LDN - Sports

Top 25 roundup: No. 3 Villanova, No. 5 Houston fall

[February 04, 2021] Posh Alexander scored 16 points, Julian Champagnie added 14 points and 13 rebounds and St. John's upset No. 3 Villanova 70-59 on Wednesday in New York.

Vince Cole had 12 points for the Red Storm (12-7, 6-6 Big East), who won their fifth consecutive game as they work to get back into NCAA Tournament contention.

Caleb Daniels led Villanova (11-2, 6-1) with 16 points while Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 14 points and 17 rebounds. The Wildcats saw their nine-game winning streak end as they became the last Big East team to lose a conference game.

Collin Gillespie, one of Villanova's two leading scorers, missed all eight of his 3-point attempts and finished with only four points.

East Carolina 82, No. 5 Houston 73

Jayden Gardner paired 21 points with 15 rebounds as the Pirates turned a scorching shooting display into an upset of the Cougars in Greenville, N.C. East Carolina snapped a five-game skid.

The Pirates (8-6, 2-6 American Athletic) entered the game shooting 31.9 percent from 3-point range but made 11 of 24 from behind the arc to snap the Cougars' eight-game winning streak. Tremont Robinson-White scored 17 points on 5 of 8 3-point shooting for East Carolina while Bitumba Baruti added 13 points and three 3-pointers.

Houston (15-2, 10-2 American) shot just 25.8 percent in the second half, including 3 of 18 on 3-point attempts. DeJon Jarreau scored a season-high 25 points in the loss.

No. 10 Alabama 78, LSU 60

Jaden Shackelford scored 19 points as the Crimson Tide stayed undefeated in Southeastern Conference play with a victory over the Tigers in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alex Reese scored 13 points, Juwan Gary 12 and Keon Ellis and Jahvon Quinerly had 10 each to help Alabama (15-4, 10-0 SEC) win for the 11th time in 12 games.

Cameron Thomas scored 22 points and Javonte Smart added 14 to lead LSU (11-6, 6-4), playing its first game without leading rebounder Darius Days, who is expected to miss two weeks because of a knee injury.

No. 14 Virginia 64, North Carolina State 57

Sam Hauser hit a clutch 3-point shot shortly after the Cavaliers fell behind, and he finished with 18 points as Virginia held off the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C.

Trey Murphy III also tallied 18 points while Jay Huff's 12 points also boosted first-place Virginia (12-3, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Cavaliers were coming off a loss to Virginia Tech that ended their 15-game ACC winning streak.

Jericole Hellems notched a career-high 23 points before the junior fouled out for NC State (7-7, 3-6). The Wolfpack were playing their first home game since losing team scoring leader Devon Daniels to a season-ending knee injury a week earlier.

Georgetown 86, No. 15 Creighton 79

Jahvon Blair scored 22 points, including a back-breaking 3-pointer in the last two minutes, as the Hoyas pulled off an upset of the Bluejays in Omaha, Neb.

Blair, who also dished out seven assists, banked in a 25-footer from the deep left wing as the shot clock expired with 1:36 left in the game to give the Hoyas (5-8, 3-5 Big East) a 79-70 lead. Chudier Bile scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for Georgetown while Jamorko Pickett kicked in 16 points and seven boards.

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Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Georgetown Hoyas center Qudus Wahab (34) shoots over Creighton Bluejays forward Christian Bishop (13) in the second half at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Denzel Mahoney scored 22 points for Creighton (13-5, 9-4), and Mitch Ballock hit for 16. Marcus Zegarowski added 14 points before fouling out, and Christian Bishop finished with 14 points and 10 boards.

Pittsburgh 83, No. 16 Virginia Tech 72

Xavier Johnson came off the bench to score a career-high 32 points as the Panthers upset the Hokies in Atlantic Coast Conference play at Pittsburgh.

Ithiel Horton scored 15 points and Au'Diese Toney added 14 for Pittsburgh (9-5, 5-4 ACC), which snapped a three-game losing streak. Pitt's Justin Champagnie, who entered the week atop the conference in both scoring (20.1 points per game) and rebounding (12.1), grabbed 13 rebounds but was limited to 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field before fouling out in the final minute.

Keve Aluma led Virginia Tech (13-4, 7-3) with a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds. Justyn Mutts added 17 points and Hunter Cattoor scored all 12 of his in the second half before fouling out.

No. 18 Missouri 75, Kentucky 70

Dru Smith pumped in a game-high 26 points as the Tigers added to the Wildcats' season of misery with a Southeastern Conference win in Columbia, Mo.

Xavier Pinson added 14 for the Tigers (12-3, 5-3 SEC) and Mark Smith chipped in 11 points. Missouri never trailed, although its double-figure halftime lead sank to one early in the second half.

The Wildcats (5-11, 4-5) got 18 points from Davion Mintz, plus 10 each from Brandon Boston Jr. and Keion Brooks Jr.

South Carolina 72, No. 22 Florida 66

AJ Lawson's 22 points and eight rebounds plus a clutch second-half performance from Seventh Woods led the Gamecocks to an upset of the Gators in Gainesville, Fla.

Woods scored all 12 of his points in the second half and sparked South Carolina (5-6, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) on a 13-1 run over the final 5:45 of the game. The Gamecocks, who had lost four of their previous five games, won on the road for the first time this season.

Tre Mann scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Noah Locke contributed 15 points for the Florida (10-5, 6-4). The Gators had won four consecutive games to earn their first Top 25 ranking of the season.

--Field Level Media

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