Michigan State Downs Illinois, College Scores

Champaign, IL (SportsNetwork.com) -- Denzel Valentine scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Michigan State Spartans to a 60-53 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini in Big Ten Conference action at the State Farm Center.

Also scoring in double figures for the Spartans (19-8, 10-4 Big Ten), as they won their fourth straight and the sixth in the last seven outings, were Travis Trice and Branden Dawson with 18 and 13 points, respectively, the latter collecting seven rebounds and blocking three shots.

The Illini (17-10, 7-7) were paced by Malcolm Hill who dropped in 17 points, while Rayvonte Rice pitched in with 15 points and five rebounds off the bench, although he converted just 3-of-12 shots from the field.

Michigan State opened the meeting on a 5-0 run, but immediately after it was Illinois with a 12-0 run of its own, the resulting seven-point advantage being the largest of the night for the host. However, the Illini ended up shooting only 8-of-27 (.296) from the field in the first half, en route to a 26-22 deficit at the break.

In the second half Illinois dipped to only 7-of-25 from the floor and missed all seven chances behind the 3-point line, but because MSU connected on a total of just nine field goals over the final 20 minutes of action the game was never completely out of reach.

Illinois, which turned the ball over a mere five times but converted just 2- of-16 on the perimeter, won the first meeting of the season between the programs only 15 days ago by a score of 59-54 in East Lansing.

(2) Virginia 51, Florida State 41

Charlottesville, VA (SportsNetwork.com) -- Already without Justin Anderson, Virginia suffered another scare on Sunday night. It still didn't stop the Cavaliers from reaching 25 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since the Ralph Sampson era. Anthony Gill had 13 points and nine rebounds as No. 2 Virginia pulled away for a 51-41 victory over Florida State. With Anderson not expected to return until next month, starting guards Malcolm Brogdon and London Perrantes left the game with 14:39 left following a scary face-to-face collision. Perrantes lay on the court for several
minutes after Brogdon walked back to the locker room with a cut over his right eye. Perrantes then exited holding a towel over his bloody nose. Brogdon returned to the contest minutes later with a bandage over his eye, while Perrantes walked back to the Virginia bench with a huge gash on his nose. He did not come back into the game.

Florida State didn't record a basket in the final 10:34, missing its last 12 field goal attempts. Darion Atkins posted 11 points and four steals, while Brogdon finished with 10 points for the Cavaliers (25-1, 13-1 ACC), who last tallied consecutive 25-win campaigns during the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons. Xavier Rathan-Mayes was the lone double-digit scorer for the Seminoles (15-13, 7-8) with 13 points.

Oregon 69, (9) Utah 58

Eugene, OR (SportsNetwork.com) -- Joseph Young had 14 points in his final home game and Oregon reached the 20-win plateau again with a 69-58 upset of No. 9 Utah  on Sunday.  Freshman Dillon Brooks led the way on Senior Day, collecting 19 points and seven rebounds for the Ducks (20-8, 10-5 Pac-12), who have won three in a row over Utah and six of their last seven games overall. Elgin Cook added 12 points in the upset, which gave Oregon a fifth consecutive 20-win season for the first time in program history. Delon Wright had 20 points to lead Utah, which had a five-game winning streak snapped. The Utes (21-5, 11-3) could have tied Arizona for first place in Pac-12 with a win, but trailed for the final 25 1/2 minutes of the game.

(13) Wichita State 62, Evansville 43

Wichita, KS (SportsNetwork.com) -- Fred VanVleet scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out five assists in No. 13 Wichita State's dominant 62-43 win over Evansville on Sunday. Ron Baker added 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Shockers (25-3, 15-1 MVC) for his first career double-double. The Purple Aces' 43 points was their second-lowest total of the season after only scoring 41 against Wichita State in a January loss. Egidiju Mockevicius led Evansville (19-9, 9-7) with 15 points and 11 boards. The Missouri Valley Conference's leading scorer, D.J. Balentine, was limited to eight points on 2- of-10 shooting.

Michigan 64, (24) Ohio State 57

Ann Arbor, MI (SportsNetwork.com) -- Spike Albrecht scored 16 points and dished out five assists in the Michigan Wolverines' 64-57 win over the 24th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday. Zak Irvin added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Wolverines (14-13, 7-8 Big Ten), who snapped a five-game skid and avenged a 71-52 loss to Ohio State on Jan. 13. D'Angelo Russell ended with 16 points for the Buckeyes (19-8, 8-6), who have lost two in a row. Keita Bates-Diop and Sam Thompson contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.

SIUE 76, UT Martin 68

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Freshman C.J. Carr scored a career-high 21 points while senior Kris Davis dropped in 19 as SIUE men's basketball won for the third consecutive game, scoring a 76-68 senior night victory over UT Martin.

"It was a great night for the five seniors," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "This is the way they wanted to go out, with a victory at home. There's something to be said for how well we did at home this year. The seniors built a foundation to show teams coming in that it won't be easy to get a win here."

The win moved the Cougars to 12-14 overall and 8-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Both win totals are new program highs at the Division I level. SIUE finished the home season at 11-3 at home this season, which also is a new benchmark at the Division I level.

UT Martin fell to 17-10 overall and 9-5 in the OVC.

EIU Women Lock Up Spot In OVC Tournament

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois women’s basketball locked up a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers escaped with a 49-48 win over Southeast Missouri during the Pink Game at Lantz Arena.
 
EIU improved to 10-17 overall, 7-7 in the OVC. The Panthers will host UT Martin on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. for their senior night game. SEMO fell to 10-17 overall, 3-11 in the OVC.
 
Eastern Illinois led virtually the entire game after scoring the first points 39 seconds into game on a free throw by Shakita Cox.  Erica Brown would add a jumper on the next possession before SEMO made it 3-2 with a basket by Erin Bollmann with 16:59 to play. That would be as close as the Redhawks would get until late in the game.
 
The Panthers pushed the lead to 11-2 with two lay-ups and a 3-pointer by Sabina Oroszova. Oroszova turned in a second straight dominating performance with 22 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. EIU would lead by as many as 12 points in the first half as Oroszova’s lay-up with 4:22 to play made it 22-10.

Sunday, February 23 Scoreboard

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

#3 Virginia Cavaliers 51, Florida State Seminoles 41

Oregon Ducks 69, #9 Utah Utes 58

#13 Wichita State Shockers 62, Evansville Aces 43

Michigan Wolverines 64, #23 Ohio State Buckeyes 57

Monday, February 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

8:00 p.m. - #8 Kansas Jayhawks at Kansas State Wildcats

6:00 p.m. - #12 Louisville Cardinals at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets