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Jahlil Okafor

Porzingis comes on top against Okafor in summer league

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LAS VEGAS, Sporting Alert – New York stayed undefeated in the NBA Summer League, while handing Philadelphia a third successive defeat on Tuesday at Thomas And Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV.

In a showdown between two of the NBA’s top draft picks, and the battle between the top centers, Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia came out on top after he and the Knicks got the better of Jahlil Okafor and the 76ers, 84-81, in an exciting contest that was decided in overtime.

Maurice Ndour paced the New York Knicks (3-0) with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting and grabbed six rebounds in 28 minutes.

The rookie was well supported by Cleanthony Early, who had 13 points, three assists and two steals, with Jerian Grant finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists in the victory.

Porzingis, who was selected fourth overall in the draft, ended with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and three blocks, including one on Okafor during overtime.

Scottie Wilbekin led the Sixers (0-3) with a contest-high 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting, include going 6-for-8 from 3-point range.

He also went 6-of-6 from the free throw line, include knocking down three with 1.9 seconds left in regulation to tie the game after he was fouled by Porzingis while attempting a three-pointer.

Wilbekin’s free throws tied the game at 79-79 and forced overtime.

New York then outscored Philadelphia 5-2 in overtime to secure the win and start with a 3-0 record.

Okafor finished with 18 points and six rebounds in the defeat, while Charles Jackson had nine points, five assists and two steals for the 76ers, who shot 43-percent from the floor overall and 43-percent from three-point range.

Langston Galloway had eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win for the Knicks, who return to action on Thursday.

The Sixers will be in action again in the Summer League on Wednesday.

Watch Live Stream NCAA Championship: Duke v Wisconsin

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INDIANAPOLIS (Sporting Alert) — When Duke and Wisconsin face-off in Monday night’s NCAA men’s basketball championships game, it will be the first time since 2008 two No. 1 seeds go head-to-head for the national title.

NCAA Championship Game Information
Live Streaming Online Coverage on NCAA Website
Date: Monday, April 6
Venue: at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
Tipoff Time: 9:18 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: CBS, with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson
Live GameCast Stream and Box Score
Online Video Play Highlights and Updates

Wisconsin (36-3) confidently dispatched the top overall seed and the previously unbeaten Kentucky in Saturday’s Final Four battle to earn a date with Duke and go in search of its first title in 74 years.

Man of the moment Frank Kaminsky led the way for the Badgers against Kentucky with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Sam Dekker added 16 points in the win that ended the Wildcats’ 38 game undefeated run.

Duke, in the meantime, spanked the seventh-seeded Michigan State, 81-61 in their Final Four contest, with Justise Winslow scoring 19 points, Jahlil Okafor, 18 and Quinn Cook, 17 in the victory.

The Blue Devils (34-4) won 80-70 when these two team met on Dec. 3, when freshman guard Tyus Jones came alive to score 22 points in a leading role for Mike Krzyzewski’s team.

“A lot of people thought they had a pretty good team because they spanked our team at our place in December,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “I can’t say that they were ignored, that’s for sure.”

Duke, which is on the hunt for a fifth national title, heads into this contest averaging 80.6 points per game and shooting 50.2 percent from the field.

They are holding opponents to an incredible 55 points per game in this year’s tournament and scoring 72.6 point per game at the other end.

The Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouses will face a Badgers club that is shooting 48.0 percent from the field on the season, but allowing 57.9 points per game, which makes for a tight battle on Monday night.

Wisconsin was never No. 1 this season in the college basketball rankings — which is understandable, giving Kentucky’s undefeated run at the time, but Duke coach Krzyzewski always believed they were the top club.

“Coming into the year, I thought they’d be the best team in the country, and they have been,” Krzyzewski said.

“It’s just that Kentucky’s undefeated performance has overshadowed just how good Wisconsin has been, until (Saturday) night.

“There aren’t any shadows anymore.”

STAR PLAYERS STATS

DUKE BLUE DEVILS

POINTS PPG FG% FT% 3PT%
J. Okafor 17.7 .669 .511 .000
Q. Cook 15.7 .454 .891 .399
REBOUNDS REB OFF DEF BPG
J. Okafor 9.0 3.9 5.1 1.4
A. Jefferson 6.0 2.4 3.6 0.7
ASSISTS APG SPG TO AST/TO
T. Jones 5.8 1.5 2.1 2.8
Q. Cook 2.7 1.0 1.3 2.1


WISCONSIN BADGERS

POINTS PPG FG% FT% 3PT%
F. Kaminsky 18.2 .553 .759 .395
S. Dekker 13.0 .514 .708 .304
REBOUNDS REB OFF DEF BPG
F. Kaminsky 8.0 1.5 6.5 1.6
N. Hayes 6.4 2.1 4.4 0.4
ASSISTS APG SPG TO AST/TO
T. Jackson 2.9 1.1 1.6 1.8
F. Kaminsky 2.7 0.9 1.5 1.8

Duke Beats Michigan State, Moves Into Championship Game

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NCAA Final Four
Duke Blue Devils beat Michigan State Spartans in NCAA Final Four. Linked Photo.

