Purdue 84, Illinois 78: Matt Painter has been upset with his team's effort and execution, especially coming from senior leaders Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant. So Painter benched his only two senior starters, using Kelsey Barlow and Ryne Smith in the starting line-up. The move didn't work, as the Boilermakers still came out sluggish, struggling to run offense against Illinois and eventually finding themselves down 22-14.
JaJuan Johnson had 24 points and 12 boards in the Purdue win.(photo credit: Chicago Breaking Sports)
That's when Painter turned to seldom-used sophomore John Hart. How seldomly is Hart used? Purdue got a technical after Hart's first basket because he wasn't in the scorebook. Tech aside, Hart was the spark that Purdue needed. Near the end of the first half it was his energy, as he forced a turnover, was flying around defensively, and was crashing the glass. Painter started Hart for the second half, and the youngster responded by scoring 12 of his career high 14 points.
Purdue responded as well, using a 14-5 run to open the second half and take a 42-37 lead. That lead would get pushed to as much as 12 as Purdue took firm control in the second half, and the only time Illinois got close was a flurry of threes in the final seconds. JaJuan Johnson had 24 points and 12 boards to lead Purdue, while the freshman Barlow had two huge and-one drives down the stretch.
Georgia Tech 66, Clemson 64: Georgia Tech showed last night why many believed they had one of the best front courts in the ACC, if not the country. Gani Lawal had 16 points and 10 boards (5 offensive) and Derrick Favors made a name for himself on national TV with 17 points and 14 boards (6 offensive), but neither of them were on the floor in the final seconds. No, for the second straight contest with the game on the line, Paul Hewitt went to Zach Peacock when he needed a bucket. After hitting the winning jumper against UNC, Peacock drew a foul with 3.2 seconds left, knocking down both free throws, to give the Jackets the win.
Derrick Favors had 17 points, 14 boards, 3 blocks, and a number of big time dunks.(photo credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Overall, this was not a pretty game to watch. Both teams turned the ball over and shot very poorly from the field and the free throw line. Neither team boxed out well or executed offensively in the half court. Hell, with the game tied, both teams turned the ball over in the final 30 seconds.
Both the Jackets and the Tigers currently sit at 3-2 in the ACC, two games behind Virginia in the loss column.
Wichita State 60, Northern Iowa 51: Maybe the Panthers aren't the runaway favorite in the MVC. The Shockers used a stingy defense to hold UNI to just 17 first half points and open up a double digit lead. The Panthers made a run early in the second half to cut it to two, but WSU responded by opening the lead back up to seven and never letting UNI get close again. JT Durley led the way with 19 points, while Clevin Hannah had 8 of WSU's 15 assists.
This win was almost a must-win for the Shockers. A loss would have dropped them to three games in back of the Panthers for the MVC title while still having to play them on the road. As it is, Wichita State (which is proving to be one of the toughest places in the country to play, they already beat Texas Tech there this season) checks in with a 17-3 record, two wins over ranked teams, and a 6-2 mark in the MVC.
Other notable scores
- Ohio State 76, Northwestern 56: Evan Turner helped the Buckeyes jump out to an early lead, finishing with 20 points, 13 boards, and 8 assists as tOSU moved to 4-3 in the Big Ten. Dallas Lauderdale added a career-high 14 points while Jon Diebler chipped in with 17.
- Tennessee 63, Alabama 56: Wayne Chism scored 11 points, all of which came in the final seven minutes, as Tennessee pulled away early in the second half and held on as Alabama made a run late. It was Tennessee's first road win since the suspensions, and although Cam Tatum and Melvin Goins were both in uniform, neither got off the bench.
- Texas A&M 65, Oklahoma 62: The Aggies bounced back from a tough loss at Texas as Donald Sloan scored four of his 16 points, a jumper to give A&M the lead with 32 seconds left and two free throws to put them up three, in the final minutes.
- Kenneth Faried had 26 points and 16 boards as Morehead State won over SIU-Edwardsville.
- Joe Trapani went for 31 points and 6 boards as BC came back from 17 down to beat Miami.
- Demetri McCamey had 28 points and 9 assists in a losing effort against Purdue.
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