Friday Morning Shootaround

There was only one real upset last night as Wisconsin used hot shooting in the first half to build up a 12 point halftime lead. The Badgers would extend that lead to as much as 17 in the second half, and Illinois never got closer than 10 before losing 63-50. Jason Bohannon snapped out of a shooting slump by hitting his first six three's, finishing the night with 20 points. This was a huge win for Wisconsin, who came in on a six game losing streak. They are not completely out of the NCAA tournament picture just yet (not with the Big Ten having the #2 conference RPI and the #1 conference SOS), but they are going to need to win a lot of games the rest of the way if they want to earn an at-large.

Illinois's offense has really been struggling of late, especially on the road. They haven't broken the 70 point plateau since Jan. 10th (against Indiana), and their last three road games they are averaging 48 ppg (including a 36 point performance against Minnesota). I know they have one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 56 ppg, but that defense doesn't help when you score just 50 points.

There was another big game in the Big Ten last night as Michigan got on a role in the second half, beating Penn State 71-51. The loss snapped PSU's four game winning streak, while it should help Michigan get out of their funk (they lost five of six coming in). The Wolverines blew the game open with a 16-3 run midway through the second half. Manny Harris (who finished with 28, 7 boards, and 6 assists) and DeShawn Sims combined for 13 of those 16 points. Jamelle Cormley had 25 for the Nittany Lions, but Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle, who average 32 ppg combined, were held to just 16 points.

The rest of the night's action:

• Florida State 62, Georgia Tech 58: Toney Douglas scored 10 of his 21 in the last five minutes as the Seminoles were able to avoid losing at home by hitting seven of eight free throws down the stretch.
  
• Vanderbilt 79, Alabama 74
• Davidson 75, UNC-Greensboro 54: Steph Curry had 29.
  
• Xavier 83, Temple 74: BJ Raymond scored 24 points, hitting 5-7 from deep, as Xavier used a 10-0 run early in the second half to blow open a close game. As a team, the Musketeers finished 11-18 from deep. Raymond's 24 was his fourth straight game of 20+.
  
• Western Kentucky 64, Louisiana-Monroe 55
• Butler 66, Detroit 61: Gordon Hayward scored 22 points as Butler was able to rebound from their first conference loss by hanging on the beat Detroit.
  
• Arizona 56, Oregon State 53: Chase Budinger had 17 and 8 boards to lead the Wildcats, who nearly blew a 13 point second half lead. With 1:41 left, Rickey Claitt hit a three to tie the game at 53, but the Beavers wouldn't score again. Roeland Schaftenaar had a three rattle out at the buzzer that would have sent the game to OT.
  
• Seton Hall 91, St. John's 81
• Utah State 78, New Mexico State 59: Gary Wilkinson had 18 and 11 as the Aggies extended their winning streak to 17 games.
  
• Stanford 65, Washington State 54: Lawrence Hill scored 20 and Anthony Goods added 13 and 7 dimes as the Cardinal avenged a 55-54 loss in Pullman earlier this year.
• Arizona State 66, Oregon 57: James Harden scored 36 points as the Sun Devils snapped a two game losing streak.
  
• Cal 86, Washington 71: Jerome Randle scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, sparking a 19-3 run that turned a nine point deficit into a ten point lead. The Bears would go on to build a lead as big as 19. Washington falls a game off the lead in the Pac-10, while Cal was able to win for just the second time in their past six games.
  
• Gonzaga 93, Portland 78: Matt Bouldin had 26 points and 8 assists and Jeremy Pargo added 22 as Gonzaga opened up a two game cushion in the WCC. Down by one at the half, the 'Zags used a stingy defensive effort to take control of this game.
  
• St. Mary's 79, San Francisco 58: Diamon Simpson had 23 and 9 as the Gaels won for the first time without PG Patty Mills.