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Box Score: Duke 68 beat Wisconsin 63: Coach K’s 5th Title

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INDIANAPOLIS (Sporting Alert) — Tyus Jones scored 23 points, including 19 in the second half and Duke rallied late to top Wisconsin, 68-63 and win the NCAA men’s 2015 basketball national title here at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday night.

Box Score: Duke 68, Wisconsin 63 | Photos: Duke 68, Wisconsin 63

Duke Blue Devils
Duke Blue Devils win National Championship: Photo Linked Feed

Jones, who scored more than half the Blue Devils’ 37 points in the second half, shot 7-for-13 from the field and pulled down five rebounds in the win.

The Freshman was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

“It’s hard to put it into words. This is just such a special group. The best team I’ve ever been a part of. We’ve worked hard all year. This has been our one goal that we were working for,” Jones said.

“No matter if it was getting up extra shots or extra running, trying to get in better shape, tough practices, just believing in one another, believing in coach, everything they were telling us, because we knew at the end if we did accomplish this, it was all going to be worth it.”

Grayson Allen added 16 points off the bench and Justise Winslow finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for Duke (35-4), which was securing its fifth national crown and the first since 2010.

Tyus Jones
Tyus Jones of Duke leads the way

“They showed such grit tonight,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Our bench was spectacular, and like we said about two months ago, eight is enough. Eight is enough.”

Senior Frank Kaminsky scored 21 points and 12 rebounds for Wisconsin (36-4), which led 48-39 with 13:23 left in the game before Duke rises down the stretch to grab the national championship.

“It’s tough to say anything right now,” said Kaminsky. “These guys are my family, and I mean that literally. I don’t mean that hypothetically.

“I’ve never been closer to a group of guys in my entire life, from the coaching staff on down to every single player on this team.

“It’s just going to be hard to say good-bye.”

Nigel Hayes ended with 13 points and Sam Dekker had 12 points and eight boards for the Badgers, who had defeated the top-seeded Kentucky in the Final Four last Saturday.

Wisconsin finishes the season with a proud school-record of 36 wins.

“What a fantastic job these guys did all year,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “They just came together to do all the things that they accomplished.

“Highest offensive efficiency. A team that committed the least number of fouls during the year. A team that got to the free-throw line.

“So these guys played 30-some games that way. It’s just unfortunate that this one had to be played out that way.”

Bronson Koenig scored 10 points and four assists in the defeat for Wisconsin, which was also beaten by Duke in the other time these two teams met on Dec. 3.

With the victory, Krzyzewski moves above Adolph Rupp and took sole possession of the second spot on the all-time list behind John Wooden among the men’s coaches with his fifth championships title.

Duke also won national titles in 1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010.

Coach Krzyzewski felt this one was more fulfilling because he only had eight players, but he also believes every one of his championship teams are special.

“All of them are great (teams). The one you’re in this moment with is always the most current, you can feel it the best,” said coach K.

“I haven’t loved a team any more than I’ve loved this team. We have eight guys, and four of them are freshmen. For them to win 35 games and win the national title is incredible.

“When it’s over, and I would have the best appreciation because I’ve been in this for 40 years, and I’m the coach of that group that did this. You know, how good is that?

“They’ve been a joy. They’ve been an incredible joy. When you’re already happy, and you get happier, it’s pretty damn good. It’s pretty good.

As a team, the Blue Devils shot 47.1 percent from the field on 24-for-51 shooting, while Winslow collected three of the team’s six block shots.

Wisconsin, which was hoping to land its first title in 74 years, in the meantime, were 25-for-61 from the floor in shooting for 41.0 percent.

The score at half time was 31-31 before Duke outscored the Badgers 37-32 in the second stanza.

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.

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

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

Tests For Okafor, Duke Tops UNC In OT: NCAA Top 25 Scores

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DURHAM (Sporting Alert) — Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook each scored 22 points and No. 4 Duke rallied late in regulation on their way to a 92-90 win over North Carolina on Wednesday night.

Photo Gallery of Duke v North Carolina via Getty Images

Senior Cook, who scored 15 of his tallied points in the first half, knocked down 6-of-9 from three-point range and also grabbed four rebounds and three assists, while freshman guard Jones went 7-of-16 from the field on his way to matching his season best, while adding eight assists and seven rebounds for Duke (23-3, 10-3 ACC).

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was full of praises for his freshman point guard Jones.

“He’s good,” Krzyzewski said. “You start out with that. One of the reasons we waited three years to get him is because I thought he had special qualities, not just special talents.

“It shows up in big games and big moments. What is interesting is that he passed up a wide open three. (Amile) Jefferson and the guys got on him. The next time he hit it. Sometimes he would rather have someone else do it, but when he took the wheel the car finished in first place. He was tremendous.”

Justise Winslow finished with 16 points and seven boards, Amile Jefferson added 13 points, six blocks and five rebounds, while Jahlil Okafor shook off an ankle problem to contribute 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win for the Blue Devils.

Okafor started impressively, but the Duke freshman was forced to leave the game in the first half after rolling his ankle when landing awkwardly trying to shoot over a North Carolina player.

The Cameron Indoor Stadium went from being crazy loud to a complete hush on Wednesday night when Okafor went down and had to be helped back into the locker room for treatment.

He made a surprised return to the bench and then entered the court towards the end of the first half before starting the action in the second half after getting his left ankle retaped.

Coach Krzyzewski said the player would be seeing the trainer for a re-evaluation on Thursday before deciding on whether he can feature on Saturday.

“Sometimes you can play the night of the game because your adrenaline is moving, especially for big guys,” Krzyzewski told reporters.