INDIANAPOLIS (Sporting Alert) — Duke shook off a slow start against Michigan State in their Final Four clash to book a place into the national championship game with an 81-61 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday.

Justise Winslow scored 19 points after going 5-for-7 from the floor — nine rebounds and two steals and Jahlil Okafor added 18 points on 7-for-11 from the field — six rebounds, two steals and two blocks for the top-seeded Blue Devils (34-4).

Senior guard Quinn Cook played impressively as well, after going 6-for-12 from the field for 17 points, as Duke won five straight.

The Blue Devils, who rallied from an early 14-6 deficit to dominate the Final Four contest, are making their first NCAA championship game since 2010 when they defeated Butler 61-59.

It will be their 11th trip to the national championships.

“We beat a heck of a team, a championship team, championship program in Tom’s (Izzo) program,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

“Our guys knew how difficult a game it was going to be. After the first four minutes, we found out it was going to be more difficult than we even thought. Our kids for the next 36 minutes, they played lights-out basketball.

“The defense was terrific. We drove the ball with such strength. I actually think our offense gave our defense a push in how hard we were taking it to the basket. Our bench, all eight guys, played really well tonight.

“Yeah, the last 36 minutes, we played great basketball. That’s the best we’ve played in a tournament, and we’ve played really well in the tournament,” added Krzyzewski.

Denzel Valentine led the way for Michigan State with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.

The junior guard who hit three of his team’s four 3-pointers inside the opening two-and-a-half minutes, was 5-for-9 from long-range, while shooting 7-for-11 from the floor overall.

Travis Trice added 16 points and five assists and Branden Dawson had 12 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the defeat for the Spartans (27-12).

“We got beat,” Izzo said. “Unfortunately I thought Duke played awfully well, but I thought it wasn’t one of our better games. I think they deserve some credit.

“Yet I feel bad because I didn’t think people got to see the team that has won 12 out of the last 15 games.

“Give Duke credit and give our seniors credit for getting us to a place that most people didn’t think we’d get to.”

As a team, Duke shot 26-for-50 for 52-percent from the field, while Michigan State went 22-for-55 for 42-percent from the floor.

The ACC giants out rebounded their Big Ten rivals 36-33, while Krzyzewski’s team also committed fewer turnovers, at 8, compared to the 14 by Izzo’s ball club.

Watch Final Four Live Stream, Scores, Video & Highlights

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INDIANAPOLIS (Sporting Alert) — Duke take on Michigan State and Kentucky face-off with Wisconsin in the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four in Indianapolis on Saturday and fans can watch the action live online and on TV.

Watch NCAA Final Four Live Stream | And Scores And Video Highlights

No. 1 Duke (33-4) head into Saturday’s game trying to reach Monday’s championships game as they seek their fifth national title.

Expected to lead the way again for the Blue Devils are Player-of-The-Year Candidate Jahlil Okafor, fellow freshmen Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow, as well as senior guard Quinn Cook.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski believes his team, which has won four games in a row, is peaking at the right time and he is confident about their chances going up against the Spartans, who they defeated 81-71 when the two side met in November.

Jones says the feeling heading into Final Four has been a lot different from what they’ve seen during the season and he’s bracing for something special.

“It’s just special. You can just feel it in the air now, how important it is, what it means to be here,” Jones said.

“Just look out and see how many seats are out there. On Saturday night, those seats are all going to be filled. It’s a special feeling.”

The seventh-seeded Michigan State (27-11) defeated Louisville 76-70 in their Elite-8 contest last Sunday and coach Tom Izzo, like Krzyzewski, is backing his troop to hand the ACC giants a defeat and move into Monday’s title game.

The Spartans have also won four games in a row and eight of the last nine coming into this matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Michigan State is hunting its third title, having won in 1979 and 2000.

Meanwhile, top overall seed Kentucky (38-0) will battle with fellow No. 1 seed Wisconsin (35-3), who many are backing to give the Wildcats a lot of problems.

Final Four Teams All Set: NCAA Elite 8 Men’s Basketball Scores

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HOUSTON, Texas (SportingAlert) — Duke and Michigan State joined Kentucky and Wisconsin in the NCAA Final Four after securing victories in their respective Elite Eight games on Sunday evening.

At the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, four starters scored in double figures to guide the Blue Devils (33-4) to a 66-52 win over Gonzaga, a result that saw coach Mike Krzyzewski sealing his 12th trip to the Final Four.

