NCAA Hoops Roundup: Iowa Gets it Done, Colorado Loses Dinwiddie, Arizona Wins Again
This past weekend included some upsets in college basketball’s Top 25 and one of the biggest ones may have come in the #20 Iowa (14-3, 3-1) 84-74 win over #3 Ohio State (15-2, 2-2). Or as one Big Ten fan said to me, the Buckeyes’ second consecutive loss.
Iowa entered the game looking for a signature win and they certainly got it on Ohio State’s home court. Roy Devin Marble scored 22 points for the Hawkeyes while his teammate Aaron White added 19. Touting a lot of depth, Melsahn Besabe (10 rebounds) and Mike Gesell contributed 11 points. Jarrod Uthoff came off the bench for 10 points.
Roy Marble
After losing three games to Top 10 teams this season, including last Sunday’s 75-71 loss to #4 Wisconsin (16-0, 3-0), Iowa said no more even as they were down 65-62 with six minutes remaining. Marble said of the win via CBSSports.com, “This is the biggest one. It’s the most important one. Now, to have done this, this is the biggest one — thus far.”
How big is it? Well, Iowa had not defeated a Top 5 hoops teams since December 15, 2001 against Missouri and had lost to Ohio State eight straight times. Their last win in Columbus? Back in 2004.
For the Buckeyes, LaQuinton Ross scored 22 points with seven rebounds, followed by Amir Williams with 11 points and Lenzelle Smith with 10 points.
Earlier in the week, Ohio State lost to conference foe, #5 Michigan State (15-1, 4-0) in OT, 72-68. Their two losses came after the team won 15 straight games to start the season.
On Thursday, Ohio State will look to snap its two-game losing streak against Minnesota (13-4, 2-2). The Buckeyes sit at 12/1 to win the 2014 NCAA Basketball Championship.
The Hawkeyes will look for their third straight win when they play Minnesota on Sunday. They sit at 40/1 to win it all.
Washington defeats #15 Colorado, 71-54
After defeating #17Â Oregon (13-3, 1-3)Â 100-91 last Sunday, Colorado (14-3, 3-1) played its way into the Pac-12 title conversation but it came crashing down one week later with its 71-54 loss to unranked Washington (11-6, 3-1).
But there’s more to the story.
The team lost guard Spencer Dinwiddie in the first half to a knee injury. He exited the game and remained out for the rest of it. It was a big loss for the Buffaloes as the player leads the team in scoring (15.2 points per game) and assists (3.9 assists per game).
Spencer Dinwiddie
On Monday, Dinwiddie will have an MRI. His team’s next game is on Thursday against UCLA (13-3, 2-1).
Colorado sits at 50/1 to win the Big Dance.
For Washington, Sunday’s win was big as the team had lost 12 consecutive games versus ranked teams. When was the last time the team defeated one in the regular season? Back in December 2009 against Texas A&M.
Helping to get Sunday’s win was C.J. Wilcox who had a career-high day with his seven 3-pointers and 31 points (21 in the game’s second half). This surpasses Wilcox’s previous high of 30 points from earlier this season.
Teammates Andrew Andrews added 14 points and Nigel Williams-Goss contributed 12 points.
On Wednesday, Washington will take on Cal (12-4, 3-0).
#1 Arizona Keeps Win Streak Alive
On Sunday, the #1 Arizona Wildcats (17-0, 4-0) kept their perfect season alive with a 73-53 win over USCÂ (9-7, 0-3).
At 17-0, this represents the best start in the Wildcats’ history but it didn’t come easily.
The Wildcats had a three-point lead at halftime (34-31) and with nine minutes remaining in the game, had a 48-43 advantage; however, an 18-6 run was the nail in the coffin for the win.
Arizona’s Brandon Ashley and T.J. McConnell both scored 19 points (season highs) on Sunday.
Arizona coach Sean Miller said of his team’s record via the Associated Press, “We’re really excited about it, we really are. We talked about it and it’s something I think all of us will really cherish. Any school record you break at Arizona in the basketball program is a real record because of the great tradition that we have.”
The Wildcats sit at 11/2 to win the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
