Davidson Wildcats. Joe Ragland finished with 30 points, just one short of a career high. The Shockers were up just 39-38 at halftime, but the senior's big day paved the way for a 52-point second half.

Davidson forward Jake Cohen scored 25 points despite playing just 19 minutes due to foul trouble. If he had been able to stay in the game, the Wildcats may have been able to keep pace with the Shockers. Instead, they were dominated in the paint. The Shockers outscored the Wildcats 58-28 inside, and held a 33-22 advantage on the boards.

The win solidified the Shockers' place atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings. At 24-4 overall and 14-2 in the MVC, they currently sit two games ahead of Creighton with two games left in the regular season.

For more results from around the country, head over to SB Nation's college basketball hub.

The Louisville Cardinals rebounded from their heartbreaking one-point loss to Syracuse this week with a 90-82 win over DePaul on Saturday. The Cardinals were not ready to play and came out flat in Chicago, as Oliver Purnell's team kept it close for the full 40 minutes. DePaul, just 2-11 in the conference, has played every conference opponent close this season, with the exception of UConn. The Cardinials trailed by ten points at the break but stepped up their defensive effort and on-ball pressure to get back in it.

After falling behind, the Blue Demons staged a final minute comeback to force overtime. Down four with 40 seconds to play, Donnavan Kirk drilled a three-pointer to cut it to one. Louisville's Chris Smith then split a pair of free-throws and Charles McKinney took it down the left wing and got to the rim, evening it up at 77 with a layup in traffic. But in overtime, the Cardinals would keep up the defensive pressure, holding DePaul to just five points and closing out an eight-point win.

Kyle Kuric led Rick Pitino's club with 25 points. Kuric carried Louisville on the offensive end, hitting five three-pointers, including two huge treys on consecutive possessions that swung the Cards from down three to up three with five minutes to play. Russ Smith was also big off the bench, chipping in 18 points and hitting three of six from behind the arc. Smith was big in overtime, scoring four of Louisville's first six points to build a lead. Louisville, which was plagued by poor free-throw shooting against Syracuse, was just 13 of 20 from the charity stripe, which kept DePaul close in the second half.

The Cardinals are now 9-5 in the Big East and will travel to Cincinnati on Thursday night.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on Louisville, visit Card Chronicle. For all your Big East basketball news, be sure to follow Big East Coast Bias.

Jae Crowder was often the biggest man on the court for the Marquette Golden Eagles, standing at just 6-6. Against a big, physical Connecticut Huskies team this should have been an issue, but Crowder managed to power his way to tie a career high with 29 points, adding 12 rebounds during Saturday's 79-64 win.

The Huskies ultimately couldn't keep pace with the Golden Eagles, pulling close at times but never taking the lead. Down 43-29 at halftim, UConn cut the score to 48-44 at the 15:34 mark of the second half. Darius Johnson-Odom promptly made two free throws off of a Ryan Boatright technical, which Crowder followed up with a 3-pointer to put the Huskies at bay. Johnson-Odom chipped in 24 points in the win, going 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc.

Free throws were a problem for the Huskies throughout the game. They went just 12-for-21 from the line, compared to 21-for-26 for Marquette. Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi have to be disappointed to combine for seven rebounds between them, standing at 6-9 and 6-10, respectively. Drummond struggled with fouls as he has all season. He fouled out with 2:42 left in the game while trying to slow down a charging Jae Crowder at the rim. Naturally, Crowder made the bucket and the free throw.

For more on the Huskies, head over to the SB Nation blog The UConn Blog. For more on the Golden Eagles, check out Anonymous Eagle. Stay tuned to our college basketball hub for more results from around the country.

The Michigan Wolverines haven't been in the hunt for the Big Ten regular season title for quite some time. With the Fab Five era erased from the record books, the Wolverines (19-7 overall, 9-4 Big Ten) are hunting for their first conference crown since 1986. They will have to get through the Ohio State Buckeyes (22-4, 10-3) on Saturday, however. The Buckeyes have won the last seven meetings between the two teams.

Michigan will look to avenge a 15-point loss to the Ohio State in Columbus in late January. The Buckeyes dominated inside, outrebounding the Wolverines 37-22 over 40 minutes. The performance helped make up for a 3-for-15 performance from beyond the 3-point line. If the Buckeyes find a shooting rhythm, things may be even worse for the Wolverines this time around.

Key for the Wolverines will be keeping big men Jordan Morgan and Evan Smotrycz out of foul trouble, something easier said than done while trying to defend center Jared Sullinger. Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. will also need to be on his game. The sophomore has been slumping throughout the season, however he seemed to get back on track going 5-for-9 from the field for 15 points against Illinois last Sunday.

Game Date/Time: Saturday, February 18, 9:00 p.m. ET

Location: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, MI

TV: ESPN/ESPN3

For more on the Buckeyes, head over to the SB Nation blog Along The Olentangy. For more on the Wolverines, check out Maize N Brew. Stay tuned to SB Nation's college basketball hub for more on the day's action.