Justise Winslow and Matt Jones each scored 16 points for Duke, with the latter connecting on 4-for-7 from three points range and picked up three steals in the win for the ACC powerhouses.

Freshman point guard Tyus Jones added 15 points and six assists and senior Quinn Cook finished with 10 points and five rebounds for the No. 1 seeded Blue Devils, who won four in a row and 16 of the last 17 contests.

Jahlil Okafor was held to nine points, while pulling down eight boards for Duke.

As a team, Duke shot 84.2 percent from the free throw line on 16-for-19, while the second seeded Gonzaga only made nine trips to the charity line.

Krzyzewski’s men were also significantly better at handling the ball as they had just three turnovers all game, compared to Gonzaga’s 13.

Kyle Wiltjer led the Bulldogs with 16 points and five rebounds, with Byron Wesley adding 10 points and five boards in the defeat.

Duke, the South Regional champion, now moves on to face Michigan State in the Final Four.

The No. 7 seeded Spartans continued their good tournament run with an overtime 76-70 win over No. 4 seed Louisville at Carrier Dome in New York, to lift the East Regional title.

“I’d like to tell you that I thought five different times this year that we were good enough to get to a Final Four, but I’d be lying to you,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.

“But I think the burning desire to be in this Final Four, and they didn’t want to be a group that didn’t make it. I think it was more of the battle cry all year long.”

Travis Trice scored a game high 17 points to lead the way for the Big Ten outfits, who secured their fourth win a row.

Denzel Valentine added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Michigan State (27-11) and Bryn Forbes scored 14 points off the bench, including five in overtime to help with the win, after both teams finished 65-65 at the end of regulation.

Montrezl Harrell paced Louisville with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists, with Terry Rozier added 13 points, eight rebound and four steals in the defeat for the Cardinals, who trailed 40-32 at halftime.

Meanwhile, on Saturday No. 1 overall seed Kentucky battled to a close 68-66 win over third-seed Notre Dame to improved to 38-0 on the season.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored a game-high 25 points and the Wildcats knocked down key free throws late in the stretch for the win.

Zach Auguste led Notre Dame with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Kentucky will face another No. 1 seed Wisconsin in the Final Four after they won the West Regional with an 85-78 positive result over second seed Arizona.

The Final Four will be on Saturday April 4, in Indianapolis.

NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Games
Sunday Results
(7) Michigan St 76, (4) Louisville 70
(1) Duke 66, (2) Gonzaga 52

Saturday Results

(1) Wisconsin 85, (2) Arizona 78
(1) Kentucky 68, (3) Notre Dame 66

Sweet 16 NCAA March Madness: Duke v Utah Live, Matchups

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HOUSTON, Texas (Sporting Alert) — The Utah Runnin’ Utes will meet the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament March Madness Sweet 16 on Friday at 9:45 PM at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas.

Jahlil Okafor
Jahlil Okafor in action for the Duke Blue Devils

The fifth-seeded Utah (26-8, 13-5 Pac-12) outlasted Georgetown, 75-64, on Saturday in the Round of 32 to advance.

The victors utilized its defense in the second half to maintain its composure against the possible comeback attempts of Georgetown, as Brandon Taylor led the victory with 14 points.

On the season, the Utes are averaging 72.1 points on a 48.5 percent shooting from the field. The PAC 12 outfits are also averaging 34.9 rebounds and 14.3 assists.

From the field, Utah, which won two in a row and three of the last four, is shooting 70.2 percent from the free throw line and 40.8 percent from the three-pointer.

On the defending side of things, they are allowing 56.9 points per game against the opposing teams, which is ranked 9th in the country.

Delon Wright is averaging 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the Utes. Brandon Taylor is contributing 10.5 points while Jordan Loveridge is scoring 10.2 points per game. Jakob Poeltl is the leading rebounder with 6.7 per game.

No. 1 seed and Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse Duke (31-4, 15-3 ACC) is the top seed of the South Region but this team is vulnerable — losing to Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game.

The Blue Devils did took care of business against San Diego State in the round of 32, following a comfortable 68-49 positive result on Sunday, as star freshman Jahlil Okafor led the way with 26 points.

This season, Duke, which is seeking its fifth national championships title, is averaging 80.6 points (4th) on a 50.2 percent (3rd) shooting from the field.

The dangerous Blue Devils are averaging 37.3 rebounds and 15.5 assists and are shooting 68.9 percent from the free throw line and 38.9 percent from the three-pointer.

On the defensive line, the ACC outfits are yielding 64.8 points per game against the opponents.

Player of the Year candidate and star center Okafor is the leading scorer and rebounder with 18.1 points and 8.7 per game for Duke.

