Morning Dribble: No. 2 Syracuse, No. 6 Michigan State Grind Out Victories

Losers of their last three games, the San Diego St. Aztecs turned things around on Wednesday night with a 67-58 overtime victory against the Wyoming Cowboys. The Aztecs dominated from the start of the extra time as Jamaal Franklin scored the first five points. The Cowboys couldn't even put the ball through the basket until 1:46 remained in the game, and only a layup and free throw at that.

The Aztecs had been down by as many as nine points in the second half, but Franklin and Garrett Green scored nine of the team's 12 points over the final five minutes of regulation. In fact, San Diego State could have won it in regulation had Luke Martinez not nailed a three-pointer with 30 seconds left on the clock. Chase Tapley missed a layup for the Aztecs with two seconds left on the clock; Wyoming's Larry Nance Jr. missed a jumper as time expired, sending the game to overtime.

Green led the Aztecs with 14 while Franklin had 12 points and five rebounds. Green's 6-of-6 night from the field was the best from either team, as neither squad topped 44.4 percent shooting. Wyoming's Arthur Bouedo had a team-high 11 points.

On Saturday, San Diego St. hosts the Colorado St. Rams, who juts beat the New Mexico Lobos.

Head over to Mountain West Connection and Wyoming blog Cowboy Altitude for more on these teams. SB Nation NCAA Basketball is the destination for the coming March Madness.

The UNLV Rebels snapped their two-game losing streak with a 75-58 victory over the Boise St. Broncos Wednesday night. Chace Stanback led the victory charge with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Three other Rebels scored in double digits: Brice Massamba (14), Justin Hawkins (13) and Anthony Marshall (11). Marshall finished with a double-double by pulling down 10 boards. He was five assists short of a triple-double.

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, Boise State was able to keep the lead for just over three minutes. The Rebels, though, forced Boise State into halftime down by 12 points, 41-29. The scoring was distributed across the entire Broncos team, but no one scored more than nine points. Both teams shot 50 percent from the free-throw line, but UNLV was able to make up for that with 49 percent shooting from the field.

The UNLV Rebels host the Air Force Falcons on Saturday, looking to avoid a second overtime against the Academy (which they won).

Visit Mountain West Connection and Boise State blog Once Bronco Nation Under God for more on these teams. Check out SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more news and notes around the college hoops scene.

Earl Pettis scored La Salle's final 11 points of regulation, rallying the Explorers from 10 down to force overtime with No. 22 Temple on Wednesday night. Pettis was a one-man show for La Salle, using a spurt that lasted just over a minute to flip the game and put the Owls on the ropes. And then, silence.

Over the last minute and a half of regulation, Temple and La Salle each failed to find the bottom of the net, missing both their attempts with the game tied and time winding down. The end result was overtime, with La Salle riding Pettis to what it hoped would be an upset win.

But in overtime, a two-minute scoreless stretch doomed La Salle, allowing Temple to pull ahead and keep control of the matchup for much of the final five minutes. La Salle had its chances after Pettis hit a jumper to cut the Temple lead to one, but the Explorers were unable to convert on their final possession, falling to the Owls 80-79.

Pettis finished with a game-high 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting -- an impressive line even in the loss. Khalif Wyatt countered with 25 points of his own for Temple to lead the way in the win. Both benches were nearly non-existent, with Temple's scoring five and La Salle's chipping in just three points.

Temple remains atop the A-10 standings, holding a one-game lead over Saint Louis after Wednesday's win.

The No. 2 Syracuse Orange pulled off a comeback victory over the South Florida Bulls on Wednesday with a 56-48 victory. Scoop Jardine fueled the effort with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

The Orange trailed the Bulls by 13 points with nine minutes left in the first half, but a 17-0 run to close out the half had them up 24-20 at the break. That run extended with another nine unanswered points to start the second half. South Florida was able to close the gap to just one point, 47-46, before allowing a 9-2 run that sealed matters for the Orange.

Syracuse's Kris Joseph finished with 12 points and nine rebounds while C.J. Fair added 13 points, six rebounds and five steals off the bench. South Florida's Anthony Collins posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists in a losing effort, but he also turned the ball over eight times in the contest.

Syracuse will play the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday evening.

For more on these teams, check out Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and South Florida blog Voodoo Five. Stick with SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more news and notes as we get ready for conference tournaments and Selection Sunday.

The Kansas Jayhawks extended their winning streak to five games Wednesday night with a 66-58 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies. Kansas' Elijah Johnson and Texas A&M's Khris Middleton battled to be points leader, but the latter's 23 just weren't enough to turn things in favor of the Aggies. Johnson put in 21 for the Kansas lead.

Thomas Robinson dominated the boards for the Jayhawks with 13 rebounds. He finished the game with a double-double by scoring 10 points. Jeff Withey finished the night with 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks (the team had eight total).

Texas A&M lost the rebounding battle, 42-34, and didn't have much scoring impact outside of Middleton. David Loubeau and Elston Turner tied for second in scoring with 10 points each.

Kansas returns home to Phog Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday to host the Missouri Tigers, a team that defeated the Jayhawks earlier in the season.

To keep up with these teams, head over to Kansas blog Rock Chalk Talk and Texas A&M blog I Am The 12th Man. With March Madness fast approaching, visit SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more news and notes.

Jae Crowder scored 27 points for the No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles, leading the way to an 82-65 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Wednesday night. Crowder had the best all-around performance in the game with his seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks.

Both teams were sloppy handling the ball, combining for 35 turnovers, but Rutgers wound up with 21 -- and they were on the wrong end of 13 steals. Marquette's starters picked up nine of those steals to go with all eight of the team's blocks.

Darius Johnson-Odom put in 21 points for the Golden Eagles and was 8-of-15 from the field. Along with Crowder's 11-of-14 shooting performance, Johnson-Odom helped put the team at 53.6 percent from the field.

Rutgers had four starters score in double digits, led by Jerome Seagears' 14 points. Yet, he was tied for the team-lead in turnovers with Eli Carter at five. Carter added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Marquette goes on the road for a Friday contest against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

For more on these teams, head over to Marquette blog Anonymous Eagle and Rutgers blog On the Banks.

The No. 20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are still looking up at the Syracuse Orange in the Big East standings, but after Wednesday night's 71-44 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers, the Irish are riding a nine-game winning streak into the final three contests of the regular season. Jerian Grant led the way to the team's 20th victory by scoring a game-high 20 points. He was 8-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Outside of Grant, Notre Dame received 13 points each from Jack Cooley and Eric Atkins, while Scott Martin chipped in 15 points. The other 10 points scored by the Irish came from the bench. Atkins dished out eight assists, grabbed four rebounds and stole the ball three times for a well-rounded effort to go with his scoring output.

West Virginia kept the game close in the first half, heading into the break down 30-28, but managed to put just 16 points on the board during the second 20 minutes as Notre Dame pulled away. The Mountaineers hit just 31.5 percent of their shots. Kevin Jones led West Virginia with 15 points and eight rebounds. Darryl Bryant also filled out the stat sheet nicely, posting 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Notre Dame goes on the road this Saturday for a contest against the St. John's Red Storm.

For more on these teams, check out Notre Dame blog One Foot Down and West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. Stick with SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more news and notes as we approach March Madness.