Top 25 roundup: Mississippi State takes down No. 13 Missouri

[January 06, 2021] 

D.J. Stewart Jr. scored 24 points as Mississippi State toppled No. 13 Missouri 78-63 on Tuesday night in Southeastern Conference action at Starkville, Miss.

The Bulldogs (7-4, 2-1 SEC) trailed by 12 points at halftime, but they outscored the Tigers 51-24 in the second half and pulled away at the free-throw line. Iverson Molinar scored 20 points for Mississippi State and Tulo Smith had 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Jeremiah Tilmon scored 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting and pulled down six rebounds for the Tigers (7-2, 1-2). Xavier Pinson had 13 points and eight assists and Dru Smith added 11 points.

In beating Missouri for the ninth time in 10 games, Mississippi State outrebounded the Tigers 37-22 despite missing power forward Javian Davis, who was sidelined for undisclosed reasons.

No. 4 Texas 78, Iowa State 72

Andrew Jones scored a career-high 23 points as the Longhorns built a big second-half lead and held on during the furious final two minutes to outlast the Cyclones in Big 12 play in Austin, Texas.

The Longhorns (9-1, 3-0 Big 12) have won five straight games, with their only loss of the season coming at home on Dec. 6 to Villanova, now the nation's No. 3 team. Greg Brown added 15 points for the Longhorns, with Matt Coleman III scoring 13.

Javan Johnson (2-6, 0-4) led the Cyclones with 21 points while Solomon Young tallied 13, and Rasir Bolton and Jalen Coleman-Lands added 10 points each.

No. 6 Kansas 93, TCU 64

David McCormack scored a season-high 20 points and Ochai Agbaji added 19 as the Jayhawks used 56.5 percent shooting to scorch the Red Raiders in Big 12 play at Fort Worth, Texas.

Kansas (9-2, 3-1 Big 12) won its 11th straight Big 12 road game, tying a conference record the Jayhawks set from 2001-03. Kansas improved to 98-13 under coach Bill Self when coming off a loss.

Charles O'Bannon Jr. posted 18 points and six rebounds off the bench to lead TCU (9-3, 2-2), which had a five-game win streak snapped. RJ Nembhard, the Big 12's leading scorer, added 14 points. Kevin Samuel had eight points but grabbed no rebounds after coming in as the only Big 12 player averaging a double-double.

TCU Horned Frogs guard RJ Nembhard (22) dribbles as Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) defends during the second half at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

No. 23 Michigan State 68, No. 15 Rutgers 45

Aaron Henry scored 20 points and led a suffocating defensive effort as the Spartans pulled away from the Scarlet Knights in Big Ten play at East Lansing, Mich.

Henry had eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals along with shooting 8-for-13 from the field. Rocket Watts and Josh Langford scored 11 points apiece, while Joey Hauser added nine points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Michigan State (8-3, 2-3 Big Ten).

Ron Harper Jr. led the Scarlet Knights (7-3, 3-3) with 13 points and Jacob Young added 11 but shot 5-for-18 from the field. Rutgers shot 30.5 percent from the field and also struggled from the foul line, making just 6 of 17 attempts.

No. 18 Texas Tech 82, Kansas State 71

Terrence Shannon led the way with 22 points as the Red Raiders slipped past the Wildcats in Big 12 play at Lubbock, Texas.

Mac McClung scored 16 points and Marcus Santos-Silva added 14 for Texas Tech (9-3, 2-2 Big 12). Shannon was almost perfect from the free-throw line (11-of-12) to spark a solid night at the stripe (30-of-36) for Texas Tech.

Nijel Pack and Selton Miguel paced Kansas State (5-7, 1-3) with 17 points apiece. The Wildcats were stout from outside the 3-point line in the first half (5-of-11) but scuffled after halftime from deep (3 for 13) on the way to getting outscored 46-40.

No. 19 Clemson 74, North Carolina State 70 (OT)

Nick Honor scored a season-high 21 points as the Tigers held off the visiting Wolfpack in overtime in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Honor made 8-of-11 shots from the floor, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range en route to his 21 points in his best outing for Clemson (9-1, 3-1 ACC) since transferring from Fordham and becoming eligible this season.

D.J. Funderburk scored 20 points to lead NC State (6-2, 2-1), including a 9-of-9 effort from the free-throw line. Devon Daniels added 18.

--Field Level Media

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