Senior guard Quinn Cook is contributing 15.3 points while Justise Winslow is scoring 12.1 points per game. Tyus Jones is averaging 5.8 assists for the Blue Devils.

This clash can be seen live on CBS, while live streaming is provided by NCAA Stream online.

March Madness Tournament Scores, Results on March 22

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sporting Alert) — Scores, results and box scores from the NCAA tournament games that took place on Sunday, March 23.

Jahlil Okafor
Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor in action at NCAA tournament.

At a time when several top seeds were losing their cool and being shocked in the championship, No. 1 seeds Duke and Wisconsin made sure there were no upsets on their side.

At the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, the Blue Devils (31-4) blew away eighth-seeded San Diego State 68-49 to book a place in the Sweet 16.

Star freshman Jahlil Okafor poured in 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting and grabbed six rebounds and three blocks and Quinn Cook added 15 points and five boards for Duke, which shot 54.5 percent from the floor.

Justise Winslow ended with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, while dishing out five assists, four steals and three blocks in an all-round performance on the day.

“They’re together,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was making the Sweet 16 for the 22nd time.

“We have talent, we’re getting older by experience, and so we just – we got better here these two games.”

Winston Shepard scored 13 points to lead the way for the Aztecs (27-9), who were just 19-for-58 from the floor in shooting.

The other No. 1 seed in action on Sunday was Wisconsin (33-3), which advanced to the Sweet 16 courtesy of a 72-65 victory over Oregon at CenturyLink Center Omaha in Nebraska.

Sam Dekker shot 50 percent from the field and scored 17 points and star forward Frank Kaminsky added 16 points and seven rebounds to paced the Badgers, who held off the strong challenge from the Ducks to earn its fourth appearance in the Sweet 16 in the past five years.

Nigel Hayes chipped in with 14 points and Bronson Koenig ended with 12 for Wisconsin, which faces the No. 4 seed North Carolina in the West regional semifinals on Thursday in Los Angeles.

After a slow start Oregon rallied with a second half run to tie the scores at 52-52 with 5:56 left.

However, the Badgers used a 6-0 run to open up the gap back and then utilized their free throws down the stretch to kill off the game.

“Oregon made their run to fight back just as a good team always does,” Dekker told reporters. “And good teams respond to those runs. We settled in, and guys weren’t going to get too riled up.

“We got a big 6-0 run there and opened up the lead and held on from there. It’s a game of runs, and you’ve got to respond at the right time.”

Pac-12 Player of the Year Joseph Young finished with a game-high 30 points for the Ducks (26-10).

Michigan State Stuns Poor Shooting Virginia

Losing on the day though was No. 2 seed and Atlantic Coast Conference regular season champions Virginia, which fell 60-54 to the seventh-seeded Michigan State.

Travis Trice scored 23 points and Branden Dawson added 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the Spartans (25-11), who took advantage of the Cavaliers’ poor day offensively.

Darion Atkins had 10 points and 14 rebounds and Anthony Gill added 11 points and six boards in the defeat for Virginia, which shot 29.8 percent from the field and was a shocking 2-for-17 from three-point range.

Elsewhere, seventh-seed Wichita State dumped No. 2 seed Kansas 78-65, while the second-seeded Gonzaga destroyed seventh-seed Iowa, 87-68.

NCAA Tournament Scores and Results
Box Scores and More

(7) Michigan State 60, (2) Virginia 54
(1) Duke 68, (8) San Diego St 49
(7) Wichita State 78, (2) Kansas 65
(3) Oklahoma 72, (11) Dayton 66
(2) Gonzaga 87, (7) Iowa 68
(1) Wisconsin 72, (8) Oregon 65
(5) West Virginia 69, (4) Maryland 59
(4) Louisville 66, (5) Northern Iowa 53

College Men’s Basketball Top 25 Scores on Mar. 7

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NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — Scores and results from the NCAA top 25 games that tool place on Saturday, March 7.

Top-ranked Kentucky defeated Florida 67-50 to complete an undefeated regular season campaign on Saturday night.

Kentucky Wildcats complete 31-0 regular-season. UK Sports Linked Photo

Freshman forward Trey Lyles scored 14 points and six rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns added 13 points, nine rebounds, six blocks and three assists to lead the way for the Wildcats (31-0, 18-0 SEC), who shot 47.2 percent from the field.

There have been a lot of hype surrounding Kentucky’s first-ever 31-0 regular season campaign, but the players, although delighted with the impressive achievement, are more focused on winning the national title.

“We take pride but our journey is not done,” said Lyles. “We have a lot of work to do and we only have two guaranteed games left in our season, so we have to make sure we go out there and play hard and together.

“It just shows how great these guys are on the team, how much we care for one another and how much we want to win.”

Towns added: “For us, the perfect season doesn’t matter to us. A national championship is what matters to us. That’s what our goal is.”

