College basketball roundup: Late-game heroics shine bright

With college football entering its bowl season, it's time for college basketball to take centerstage. And since its only December, that means there's more than three months of high-octane, fast-paced action ahead on the hardwood.

With conference play quickly approaching, teams are looking to right the ship heading into the meat of the season's schedule. In the meanwhile, primetime performances and high-profile matchups continue to pop up, much to the delight of college basketball faithful around the country.

New storylines continue to give fans a myriad ways to keep themselves glued in to the action. To help with that process, krikya18.com takes a look back at some of the games you may have missed.

Top 25 teams in action:

• No. 25: Iowa State crushed Omaha, 91-47; fell to instate rival Iowa, 78-64
• No. 24: Oregon survived Alabama, 65-56
• No. 23: Notre Dame defeated Fort Wayne, 87-72; lost to No. 1 Villanova, 74-66
• No. 22: Cincinnati faltered against No. 16 Butler, 75-65
• No. 21: Florida lost to No. 5 Duke, 84-74; defeated by Florida State, 83-78
• No. 20: Arizona bested Missouri, 79-60
• No. 19: South Carolina off
• No. 18: Purdue bounced Arizona State, 97-64; brushed by Cleveland State, 77-53
• No. 17: Wisconsin dismantled Idaho State, 78-44; outlasted Marquette, 93-84
• No. 16: Butler fell against Indiana State, 72-71; bounced back against No. 22 Cincinnati, 75-65
• No. 15: West Virginia dropped Western Carolina, 90-37; beat back Virginia Military Institute, 90-55
• No. 14: Virginia cruised against East Carolina, 76-53
• No. 13: Xavier tripped up by Colorado, 68-66; outscored Utah, 77-69
• No. 12: Saint Mary's lost to University of Texas at Arlington, 65-51; rebounded against UC Irvine, 84-53
• No. 11: Louisville defeated Southern Illinois, 74-51; ran past Texas Southern, 102-71
• No. 10: Creighton bested Nebraska, 77-62; triumphed over Longwood, 113-58
• No. 9: Indiana crushed Houston Baptist, 103-61
• No. 8: Gonzaga dropped Washington, 98-71; clawed past Akron, 61-43
• No. 7: North Carolina tipped Davidson, 83-74; edged out Tennessee, 73-71
• No. 6: Kentucky dominated Valparaiso, 87-63; toppled Hofstra, 96-73
• No. 5: Duke beat No. 21 Florida, 84-74; cruised against UNLV, 94-45
• No. 4: Baylor off
• No. 3: Kansas bested UMKC, 105-62; knocked off Nebraska, 89-72
• No. 2: UCLA outran Michigan, 102-84
• No. 1: Villanova emerged over La Salle, 89-79; outplayed No. 23 Notre Dame, 74-66

Need to know:

Monday:

A big night from Portland’s point guard Alec Wintering piloted (pun intended) the home team to a double overtime win on Monday over UT Rio Grande Valley, 90-89. WIntering’s line touched nearly all categories as the native of Charlotte, North Carolina tallied 24 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and five steals in 50 minutes of floor time.

Three other players reached double figures for first-year head coach Terry Porter — the very same Porter who spent 10 of his 17 NBA seasons with the Portland Trailblazers. Wintering’s night was indicative of the year he’s been having for the Pilots, one that has seen him average 22.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Coach Porter would be happy to see more of the same from his senior floor general.

Tuesday:

It’s hard to think that the lone matchup between two Top 25 teams on Tuesday night — No. 5 Duke against No. 21 Florida — might have been overshadowed by a few bouts between unranked opponents, but that’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes. Nonetheless, it is by no means an excuse to not take note of a solid game from the Blue Devils in their 84-74 win over the Gators. 

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski got three 20+ point efforts from freshman phenom Jayson Tatum, sophomore swingman Luke Kennard, and senior big man Amile Jefferson to pace things in the win. Not the most balanced scoring night for the Blue Devils as the aforementioned trio accounted for 75 of the team’s 84 points, but a win is a win. Fun fact: The last Duke trio to score at least 22 points each was Jay Williams, Carlos Boozer and Shane Battier on Jan. 20, 2001, per ESPN Stats and Information. Mind you, Duke won the National Title behind that core group in 2001. Just saying.

Wednesday:

A pair of losses for ranked teams on Wednesday began with Butler's trip to visit Indiana State of the Missouri Valley Conference. There the Bulldogs ran into a roadblock in the form of Sycamores lead guard Brenton Scott. Scott’s performance, which included 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, lifted the home team over the No. 16 Bulldogs. And a free throw with 0.8 seconds left in the ballgame proved to be the difference in a 72-71 affair.

