Thursday's Shootaround: Nic Wise again, Missouri and West Virginia roll

West Virginia 76, Ole Miss 66: While the final score might say this was just a ten point game, West Virginia was in firm control of this game for most of the second half. The Mountaineers took over early in the second 20 minutes as Wellington Smith knocked down four straight threes in the span of six possessions, opening up a 12 point lead. Ole Miss could never crack that difference, as West Virginia was just too tough defensively and too much on the offensive glass. The Mountaineers grabbed 22 offensive rebounds for the game. Wellington Smith scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, while Devin Ebanks added 15 points and 13 boards, both season highs.

Arizona 76, NC State 74: The best game of the night ended up being the last game of the night, as the Wolfpack overcame an eight point deficit with just 37 seconds to play, eventually tying the game on a full court layup by Javier Gonzalez. But Nic Wise, who just two nights ago hit a buzzer-beater to beat Lipscomb, went back the other way, hitting a layup of his own with a second left on the clock.



Oral Roberts 75, New Mexico 66: I tried to warn the Lobos yesterday, but to no avail. New Mexico went into the Mabee Center last night and lost to upset minded Oral Roberts, who also has wins over Missouri and Stanford this season. ORU took an early 14 point lead, but New Mexico came all the way back, going ahead 58-57 with 6:50 left on a Philip McDonald three. But the Golden Eagles would respond, using a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to earn the win and hand UNM their first loss of the season. Michael Craion, who hit the game-winner against Mizzou, had 18 points, 13 boards, and 7 assists.

USC 60, St. Mary's 49: The Trojans won their third game in a row in the Mike Gerrity era as a 19-5 run in the first half allow USC to open up a big lead. The Gaels would get as close as four in the second half before the Trojans pulled away. Gerrity had 17 to lead the way.

Jaw-droppers:

• Old Dominion 81, Charlotte 48: Old Dominion took a 30-10 lead before heading into the break up 40-13 on a team that had one loss on the season coming in and had beaten Louisville by 22. Gerald Lee had 16 to lead the way for the Monarchs.
• Nevada 99, Tulsa 68: Tulsa was supposed to compete for the C-USA title, but looked terrible against the Wolfpack. Down 48-30 at the break, Nevada went on a 23-5 run to open the second half, eventually taking a 39 point first half lead. Luke Babbit had 24 and 11.
  
• Siena 84, Rider 62: Rider is supposed to be the third best team in the MAAC? Clarence Jackson had 22 and Alex Franklin went for 22 and 11 boards as the Saints whooped up on the Broncs. Ronald Moore, who leads D1 with 8 apg, had 12 in this one.
  

Other games of national interest:

• Kentucky 86, Long Beach State 73: Kentucky avoided the mother of all trap games, using a late surge to pull away from a scrappy 49ers team. DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 10 boards in just 13 minutes and John Wall added 12 of his 19 points in the second half.
• Missouri 81, Illinois 68: Kim English scored 24 points, and Missouri's harassing pressure forced Illinois's guards into 22 turnovers as the Tigers held on to win the Braggin' Rights game.
  
• Tennessee 99, North Carolina A&T 78: Tennessee opened up the game with a 22-0 run, and this one was never in doubt.
  
• Georgetown 86, Harvard 70: Chris Wright notched 34 points, 4 assists, and 6 steals while Greg Monroe added 16 points, 16 boards, 5 blocks, and 4 steals in the win. The game was blown open in an 11-0 run at the end of the first half that was sparked by the boards, two blocks, two steals, and assist and a bucket from Monroe.
• Villanova 93, Delaware 67: Delaware had cut a 19 point first half lead to six early in the second half when the Wildcats answered with a 23-6 run to put away the Blue Hens.
• UNLV 77, Hawaii 53: UNLV got 14 points and 7 boards out of Derrick Jasper as they used a stifling first half defensively to take a 44-21 lead.
• Arizona State 61, USC Upstate 52: Ty Abbott and Jamelle McMillan both had 15 points as ASU went on runs of 23-3 and 19-3 during this game, but were unable to pull away.
• Louisville 84, Louisiana-Lafayette 69: Samardo Samuels went for 29 points and 15 boards as Louisville was playing without Terrence Jennings.
• BC 79, UMass 67: Joe Trapani and Corey Raji both scored 18 points to lead the Eagles to a win over instate rivals UMass.
• Minnesota 92, South Dakota State 62: Blake Hoffarber scored 16 points to lead six players in double figures for the Gophers.
• Xavier 70, Miami OH 67: Xavier got four free throws from Jordan Crawford in the final 23 seconds as they held on to beat the Redhawks.
• St. John's 80, Bryant 44: DJ Kennedy scored 18 points as the Johnnies won in a rout.
• Alabama 90, Mercer 71: The Crimson Tide opened this one with a 22-2 run, and JaMychal Green led the way with 27 points and 13 boards.
• Wisconsin 68, Milwaukee 58: Jon Leuer scored 25 points, and the Badgers used a 19-8 run to close the first half before holding on down the stretch.
• BYU 88, Nebraska 66: Jimmer Fredette scored 24 points and Jackson Emery added 23 as the Cougars never trailed.