Head coach John Calipari also praised his players for managing to stay focus.

“I’m so proud and I respect them so much to be able to deal with this,” Calipari said. “I mean, not only every game is an event, every game they played this year is an event, every game is somebody’s Super Bowl.

“Every game the coach would walk off the court and say that was the best we played all year. They took on the challenges.”

Kasey Hill scored 15 points and Dorian Finney-Smith finished with 12 for the Gators (15-16, 8-10 SEC), who had its two game winning streak snapped.

“I felt like, for 30 minutes we played really good basketball,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “… Then, at the 10-minute point, their offensive rebounding started to affect us some.”

At Chapel Hill, in North Carolina, Tyus Jones scored 17 of his season-best 24 points in the second half and No. 3 Duke topped No. 19 Tar Heels 84-77 to complete the season sweep.

The Freshman guard also dished out seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in the win.

Quinn Cook added 20 points, Jahlil Okafor chipped in with 14 and Justise Winslow ended with 13 points before fouling out of the game for the Blue Devils (28-3, 15-3 ACC), who secured its 11th straight win.

Marcus Paige, who came into Saturday night’s contest scoring less than 10 points per game in the last five outings, matched his season-best with 23 points and knocked down 5 of his 9 three-point attempts to lead the way for North Carolina (21-10, 11-7 ACC).

Brice Johnson added 17 points, Justin Jackson supported with 14 off the bench and J.P. Tokoto finished with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two block shots for the Tar Heels, who were beaten 92-90 in overtime in the first meeting at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb 18.

Meanwhile, No. 2 Virginia suffered its second defeat of the season after going down 59-57 against No. 16 Louisville at KFC Yum! Center.

Junior forward Montrezl Harrell grabbed his 13th double-double of the season after finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Cardinals (24-7, 12-6 ACC).

Terry Rozier and Quentin Snider each finished with 11 points for Louisville, which shot 46.9 percent from the field.

Malcolm Brogdon had 17 points and six rebounds and Darion Atkins added 10 points and seven boards for the Cavaliers (28-2, 16-2 ACC), who had a nine-game winning streak snapped.

In more results on Saturday, No. 9 Kansas fell 75-73 to No. 15 Oklahoma, while No. 8 Wichita State was upset 65-62 by Illinois State.

Fourth-ranked Villanova crushed St. John’s 105-68, while there were wins for No. 5 Arizona, No. 7 Gonzaga and No. 11 Northern Iowa.

Top 25 NCAA Men’s Basketball Games Scores

(1) Kentucky 67, Florida 50
(16) Louisville 59, (2) Virginia 57
(3) Duke 84, (19) North Carolina 77
(4) Villanova 105, St. John’s 68
(5) Arizona 91, Stanford 69
(7) Gonzaga 81, San Francisco 72
Illinois St 65, (8) Wichita St 62
(15) Oklahoma 75, (9) Kansas 73
(11) Northern Iowa 63, Loyola (Chi) 49
(12) Notre Dame 81, Clemson 67
Washington 77, (13) Utah 68
(17) Iowa State 89, TCU 76
LSU 81, (18) Arkansas 78
(20) West Virginia 81, Oklahoma St 72
(21) Butler 68, (24) Providence 64
Belmont 88, (25) Murray St 87

NCAAB Men’s Top 25 Preview, Live ESPN, ESPN3: Mar 7

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CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Sporting Alert) — A busy day of action in NCAA DI college men’s basketball is on the schedule for Saturday, March 7, as several top 25 teams close out their regular-season fixtures.

Jahlil Okafor
Jahlil Okafor in action for the Duke Blue Devils

Among the highlighted teams in action on Saturday are No. 1 Kentucky, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Villanova and No. 5 Arizona. There are also several highlighted conference clashes on the day, including the Big 12 matchup between ninth-ranked Kansas and the 15th-ranked Oklahoma.

At the Rupp Arena in Lexington, top-ranked and undefeated Kentucky (30-0, 17-0 Southeastern Conference) will look to extend its winning streak to 31 straight on the season and stay perfect when they play hosts to Florida.

The Wildcats, who edged to an uncomfortable 68-61 victory when these two teams last met on February 7, are just one win away from clinching its first unbeaten regular season.

The battle up to this point has been challenging, but head coach John Calipari believes his team has handle the situation maturely.

“I’m not reflecting back right now, I’m looking forward,” he said on the school’s official website. “But I will tell you for them to stay the course is a challenge in itself here.”

Kentucky Wildcats
No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats in action

Calipari added: “To stay into each other, to not listen and let the clutter affect who you are and how you play, it’s amazing.

“I mean, you got guys that aren’t worried about Player of the Year, yet if they were playing 35 minutes a game and getting the ball every time, they’d be Player of the Year.