“We’ll see if he’s going to be ready for Saturday. We can’t practice tomorrow anyway, but we’ll get him some rest.

“I would think he’s going to play, but we don’t know that.”

The 19-year-old was collecting his 10th double-double of the season, which is the second-most by any freshman behind UCLA’s Kevon Looney, who has 13.

Trailing 49-42 going into halftime after trimming a 13 point deficit, the Tar Heels started the second half quickly and went on a 13-0 run to take a 56-53 lead with 14:31 left in regular time.

The gap was increased to 77-67 with 3:56 until Duke staged its comeback when Jones and Winslow combined to score the last 16 Blue Devils points to send the game into overtime.

Jones scored the game tying layup with 0:29 remaining in regulation to setup the first overtime battle between the two sides since 2004.

Brice Johnson, who scored 12 points in the first half, paced North Carolina with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the defeat.

Fellow forward Kennedy Meeks added 18 points and seven boards, while Isaiah Hicks had 12 points and Nate Britt collected 11 off the bench for North Carolina (18-8, 8-5 ACC), which dropped two in a row and four in the last five games.

The Tar Heels led 81-76 with 0:46 seconds remaining in regulation, but failed to hold on for the win as Jones scored five unanswered points.

“Well, it’s extremely disappointing,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “If you didn’t care who won the game, you had to enjoy a great college basketball game.

“It has certainly been hyped the last couple of days. If you happen to just like college basketball, then you had to enjoy that part of it, but I happen to love North Carolina. So, it’s not so agreeable with me.”

Duke, which picked up its first overtime win this season, was securing its six successive win and victory number five in February.

The Blue Devils, who was 50.8 percent from the field overall in the game, shot 58.1 percent from the floor on 18-of-31 shooting in the first half. They also buried 7 of their 16 overall three point attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

Forward Duke star Jabari Parker was in attendance.

Up next for North Carolina is a game at home against Georgia Tech on Saturday, while Duke play hosts to Clemson on the same day.

Elsewhere on Wednesday night, Syracuse scored a 69-59 victory over No. 12 Louisville in another ACC contest, while No. 5 Wisconsin beat Penn State, 55-47 and No. 11 Northern Iowa, 58, held Loyola (IL) to just 39 points to improve their lead in the Missouri Valley Conference.

NCAA Top 25 Results

(4) Duke 92, (15) North Carolina 90
(5) Wisconsin 55, Penn State 47
(11) Northern Iowa 58, Loyola (IL) 39
Syracuse 69, (12) Louisville 59
(14) Iowa State 70, (22) Oklahoma St 65
(18) Arkansas 84, Missouri 69

Jones, Okafor Help Earned Krzyzewski His 1,000th Career Win

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NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — Tyus Jones led four Duke players into double-digit scoring and the No. 5 Blue Devils defeated St. John’s 77-68 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday to earned Mike Krzyzewski his 1,000th career win.

Sunday’s achievement saw coach Krzyzewski, who was acknowledged by the large group that chanted his name in the stands — becoming the first NCAA Division I men’s coach to reach the 1K milestone.

He who now joins former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt as the only coaches in men’s and women’s Division I basketball history with at least 1,000 career coaching wins to their name — was delighted with his accomplishments and admitted that it was a relief to finally get to that figure.

“I’m glad it’s over,” He said at his press conference. “Again, I’m honored, don’t get me wrong. I’m the lucky guy who’s been at two great institutions in West Point and Duke.

“I’ve had unbelievable support. I’ve never had a day in 40 years that I had to worry about my back, with my A.D., Superintendent, or President and not many people can say that.”

He added: “There will be others that win more, but it is kind of neat to be the first one to 1,000.

“I am proud of that, too: It’s not just the number of wins, but the quality of opponents we’ve had.”

Freshman point guard Jones led the way for Duke (17-2) with 22 points, six assists and four rebounds, while Jahlil Okafor added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Quinn Cook finished with 17 points and four boards in the victory.

Sir’Dominic Pointer paced St. John’s with 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks.

“We missed a lot of open shots,” a disappointed Pointer said after the defeat. “They gave up open shots and we didn’t connect on them.

“It’s just being able to get them to a teammate, get open shots.”

Rysheed Jordan had 18 points and Phil Greene IV finished with 12 in the defeat for the Big East club, which struggled in second half after going 1-of-12 shots from outside the paint.

“I thought we just missed some easy looks,” St. John’s coach Steve Lavin told reporters after the game.

“We came up short today, but I think you can also see the sneak preview of a team that could be very dangerous here if we continue to make progress.”

Duke jumped out to a 19-10 lead to start the game, but the Red Storm (13-6), led by Pointer and Jordan, fought back and went into the halftime break with a 43-39 lead.

However, the Blue Devils, who trailed 51-61 with 8:36 left on the clock, went on a run and outscored St. John’s 26-7 in the last eight-minutes to seal the win.

Duke, who is averaging 50.0-percent shooting from the floor this season, shot 48.1 percent (26-54) from the field and 36.8 percent (7-19) from three-point range on Sunday, while out-rebounding the Red Storm 44-29.

“It was beautiful, really, to see them fight today and win,” Krzyzewski said.

Lavin admitted that Duke’s dominance on the glass took the game away from his team.

“I think the biggest difference was they were able to get on the glass late – that was one of the keys for us,” he said.

“We’re not going to out rebound them, but I thought we could be competitive on the boards. It was just a high level game.

“Two teams that wanted to win and Duke made the decisive final run or final blow that we were not able to answer.”

St. John’s, who dropped two of the last three games and five of the last seven, will next face fell Big East side Creighton on the road on Wednesday night, while the Blue Devils will travel to face No. 8 Notre Dame on the same night.