NCAA News Wire
Top 25 roundup: Virginia wins slugfest over Louisville
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In a game that even heavyweight greats Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield would appreciate, Saturday night’s tussle between No. 9 Louisville and No. 3 Virginia had all of the makings of a primetime bought.
On a day that featured two top-10 matchups in the ACC for the first time in conference history, the Cavaliers slugged their way to a 52-47 triumph over the Cardinals at John Paul Jones Arena.
Guard Malcolm Brogdon led Virginia with 15 points, which included the game-sealing free throws with 10 seconds left.
Virginia’s leading scorer Justin Anderson did not play in the second half after suffering an apparent hand injury. Anderson scored just two points on the night on 1 of 9 shooting.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 13 in the second half before Louisville (19-4, 7-3) showed why they are ranked in the top-10 in the country. The Cardinals used a pair of triples by guard Wayne Blackshear, the second of which brought Louisville to within six points with 6:04 remaining.
An and-one by guard Chris Jones cut the Virginia (21-1, 9-1) lead to 50-47 with 18 seconds left but Jones was unable to convert the free throw attempt leading to Brogdon icing the game at the foul line.
Guard Terry Rozier led all scorers with 16 points and added five rebounds and five assists. Forward Montrezl Harrell scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds. Louisville shot 37 percent for the game compared to just 33 percent for Virginia. 11 turnovers hampered the Cardinals while the Cavaliers coughed up the ball just twice.
Gonzaga 81, San Francisco 70
SAN FRANCISCO — For the second time in three days, No. 2 Gonzaga found itself behind in the second half against a West Coast Conference opponent with a losing record.
For the second time in three days, the Bulldogs used a second-half surge to escape.
Santa Clara was Gonzaga’s victim on Thursday, and on Saturday night the Bulldogs struggled past San Francisco at sold-out War Memorial Gym for their 17th straight win.
Forward Kyle Wiltjer led Gonzaga (24-1, 12-0 WCC) with 29 points and 11 rebounds, and guard Kevin Pangos added 15 points. Forward Mark Tollefsen was the top scorer for the Dons (9-16, 3-10) with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. San Francisco lost its fifth straight game.
The Dons took their first lead of the game 15 seconds into the second half when a Gonzaga turnover led to guard Tim Derksen’s breakaway layup and a 40-38 San Francisco lead. The score was tied 55-55 when Tollefsen made a 5-footer with 11:42 left. But a 3-point shot by Pangos gave the Bulldogs a 58-55 lead at the 10:38 mark and started a 10-1 run that put Gonzaga ahead 66-56 with 8:28 left. Wiltjer hit two 3-pointers during the surge.
SMU 68, Tulsa 57
TULSA, Okla. –Southern Methodist went on second-quarter 15-0 run and Tulsa shot a season-low 28.3 percent as the Mustangs handed the Hurricanes their first loss in the American Athletic Conference.
Point guard Nic Moore led No. 23 SMU with 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Tulsa was led by James Woodard with 15 points. His lone basket in the second half was a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Utah 79, Colorado 51
BOULDER, Colo. — Brandon Taylor scored 18 points and Jordan Loveridge chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds as No. 13 Utah routed Colorado.
Taylor made six 3-pointers as the Utes won for the first time at the Coors Events Center since joining the Pac-12 Conference three years ago.
Kentucky 68, Florida 61
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Top-ranked Kentucky has done just about everything imaginable in the last few years but one thing the Wildcats hadn’t done was win at Florida. But on Saturday Kentucky rallied in the second half for its first win in Gainesville since March 4, 2012,
The Wildcats trailed at the break for the first time since early January and remain a perfect 23-0 overall, 10-0 in SEC play.
The difference in the game was at the free throw line. Kentucky made 21 of 22 foul shots. Florida made just 7 of 14, including just 2 of 6 down the stretch when the Gators were trying to stay in the game.
Wichita State 78, Missouri State 35