“They’re not worried about it. They’re just playing basketball. They’re just trying to play for each other.”

The Gators (15-15, 8-9 SEC) head into this game with a two game winning streak and will want to end its campaign on a winning note.

Aaron Harrison scored 23 points, Karl-Anthony Towns netted 19 and the Wildcats, as a team connected on 21 of 22 from the free throw line in the last matchup between these two sides a month ago in Gainesville.

Kentucky, which is averaging 74.9 points per game and allowing 53.5 overall, is 18-0 at home, while Florida is 2-8 on the road this season.

Meanwhile, in what is expected to be a feisty rivalry matchup in the Atlantic Coast Conference, third-ranked Duke takes on No. 19 North Carolina, hoping to complete the regular-season sweep.

The Blue Devils (27-3, 14-3 ACC) secured an entertaining 92-90 overtime victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 18 and the travelers are bracing for another thriller, as the Tar Heels are looking to return the favour at their place.

“The last game we played against them was an amazing game,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose Duke team won four straight after that win and carries a 10 game winning streak into this contest.

North Carolina (21-9, 11-6 ACC) has looked good in patches this season, but struggles with consistency.

Nevertheless, the Tar Heels, who sit fifth in the ACC standings, are always motivated to face Duke, and come Saturday nothing in that department will change.

Roy Williams’ side has won two straight and three of the last four games, but he will be a little worried about the drop in form of key man and leading scorer Marcus Paige (13.2 points per game), who is averaging 9.8 points per game over his past five contests.

Paige has also failed to score in double figures in four of the last six outings and is shooting 37.5 percent in this period. He scored just five points and was 2 for 11 in the last clash with Duke.

Elsewhere on Saturday in NCAA top 25 action, No. 2 Virginia closes out its regular-season fixtures at No. 16 Louisville.

The Cavaliers (28-1, 16-1 ACC), which already clinched the ACC regular-season title, are on a nine game winning streak, while the Cardinals (23-7, 11-6 ACC) have won three of the last four, but are coming off a 71-59 defeat against No. 12 Notre Dame.

In other games, (4) Villanova battle with St. John’s, Stanford travels to (5) Arizona, while No. 7 Gonzaga will seek to bounce back from their last defeat when they take on San Francisco in the West Coast Conference tournament.

NCAA Top 25 Men’s Basketball Games
Live TV Channels and ESPN3 Streams
TIME (ET) ESPN

12:00 PM (21) Butler at (24) Providence Fox Sports Net
2:00 PM Florida at (1) Kentucky CBS
2:00 PM LSU at (18) Arkansas ESPN, WatchESPN
2:00 PM Oklahoma State at (20) West Virginia ESPNEWS, WatchESPN
2:00 PM St. John’s at (4) Villanova FOX
2:35 PM Illinois St vs (8) Wichita State* ESPN 3
4:00 PM (9) Kansas at (15) Oklahoma ESPN, WatchESPN
4:00 PM Stanford at (5) Arizona CBS
4:00 PM Clemson at (12) Notre Dame ESPN 3
4:30 PM (13) Utah at Washington Pac-12 Network
5:05 PM Loyola (IL) vs (11) Northern Iowa* ESPN 3
6:30 PM (2) Virginia at (16) Louisville ESPN, WatchESPN
7:00 PM Belmont vs (25) Murray State* ESPN2, WatchESPN
8:30 PM (17) Iowa State at TCU ESPNEWS, WatchESPN
9:00 PM (3) Duke at (19) North Carolina ESPN, WatchESPN
9:00 PM San Francisco vs (7) Gonzaga* ESPN 2, WatchESPN

NCAA Top 25 Men’s Basketball Scores, Recaps on March 4

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NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — NCAA DI men’s basketball scores, results and recaps from the fixtures that took place on Wednesday night, March 4.

Duke Cruises To Victory

Grayson Allen
Duke Blue Devils Guard Grayson Allen: Photo Courtesy: Duke Photography

No. 3 Duke scored 52 first half points to setup a one-sided 94-51 victory over Wake Forest at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham on Wednesday night.

Grayson Allen scored 19 of his season-best 27 points in the first half to lead the Blue Devils (27-3, 14-3 ACC) off the bench. The freshman guard went 9 for 11 from the field, including 4 for 5 from three-point range in 24-minutes of action.

“It wasn’t really me waiting for a chance — it was me being able to translate it into the game from practice,” Allen told reporters.

“Coach has been giving me opportunities, and I was able to capitalize today. This is the type of game to get my confidence going.”

Star point guard Matt Jones added 17 points for the Blue Devils (27-3, 14-3) and Justise Winslow supported well with 13 points, seven assists, six rebounds and six steals.

Senior Quinn Cook, playing in his last home game, also scored 13 points in the win for Duke, which captured its 10th straight win.

