Thursday's college basketball: Carr helps Minnesota trounce Central Michigan
Minneapolis — Marcus Carr had 19 points and Minnesota tied the second-best 3-point mark in school history with 14 made 3-pointers in an 82-57 win against Central Michigan on Thursday night.
Payton Willis scored 18 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 15 for the Gophers (2-3), which were 14 of 30 from beyond the arc, the third game this season with double-digit made 3s. Kalscheur was 5 of 11 from 3-point territory, while Willis was 4 of 6.
Daniel Oturu added nine points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for Minnesota.
Kevin McKay led Central Michigan (4-1) with 16 points and eight rebounds. Dallas Morgan added 10 points for the Chippewas, who shot a season-low 33.3 percent (22 of 66).
The increased emphasis on the 3 comes with Carr and Willis in their first season with Minnesota after transferring, respectively, from Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt. The Gophers were among the nation’s least-productive teams from 3 last season and had just four games with double-digit made 3s.
The last time Minnesota had as many as 14 made 3s in a game was in 2002. The school record is 16, set against Michigan State in 2001.
Central Michigan went without a field goal in the final 2:35 of the first half as the Gophers built a 19-point advantage at halftime. Minnesota led by as many as 29 in the second half.
State women
(At) Central Michigan 81, Dayton 80: Micaela Kelly scored 10 of her career-high 29 points in overtime and Molly Davis added 21 for Central Michigan (1-3).
(At) Wayne State 88, Wright State-Lake 47: Nastassja Chambers scored 21, Grace george 18 and Sadia Johnson 14 for Wayne State (401). Wright State-Lake is 0-2.
Big Ten
(At) Wisconsin 88, Green Bay 70: Nate Reuvers scored 19 points and Brad Davison added 15, all in the first half. The Badgers (4-1) were keyed by a second straight strong performance shooting from behind the 3-point line, hitting 15 of 31. Wisconsin hit 48 percent of its 3-point attempts on Sunday in a win over Marquette.
Green Bay (1-3) looked like it was on the verge of being run out of the gym with less than 2 minutes left in the first half after Davison converted a 4-point play to put the Badgers up 46-26.
But Davison was hurt on the play and came off the court limping. He started the second half before going to the bench just 2 minutes into the period and began riding an exercise bike. After Green Bay used a 13-2 run to close the gap to 12, Davison returned. Aleem Ford knocked down a 3-pointer and the threat was extinguished.
Amari Davis led Green Bay with 16 points and JayQuan McCloud added 13.
(At) Iowa 83, North Florida 68: Luka Garza missed his first five shots, then scored 29 points for Iowa (3-1).
Top 25
No. 1 Duke 87, California 52: Mike Krzyzewski won for the 217th time with Duke ranked No. 1, matching John Wooden for record at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Krzyzewski is 217-34 when the Blue Devils hold the top spot, a mark they hit this week in The Associated Press poll. Wooden went 217-11 during his run at UCLA.
Krzyzewski can set the record Friday night at MSG if the Blue Devils (5-0) knock off Georgetown in the final of the 2K Empire Classic.
Duke is ranked No. 1 for the 143rd week, extending its record, and has the top spot in the AP poll for the 20th season under Krzyzewski, also a record.
Vernon Carey led Duke with 31 points and 12 rebounds.
The Golden Bears (4-1) shot 37% from the field.
(At) No. 12 Texas Tech 72, Tennessee State 57: Davide Moretti scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, including all four of his 3-pointers, and Texas Tech finally pulled away from Tennessee State.
Freshmen Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jahmi’us Ramsey each scored 13 points for the Red Raiders (4-0).
Ravel Moody had 12 points for Tennessee State (3-2).
(At) No. 14 Arizona 71, South Dakota State 64: Josh Green scored 15 points, Nico Mannion added 14 and Arizona pulled away in the final minutes,
Arizona (5-0) trailed for much of the first half and by three at halftime. The Wildcats finally pushed ahead 40-39 with 14:28 left when Green made a 15-foot jumper. The basket was part of a 12-0 run that put the Wildcats ahead 46-39, and they wouldn’t trail again.
Arizona shot just 3 of 17 from 3-point range.
Douglas Wilson led South Dakota State (4-3) with 15 points.
No. 17 Villanova 98, Middle Tennessee 69: Cole Swider scored a career-high 26 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Villanova routed Middle Tennessee in the Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinals.
Collin Gillespie added 16 points and hit four 3s, Justin Moore had 15 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 11 rebounds to help the Wildcats (3-1) win their second straight following a loss at No. 10 Ohio State.
Donovan Sims scored 18 points for the Blue Raiders (3-2).
No. 18 Xavier 73, Towson 51: Tyrique Jones had 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead Xavier past Towson in the Charleston Classic.
The Musketeers are 5-0 for the second time in three seasons and first time since 2018 when they won the Big East Conference regular-season title and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Musketeers will face UConn on Friday night for a spot in the championship game. Towson dropped to 2-3.
Georgetown 82, No. 22 Texas 66: Mac McClung scored 19 points to help give coach Patrick Ewing another signature moment at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Hoyas (4-1) used a 12-0 run early in the second half that rallied the crowd and had “Let’s go Hoyas!” chants echoing throughout the arena. With his retired No. 33 New York Knicks jersey hanging in the rafters, Ewing helped orchestrate another wild one at his favorite arena.
The Hoyas are trying to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2015 and an early win over a Top 25 team could give that resume a boost.
Matt Coleman made all six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for the Longhorns (4-1). Texas lost with former Longhorn and injured Nets center Kevin Durant watching courtside.
The Longhorns shot 37% from the floor and had 12 turnovers.
Jamorko Pickett scored 15 points and James Akinjo had 14 for the Hoyas.
No. 24 Baylor 76, Ohio 53: At Myrtle Beachm South Carolina, Jared Butler scored 19 points and Baylor pulled away to beat Ohio in the Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinals.
MaCio Teague added 17 points, Freddie Gillespie finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds and the Bears (3-1) used a late 15-0 run to cruise to their second straight victory.
Lunden McDay scored 16 points for the Bobcats (3-2).