Nova, Purdue, Auburn Go Down in Stunning Losses
Three top-10 upsets in college basketball on Wednesday were headlined by the St. John's Red Storm continuing their unbelievable week. Just four days after topping No. 4 Duke to snap an 11-game losing streak, the Red Storm stunned the top-ranked Villanova Wildcats, 79-75, on Wednesday night. Shamorie Ponds led the way against with 26 points in St. John's first win over a top-ranked team in 33 years. Their last win over a No. 1 team was January 26th, 1985 when they beat then No. 1 Georgetown. It was also their first conference win of the season, making it the first time in the AP Poll era that a team with an 0-10 record or worse beat the No. 1 team in the country. Before these two top-5 wins, the Red Storm hadn't won a game since December 20th. Meanwhile, the Purdue Boilermakers saw their 19-game win streak come to an end on Wednesday with a 64-63 loss to No. 13 Ohio State. Keita Bates-Diop led the Buckeyes with 18 points and 11 rebounds and had the game-winning putback with 2.8 seconds to play. Purdue led by as many as 14 in the second half, but the Buckeyes ended the game on a 13-5 run to pull off the upset. The Boilermakers hadn't lost since November 23rd., on their home floor in 22 games, and in conference play in 15 contests. Carsen Edwards had a career-high 28 points, six rebounds, and three assists in the loss. The third upset came from the SEC, as No. 9 Auburn fell on their home floor to unranked Texas A&M, 81-80. Duane Wilson went one-for-two from the free throw line with four seconds left to lift the Aggies, who shot 54 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point range. Mustpaha Heron missed a three-point heave at the buzzer to seal the loss, which was Auburn's third of the season and second in conference. Heron had 28 points to lead the Tigers, who was without leading scorer Bryce Brown, who left late in the first half with a shoulder injury.
LeBron, Cavs Top Timberwolves at the Buzzer
Wednesday night may have been the win the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to attract talent come Thursday's trade deadline. LeBron James hit the game-winner over Jimmy Butler at the buzzer to lift the Cavs over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 140-138, in overtime. The game-winner was the fifth buzzer-beater of his career, as he finished with a triple-double of 37 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds in 48 minutes. He also moved up on the franchise rebounding list over Zydrunas Ilgauskas and led his team to a rare national t.v. win., as they had lost eight in a row in those situations. Cleveland has won just seven of their past 20 games overall, but moved back ahead of the Washington Wizards for the three seed in the Eastern Conference. J.R. Smith added 20 points, while Isaiah Thomas contributed 13 points and seven assists on the night. Butler led the Timberwolves with 35 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 and went six-for-six from three, as the team made a season-high 19 three-pointers in the loss. The Cavs, conversely, had 21 made shots from beyond the arc, and they move on to visit the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. The Timberwolves will visit the Chicago Bulls that same night.
Harden, Rockets Get Past Dragic, Heat
The Houston Rockets got themselves into a fight with the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, and it was the bearded star who led that battle. James Harden had 41 points to power the Rockets over the Heat in Miami, 109-101. The win was their sixth in a row and 10th in the past 11 games, as Harden eclipsed 40 points for an eighth time this season. He shot 13-of-25 from the field and 5-of-12 from three-point range, His counterpart, Josh Richardson, finished with 30 points, while Goran Dragic led the way with 30 points in the Heat's fifth straight loss, which is their longest skid of the year. Chris Paul chipped in 24 points and seven assists and Clint Capela finished with 13, as the Rockets improved to 24-1 with Harden, Paul, and Capela in the lineup. They also finished off a 4-0 road trip, as they led by as many as 17 in Wednesday's win. They will return home on Friday to host the Denver Nuggets, who are fighting for the final playoff spot in the West. The Heat look to snap their losing streak at home against the Milwaukee Bucks that same night.
Three top-10 upsets in college basketball on Wednesday were headlined by the St. John's Red Storm continuing their unbelievable week. Just four days after topping No. 4 Duke to snap an 11-game losing streak, the Red Storm stunned the top-ranked Villanova Wildcats, 79-75, on Wednesday night. Shamorie Ponds led the way against with 26 points in St. John's first win over a top-ranked team in 33 years. Their last win over a No. 1 team was January 26th, 1985 when they beat then No. 1 Georgetown. It was also their first conference win of the season, making it the first time in the AP Poll era that a team with an 0-10 record or worse beat the No. 1 team in the country. Before these two top-5 wins, the Red Storm hadn't won a game since December 20th. Meanwhile, the Purdue Boilermakers saw their 19-game win streak come to an end on Wednesday with a 64-63 loss to No. 13 Ohio State. Keita Bates-Diop led the Buckeyes with 18 points and 11 rebounds and had the game-winning putback with 2.8 seconds to play. Purdue led by as many as 14 in the second half, but the Buckeyes ended the game on a 13-5 run to pull off the upset. The Boilermakers hadn't lost since November 23rd., on their home floor in 22 games, and in conference play in 15 contests. Carsen Edwards had a career-high 28 points, six rebounds, and three assists in the loss. The third upset came from the SEC, as No. 9 Auburn fell on their home floor to unranked Texas A&M, 81-80. Duane Wilson went one-for-two from the free throw line with four seconds left to lift the Aggies, who shot 54 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point range. Mustpaha Heron missed a three-point heave at the buzzer to seal the loss, which was Auburn's third of the season and second in conference. Heron had 28 points to lead the Tigers, who was without leading scorer Bryce Brown, who left late in the first half with a shoulder injury.
LeBron, Cavs Top Timberwolves at the Buzzer
Wednesday night may have been the win the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to attract talent come Thursday's trade deadline. LeBron James hit the game-winner over Jimmy Butler at the buzzer to lift the Cavs over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 140-138, in overtime. The game-winner was the fifth buzzer-beater of his career, as he finished with a triple-double of 37 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds in 48 minutes. He also moved up on the franchise rebounding list over Zydrunas Ilgauskas and led his team to a rare national t.v. win., as they had lost eight in a row in those situations. Cleveland has won just seven of their past 20 games overall, but moved back ahead of the Washington Wizards for the three seed in the Eastern Conference. J.R. Smith added 20 points, while Isaiah Thomas contributed 13 points and seven assists on the night. Butler led the Timberwolves with 35 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 and went six-for-six from three, as the team made a season-high 19 three-pointers in the loss. The Cavs, conversely, had 21 made shots from beyond the arc, and they move on to visit the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. The Timberwolves will visit the Chicago Bulls that same night.
Harden, Rockets Get Past Dragic, Heat
The Houston Rockets got themselves into a fight with the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, and it was the bearded star who led that battle. James Harden had 41 points to power the Rockets over the Heat in Miami, 109-101. The win was their sixth in a row and 10th in the past 11 games, as Harden eclipsed 40 points for an eighth time this season. He shot 13-of-25 from the field and 5-of-12 from three-point range, His counterpart, Josh Richardson, finished with 30 points, while Goran Dragic led the way with 30 points in the Heat's fifth straight loss, which is their longest skid of the year. Chris Paul chipped in 24 points and seven assists and Clint Capela finished with 13, as the Rockets improved to 24-1 with Harden, Paul, and Capela in the lineup. They also finished off a 4-0 road trip, as they led by as many as 17 in Wednesday's win. They will return home on Friday to host the Denver Nuggets, who are fighting for the final playoff spot in the West. The Heat look to snap their losing streak at home against the Milwaukee Bucks that same night.