“What a great way for Quinn [Cook] to go out,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Our defense was so good in the first half; I was obviously surprised with that.

“To have Grayson [Allen] and Matt [Jones] get 44 of our points was very good. Just a really good performance by my guys.

Freshman star center and player of the year candidate Jahlil Okafor played just 19 minutes and finished with six points and four boards for Duke, which never really needed him.

“We got a chance to rest Jah[lil Okafor] tonight,” Krzyzewski noted. “We got a couple more sprained ankles. They were able to come back in the game, so we have to do a good job with that.”

Codi Miller-McIntyre scored 20 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals to lead Wake Forest (13-17, 5-12), while Mitchell Wilbekin added 11 points and for boards for the Demon Deacons, who lost four of five.

“Kind of a simple game to talk about; Duke came out with a lot of energy and a lot of effort and played exceptionally well and we had a very disappointing showing,” Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning said.

Wake Forest had 19 turnovers in the games and 14 of them came in the first half.

“A lot of the times the pass was the right idea. We didn’t go meet the ball, or it was just a careless pass,” Manning said.

“We just have to handle it better. We have to do a better job of getting three outlets when they commit two guys to the basketball, and being able to make ourselves available, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

In another top 25 game on Wednesday night, No. 12 Notre Dame secured a 71-59 victory over No. 16 Louisville.

Demetrius Jackson, who scored 21 points and Bonzie Colson, who added 17 points and nine rebounds, led the way for the Fighting Irish (25-5, 13-4 ACC), who won four of the last five.

Defeat saw the Cardinals’ three game winning streak snapped.

They were led by Montrezl Harrell’s double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Elsewhere on the night, No. 23 Ohio State beat Penn State 77-67 and No. 24 Providence had a 79-66 victory over Seton Hall.

NCAA Top 25 Games Scores and Recaps
March, 4.

(3) Duke 94, Wake Forest 51
(12) Notre Dame 71, (16) Louisville 59
(23) Ohio State 77, Penn State 67
(24) Providence 79, Seton Hall 66

NCAA Top 25 Basketball Games Results on February 25

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(Sporting Alert) — Scores and results from NCAA top 25 men’s basketball fixtures on Wednesday, February 25, with Kentucky, Duke and Virginia all scoring wins.

Jahlil Okafor
Jahlil Okafor in action for the Duke Blue Devils

(4) Duke 91, Virginia Tech 86

Jahlil Okafor, returning to the starting line after an ankle injury forced him to miss the last game, scored a career-high 30 points and pulled down nine rebounds as No. 4 Duke earned a battling 91-86 overtime win over Virginia Tech.

The star freshman was 13-for-18 from the field and played for 37 productive minutes.

Quinn Cook finished 26 points, including a big three-pointer from the right corner to give the Blue Devils an 86-82 lead with 1:01 left in overtime. He scored 21 of his total points in the second half and overtime.

Justise Winslow added 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals in the win for Duke (25-3, 12-3 ACC), which collected its eighth straight victory.

Jalen Hudson finished the game with a career-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench to lead the way for Virginia Tech (10-18, 2-13), which led 39-37 at halftime.

Adam Smith scored 15 points, Devin Wilson collected a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists and Justin Bibbs chipped in with 10 points off the bench for the Hokies, which dropped four in a row and 14 of the last 16 games.

The win on Wednesday night saw Duke improving to 44-8 all time when facing Virginia Tech and 6-2 against the Hokies at Cassell Coliseum.

(1) Kentucky 74, Mississippi State 56

No. 1 Kentucky improved to 28-0 on the season with a 74-56 victory over Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum.

Trey Lyles finished with 18 points and six boards, Aaron Harrison added 16 points and Devin Booker continued his useful production off the bench with 14 points.

”I was just being aggressive and attacking the basket,” Lyles said on the school’s website after the game.

Head coach John Calipari believes Lyles could have scored even more points on the night, while adding that the freshman forward, who is fully back after illness, could be the team’s “X-factor” this season.

”He should have had 25 points today, but I thought he played well,” he said. ”I still think at the end of the day he’ll be the X-factor for us.”

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (28-0, 15-0 SEC), which led 49-40 with 11:27 remaining, before holding the Bulldogs scoreless for over three-minutes on their way to building the big lead.

”I just told the guys, `Look, I can fight you for the next 40 days if that’s what you want. And I will fight you,”’ coach John Calipari said. ”Or you can just play like you’re capable of playing. They know what we want them to do.”

Fred Thomas scored 14 points and Craig Sword had 10 in the defeat for Mississippi State (12-16, 5-10 SEC), which dropped three successive and five of the last six contest.

(2) Virginia 70, Wake Forest 34

At Lawrence Joel Coliseum, in North Carolina, the short-handed No. 2 Virginia (26-1, 14-1 ACC) blew away Wake Forest, 70-34.