A game-winning free throw has to be especially gratifying for Indiana State’s head coach Greg Lansing, who has seen his team lose four games this season by a total of 10 points. Maybe a win over an opponent in the Top 25 is just what the doctor ordered to help the Sycamores get over their late-game blues.

The second upset of the night came when the No. 13 Xavier Musketeers traveled to play the Buffaloes of Colorado. Despite 27 points from junior guard Trevon Bluiett, the Musketeers shot just 37.3 percent in their two-point loss (68-66) at the hands of the Buffs. Colorado's senior guard Derrick White had 23 points in the victory.

Thursday:

When No. 12 Saint Mary's met the Mavericks of UTA (University of Texas at Arlington) on Thursday at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California, few would have predicted anything short of a romp for the hometown Gaels. And given that UTA had never beaten a team in the Top 25, even fewer would have said that the school's first such win would come on the road at Saint Mary's. Well, someone forgot to send that memo to head coach Scott Cross as his Mavericks put together a complete effort in their upset win over Saint Mary's.

The Mavs were led by a pair of juniors — forward Kevin Hervey and guard Erick Neal — who both reached double figures to pace the scoring effort. Neal's eight assists also proved key in the victory, with the Mavs also winning both the rebounding and the turnover margin. An uncharacteristically poor offensive night for Saint Mary's helped the cause as well as well as UTA outshot the Gaels — 49 percent to 31.9 percent, respectively. The Mavericks were previously 0-28 against ranked opponents, according to .

Friday:

A fairly ho-hum Friday evening on the college slate (only 10 games scheduled for all of Division I) meant fans had to look a bit harder to find the must-see action, but there's always something worth fixing your attention on in the realm of college basketball. In this case, a pair of late 3-pointers from Wake Forest's Bryant Crawford and Hartford's Jason Dunne proved to be the best finishes on the day. And both buckets helped give their teams a much-needed win.

Hartford's Dunne knocked down a triple with just over two seconds left to tip Boston College (65-63), capping off a career-high 25-point night in the process. The jumper also gave Hartford its first win against an ACC opponent, .

ICYMI, here's the game winner for tonight against BC. Great penetration by and great catch and pass by .

— Hartford Basketball (@HartfordMBB)

On the flip side, a late three from Wake Forest's Bryant Crawford gaves the Demon Deacons a 78-75 edge against the Spartans of UNC Greensboro. Both Crawford and sophomore big man John Collins had 17 points in the victory, as Wake Forest improved to 8-2 on the year. The Deacs will have another opportunity to make a big statement when they meet Xavier on Dec. 17. Until then, the image of Crawford draining a game-winning 3-point shot will have to do.

Cold. Blooded. Crawford.

— Wake Basketball (@TieDyeNation)

Saturday:

It seems that each time the defending national champions take the floor they are tested in some way, but so far the Wildcats and head coach Jay Wright have been up to the task on each occasion. On Saturday, the obstacle in the way of the 'Cats was the No. 23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame gave Villanova a good fight, well into the latter stages of the game, but ultimately Villanova's offensive firepower proved to be too much for the Irish to overcome in a 74-66 defeat.

Josh Hart (37 points) was the only player in double figures for Villanova on Saturday, but this battle could in some ways be a blueprint for teams looking to beat Villanova. To put it bluntly, teams have to find a way to beat the 'Cats at their own game — scoring the basketball. Notre Dame did a lot a of things well in this bout (i.e. limiting Villanova's 3-point opportunities and creating issues for the 'Cats motion offense) but the disparity from the free-throw line was too big to overcome (Villanova finished the game 20-22 from the line, while Notre Dame finished 6-6).

Sunday:

When Florida matches up with Florida State the topic of conversation is almost invariably football. However, on Sunday these two schools linked up at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center for a good, old-fashioned slugfest of a basketball game. Sophomore standout Dwayne Bacon — a native of Lakeland, Florida — scored 24 points to lead all scorers in the 83-78 final. A double-double from Terance Mann also helped pace the Seminoles in this one, which included a 25-33 (76 percent) day at the charity stripe.

FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton has got to be happy with his team's effort as the 'Noles outrebounded the Gators and limited Florida to just 25 percent from the 3-point arc. And an opportunity to knock an instate rival from the ranks of the Top 25 makes the victory that much sweeter — just ask the Iowa Hawkeyes, but more on that later.