TULSA, Okla., Sporting Alert – College basketball scores and results from the top 25 games that took place on Sunday, Jan. 10. BOX SCORES HERE
NO. 5 MICHIGAN 92, PENN STATE 65
Denzel Valentine returned to play 23 minutes off the bench in helping No. 5 Michigan State beat Penn State 92-65 in a college basketball Big Ten game on Sunday.
Valentine, who had been out since featuring in the win over Northeastern on Dec. 19 and missed four games, following a minor surgery on his knee — scored all 10 of his points in the second half and had four assists, four rebounds and two steals in the win.
The senior forward missed all five of his first-half shots.
“Just got the jitters out and responded in the second half,” Valentine said. “I felt comfortable.”
Bryn Forbes paced Spartans (16-1, 3-1 Big Ten) with 20 points, while Eron Harris and Gavin Schilling each scored 13 points, with the latter also pulling down seven rebounds.
“It was just one of those games where Forbes caught on fire early,” Spartans head coach Tom Izzo said.
“I thought our execution was really good early and that got us some big baskets that got us going.”
Michigan State shot 50 percent from the floor overall and from three-point range and never trailed during the contest.
Shep Garner scored 19 points to lead Penn State (10-7, 1-3), with Julian Moore adding 13 and Devin Foster ending with 12 off the bench.
The Nittany Lions shot 41.2 percent from the floor, but were only 3-of-14 from 3-point range.
Before Valentine went down with the knee injury, Michigan State was ranked No. 1 in the country.
The Big Ten club has since dropped to No. 5 with one defeat, but college basketball experts, and even some coaches still think they are the best in the nation.
“That’s a really, really good basketball team from top to bottom,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said.
“Valentine back definitely inspired them and Forbes really set the tone for the first 20 minutes. He was unbelievable.”
CLEMSON 66, NO. 16 LOUISVILLE 62
Jaron Blossomgame scored 17 points, nine rebounds. three steals and three blocks, and Clemson hold out for a 66-62 victory over No. 16 Louisville in an Atlantic Coast Conference college basketball game on Sunday.
Avry Holmes scored 16 points, including hitting 11-of-14 from the free throw line. Donte Grantham added 12 points and Jordan Roper ended with 10 for the Tigers, who forced Louisville into making 17 turnovers.
The Cardinals (13-3, 2-1 ACC) went cold from the field on Sunday — going just 3-of-23 from 3-point range, with Chinanu Onuaku leading the team with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Trey Lewis scored 10 points and eight rebounds, but was only 1-of-11 from 3-point range and was 3-of-19 from the floor overall.
College Basketball Top 25 Socres
NO. 5 MICHIGAN 92, PENN STATE 65
NO. 15 SMU 88, UCF 73
CLEMSON 66, NO. 16 LOUISVILLE 62
ILLINOIS 84, NO. 20 PURDUE 70