Only Anthony Gill, who scored 11 points and seven rebounds and Darion Atkins, who finished with 10 points, reached double-digits on the night for the Cavaliers, which won seven in a row and stayed atop in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.

In Other Top 25 Scores

Elsewhere on Wednesday night, No. 10 Northern Iowa beat Evansville, 68-57 to improved to 27-2 on the season, while No. 19 Baylor topped No. 12 Iowa State, 79-70 and No. 22 Virginia Commonwealth suffered a double-over time 67-63 defeat to Richmond.

Top 25 Games
Results on February 25
(1) Kentucky 74, Mississippi St 56
(2) Virginia 70, Wake Forest 34
(4) Duke 91, Virginia Tech 86 OT
(10) Northern Iowa 68, Evansville 57
(11) Wichita St 63, Indiana St 53
(19) Baylor 79, (12) Iowa State 70
Richmond 67, (22) Virginia Commonwealth 63 2OT
(23) Butler 73, Marquette 52

Top 25 college basketball results and recaps – Feb. 21

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DURHAM, N.C. (Sporting Alert) — No. 4 Duke, playing without star freshman Jahlil Okafor, rolled to a 78-56 victory over Clemson at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

Quinn Cook
Quinn Cook of Duke in action

Okafor sat out the game with a left ankle injury that he picked up in the win over North Carolina on Wednesday night.

Quinn Cook led the way for the Blue Devils (24-3, 11-3 ACC) with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while Justise Winslow supported well with a high-tempo performance of 20 points, 13 rebounds and four steals.

Duke shot 51.7 percent from the field on 30-of-58 shooting, while finishing with 36 rebounds.

“Our defense led to some fast-break points,” Cook said. “… We want to push it. We were smaller today, Justise got it going today, and he kind of started the tempo off.

“We just fed off what he was doing.”

No. 5 Wisconsin continued their impressive run this season with a 63-53 victory over Minnesota. Frank Kaminsky scored 21 points, pulled down five rebounds and had three block shots for the Badgers in the win.

Bronson Koenig added 17 points as Wisconsin (25-2) secured its 10th victory in a row and improved to 13-1 in Big Ten standings.

Up next for Wisconsin is a challenging battle against No. 16 Maryland, who was inactive on Saturday.

No. 6 Villanova stretched their win streak to eight-games with an 87-76 win over Marquette, as five players scored in double-digits for the Wildcats.

Darrun Hilliard II led the way for Villanova with 17 points, Ryan Arcidiacono finished with 16, while JayVaughn Pinkston added 14 points and nine rebounds and Dylan Ennis collected 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the win.

Josh Hart scored 12 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (25-2), who won 12 in the last 13 games.

JaJuan Johnson had a game-high 20 points to lead Marquette, with Luke Fischer finishing with 17 and Duane Wilson supporting with 15 in the defeat for the Golden Eagles (11-15), who dropped its third game in a row and the 8th in the last 9 overall.

In a highlighted game at KFC Yum! Center, No. 12 Louisville battled to a 55-53 victory over Miami (FL) in a thrilling Atlantic Coast Conference encounter.

Montrezl Harrell came up big for the Cardinals with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. He also had three block shots.

After trailing 29-19 at halftime, Louisville came out aggressively in the second half and outscored the Hurricanes 36-24 after the interval to setup the win.

Down 53-50 with 1:37 left, Wayne Blackshear made a jumper to cut the deficit to one point before Harrell hit three clutch free throws down the stretch for the Cardinals (21-6) to earned the victory.

In other results on the day, No. 15 North Carolina scored an emotional 89-60 positive result over Georgia Tech, Xavier upset No. 19 Butler, 73-56, No. 23 West Virginia handed No. 22 Oklahoma State a 73-63 defeat, but No. 17 Oklahoma held on for a 79-75 win against Texas Tech.

More scores and results to follow….

Top 25 college basketball Results and Results on Feb. 21

(1) Kentucky 110, Auburn 75
(4) Duke 78, Clemson 56
(5) Wisconsin 63, Minnesota 53
(6) Villanova 87, Marquette 76
(8) Kansas 81, TCU 72
(10) Notre Dame 87, Boston College 70
(11) Northern Iowa 56, Bradley 39
(12) Louisville 55, Miami (FL) 53
(14) Iowa State 85, Texas 77
(15) North Carolina 89, Georgia Tech 60
(17) Oklahoma 79, Texas Tech 75
(18) Arkansas 65, Mississippi St 61
Xavier 73, (19) Butler 56
(20) Baylor 69, Kansas St 42
(23) West Virginia 73, (22) Oklahoma St 63
(25) Virginia Commonwealth 78, Massachusetts 72