Northwestern takes down top-ranked Purdue for 2nd consecutive season
Sat, Dec 2, 2023
NCAAB News (AP)
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Boo Buie scored seven of his 31 points in overtime to help Northwestern beat Zach Edey and No. 1 Purdue for the second straight season, winning 92-88 on Friday night in the Big Ten opener for each school.
Buie added nine assists and four rebounds, rallying Northwestern from an eight-point halftime deficit. Ty Berry also scored seven points in OT and finished with 21, and Ryan Langborg had 20.
The Wildcats (6-1, 1-0) became the seventh program since 2010-11 to beat a team ranked No. 1 in the AP poll in consecutive seasons. They topped the Boilermakers 64-58 on Feb. 12 for their first win against a No. 1 team.
The 7-foot-4 Edey, the reigning national player of the year, had 35 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots - but Purdue (7-1, 0-1) had no answer for Buie when it mattered most.
Moments after the final seconds ticked off, Edey & Co. trudged off the floor as students stormed the court at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
NO. 5 KANSAS 69, NO. 4 UCONN 65
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 21 points, including consecutive 3-pointers that gave Kansas the lead down the stretch, and the Jayhawks held off UConn in a showdown of the past two NCAA champions.
The Jayhawks (7-1) had a chance to wrap up the game in the final minute, when the Huskies (7-1) were forced to foul, but KJ Adams Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr. were only able to make one of their four free throws.
The defending champion Huskies raced down the floor and Cam Spencer got a good look at a potential go-ahead 3, but the shot came up short and Adams grabbed the rebound. He was fouled, and this time made both free throws with 2.4 seconds left to clinch the win.
Hunter Dickinson had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Adams finished with 18 points to help Kansas snap the Huskies' remarkable streak of 24 consecutive nonconference wins by double digits.
UConn had won 13 in a row overall - all by double figures - dating to a 70-68 loss to Marquette in the semifinals of the 2023 Big East Tournament.
Tristen Newton hit a career-high six 3s and scored 31 points for the Huskies, but he got little help from the rest of the offense. Donovan Clingan, who banged with fellow 7-footer Dickinson all night, was held to eight points and seven boards.
NO. 6 HOUSTON 66, XAVIER 60
CINCINNATI (AP) - L.J. Cryer scored 23 points and Jamal Shead had 13 to help Houston hold off Xavier.
Houston improved to 8-0 for the second straight season and fifth time in school history.
Quincy Olivari led Xavier (4-4) with 17 points. Desmond Claude added 14 in the first meeting between the schools. The Musketeers were missing one of their best perimeter shooters, with Trey Green out due to illness.
Houston won its first seven games by an average of 26.8 points. But the Cougars were challenged in their first true road game against a Big East opponent.
NO. 19 BYU 85, FRESNO STATE 56
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Jaxson Robinson scored a career-high 24 points, making six 3-pointers, and Spencer Johnson added a career-best 22 to lead BYU over Fresno State.
Johnson also had five assists and five rebounds for BYU (7-0), which has won 12 straight nonconference games dating to last season - the program's longest streak since 2011. The Cougars improved to 23-5 at the Delta Center, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz.
Isaiah Hill led the Bulldogs with 14 points. Fresno State (3-4) was handed its third straight loss after trailing by double digits most of the way.
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