Week five of the college basketball season has had a hot start. 11 ranked teams have played thus far, along with one ranked on ranked matchup. Here are results of some of the top matchups to start the week.
No. 18 Gonzaga vs. Kent State
FINAL: Gonzaga 73, Kent State 66
Gonzaga was down four points with less than 4:00 to go, but would finish the game on an 11-2 run to be at Kent State. Drew Timme was big with 29 points and 17 rebounds. Nolan Hickman and Julian Strawther scored in double-figures with 10 and 14 points respectively. Miryne Thomas, Malique Jacobs, Sincere Carry were the three double-digit scorers for Kent State. Both teams move to 6-3 on the season. While that isn’t the start Gonzaga wanted, Kent State should be proud of themselves. The Golden Flashes’ three losses are by a combined 14 points to Charleston, No. 1 Houston and No. 18 Gonzaga.
No. 17 Illinois vs. No. 2 Texas
FINAL OT: Illinois 85, Texas 78
Illinois was up three at the half, however Texas was up by 10 with 8:21 left to go in regulation. With less than a minute on the clock, the Illini were down 68-63. Jayden Epps scored five straight points, a 3-pointer with 0:35 left, and then two-clutch free throws with 0:08 to go. Overtime was inevitable as Marcus Carr missed his last second jumper. Terrence Shannon Jr. had 12 of Illinois’ 17 points in the OT period. The Illini walked away victorious. Matthew Mayer for Illinois and Timmy Allen for Texas both had 21 points. Tyrese Hunter had 10 points for the Longhorns, while Shannon Jr. had 16 and Epps had 11 for the Illini. Texas takes its first loss of the season.
No. 3 Virginia vs. James Madison
FINAL: Virginia 55, James Madison 50
Virginia kept a lead for most of the game, and remains undefeated after eking out a win against the Dukes. James Madison guard Tikal Molson led all scorers with 20. Vado Morse had 11 points as well for JMU. Kihei Clark and Jayden Gardner led Virginia with 18 and 14 points respectively. Gardner also logged eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Similar to Gonzaga’s win over Kent State, this is a good win for Virginia over a solid James Madison team. Cavaliers are now 8-0.
Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Maryland
FINAL: Wisconsin 64, Maryland 59
Maryland takes its first loss of the season after a strong start. The Terrapins had won their first seven games by double-digits, and also beat Illinois last Friday night. Wisconsin is 7-2 with losses to No. 6 Kansas and Wake Forest. Chucky Hepburn and Steven Crowl led the Badgers in scoring with 13 points and 12 points respectively. Jahmir Young had a big game for Maryland with 17 points. Donta Scott had 9 points and 10 rebounds. Maryland has a big one against Tennessee on Sunday.
No. 15 Duke vs. Iowa
FINAL: Duke 74, Iowa 62
Duke with this win over the Hawkeyes, are now 9-2 on the season with wins over Xavier, Ohio State and now Iowa. Their two losses are at the hands of No. 6 Kansas and No. 4 Purdue. Iowa’s only other loss is too TCU. Jeremy Roach was big in this game with 22 points. Mark Mitchell had 17 points as well and Kyle Filipowski had a solid 12 points and 10 rebounds. Iowa had mostly low scorers in the game, but Dasonte Bowen and Pat McCaffery had 12 points each. Duke dominated most of the game, as Iowa’s final lead was being up 5-4 with 16:24 left to go.
No. 14 Indiana vs. Nebraska
FINAL: Indiana 81, Nebraska 65
After dominating for most of the game, Indiana almost beats Nebraska by 20. Despite having four double-digit scorers, Nebraska got a total of 4 points from its bench, two of which were free throws by Sam Hoiberg who played one minute. Tracy Jackson-Davis got 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assist for the third triple-double in Indiana Men’s Basketball history. Tre Galloway led all scorers with 20 points for the Hoosiers. Nebraska is 6-4 and will face Purdue next at home. Indiana is now 8-1 on the season and its next two games are against Arizona and Kansas.
No. 5 UConn vs Florida
FINAL: UConn 75, Florida 54
10 games, 10 wins, 10 double-digit victories. UConn has been on an absolute tear to start the season. They are a Final Four contender and the best team in the Big East. Adama Sanogo is an All-American candidate, and in this game he logged 17 points and 7 rebounds in just 20 minutes. Donovan Clingan got 16 points and Jordan Hawkins got 15 points for the Huskies. Florida is now 6-4, losing to all its P5 opponents except for 4-5 Oregon state and 1-9 Florida State.
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