Sunday's tests were no problem for the top ten trio of Syracuse, Duke and Michigan State. No. 18 Indiana didn't have as much luck against Iowa.
Check out the college basketball scoreboard for all of the day's results.
Although the Indiana Hoosiers have two of the most impressive home wins of the season, beating both No. 1 Kentucky and No. 7 Ohio State, it's been a different story away from Assembly Hall.
Their road woes continued on Sunday, when they lost 78-66 to a feisty Iowa Hawkeyes team.
Iowa, who beat No. 19 Michigan at home earlier in the season, raced out to a 37-26 half-time lead against No. 18 Indiana and never looked back.
Matt Gatens, their 6'5 215 pound senior guard, had a season-high 30 points on 10-18 shooting, including an eye-popping 7-of-10 from the three-point line.
Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller each had 15 points for the Hoosiers, who could never get their offense going against Iowa. Indiana shot only 37.7 percent from the floor and got only two points from Christian Watford, who normally gives the Hoosiers 12 points per game.
For more on Indiana basketball, check out The Crimson Quarry, while Black Heart Gold Pants has you covered for everything you need to know about Iowa athletics.
The Wisconsin Badgers were up as many as 20 points in the second half, but a 16-1 run by the Penn State Nittany Lions made made things interesting late. The Badgers shot extremely well from beyond the arc in the first half, but hit a customary cold patch during Penn State's run. Jared Berggren had eight points in the final 5:35 to end the funk, leading Wisconsin to a 65-55 victory.
The 6'10 center was deadly from beyond the arc, going 3-of-3 on the day to finish up with 13 points. Josh Gasser also had a nice night shooting, going 3-of-5 from long distance to lead Wisconsin with 15 points. For the night the Badgers were 11-of-22 from three-point range, besting their 42.6 percent shooting percentage from the field.
The uncharacteristically strong shooting night for Wisconsin was nearly undone by Nittany Lions point guard Tim Frazier, who finished with 20 points, eight of them coming during Penn State's big run. A lack of scoring depth plagued Penn State as it has all season, however, with only Jermaine Marshall managing to reach double digits aside from Frazier.
For more on the Badgers, head over to the SB Nation blog Bucky's 5th Quarter. For more on the Nittany Lions, check out Black Shoe Diaries. Stay tuned to SB Nation's college basketball hub for more results and news from around the country.
Since losing to Illinois on Jan. 31, the Michigan State Spartans have been on a warpath, reeling off five straight wins including victories over No. 17 Michigan, No. 15 Wisconsin, and No. 6 Ohio State. The Purdue Boilermakers were the latest victims to fall in front of MSU, losing 76-62 on Sunday to put the Spartans alone atop the Big Ten standings.
Draymond Green led the way for the Spartans, as he has throughout the winning streak. He did plenty of damage in the paint, hauling in 10 rebounds and dishing seven assists. He also spread his game to beyond the arc, making 3-of-4 three-point attempts for nine of his 20 points.
The Boilermakers kept the game tight through the first half, taking a 38-35 lead into the locker room. That's when they went cold, however, going more than six minutes without a point to start the second half. Robbie Hummel scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but a 1-of-9 performance from beyond the three-point line didn't help matters. Nor did a 38-27 rebounding advantage for Michigan State. The Spartans have been dominant on the boards this season, averaging 39.6 per game in the low-tempo Big Ten.
Austin Thornton added 17 points, and Branden Dawson had 15 on top of his 11 rebounds. The Spartans are now a full game ahead of Michigan and Ohio State in the conference, with Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio State left to close out the season.
For more on the Spartans, head over to the SB Nation blog The Only Colors. For more on the Boilermakers, check out Hammer And Rails. For more results and news from around the country, stay tuned to SB Nation's college basketball hub.
Scoop Jardine scored 17 points, including five big ones in the final three minutes, and No. 2 Syracuse escaped Louis Brown Athletic Center with a win against Rutgers, 74-64.
The Scarlet Knights hung tough with the Orange. But with Syracuse clinging to a 64-62 lead, Jardine hit a jumper and a three-pointer give a cushion and Syracuse hit its free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Orange bigs, Kris Joseph and Fab Melo, contributed at the offensive end combining for 24 points. But Rutgers forward Gilvydas Biruta finished with 21 points and seven rebounds to power the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers outrebounded the Orange, but the Scarlet Knights might have shot themselves out of a win, finishing just 3-of-18 from behind the three-point arc (16.7 percent).
For more on Syracuse, head over to our blog Troy Nunes Is an Absolute Magician; for more on Rutgers, check out On The Banks.
No. 5 Duke Vs. Boston College: Blue Devils Cruise In Chestnut Hill
The Duke Blue Devils rebounded from a midweek scare against North Carolina State with a resounding 75-50 road win against Boston College on Sunday.
Duke got double-digit points from Seth Curry (18 points), Austin Rivers (16 points, seven rebounds), and Andre Dawkins (13 points), and nine points and 10 rebounds from Miles Plumlee. The Blue Devils made 10 threes, more than making up for 18 turnovers.
The Devils' defense and rebounding carried the day. Duke held the Eagles to 34.1 percent shooting from the field, forced 14 BC turnovers and mauled Boston College on the boards with a staggering 42-20 edge.
With the victory, Duke remains in a three-way tie atop the ACC with Florida State and North Carolina. The Blue Devils meet the Seminoles in Tallahassee on Thursday.
For more on Duke, head to Duke Basketball Report; for more on Boston College, visit BC Interruption.
Feb 20 8:01a by Andy Hutchins - 0 comments