Wisconsin’s reign as No. 1 appears brief
Wisconsin’s first game as the nation’s top-ranked team went poorly Tuesday night, when Drew Neitzel scored 28 points to lead Michigan State to a 64-55 victory in East Lansing, Mich.
Wisconsin (26-3, 12-2 Big Ten) gained the No. 1 spot in the AP poll for the first time in school history Monday.
Neitzel’s 3-pointer with 3:51 left gave Michigan State (20-8, 7-6) a 51-49 lead, and the Spartans held on, giving their NCAA tournament hopes a boost.
UNLV 60, (14) Air Force 50: At Las Vegas, Kevin Kruger had 14 points and a career-high 10 assists to help the Rebels (23-6, 10-4 Mountain West) upset the Falcons (23-5, 10-4).
Nick Welch had 15 points and nine rebounds for Air Force, which is tied with UNLV for second in the conference behind No. 21 BYU.
(19) Texas 80, Texas Tech 51: At Austin, Texas, A.J. Abrams scored 18 points and the Longhorns (20-7, 10-3) stayed in the thick of the Big 12 race with a win over the Red Raiders (17-11, 6-7).
Kevin Durant added 17 points for the Longhorns, who had all five starters score in double figures but didn’t have a 20-point scorer for the first time this season.
Providence 64, (22) West Virginia 61: At Providence, R.I., Weyinmi Efejuku scored 24 points with seven rebounds and the Friars (17-9, 7-6 Big East) took advantage of West Virginia’s 32 missed 3-point attempts for a victory over the Mountaineers (20-7, 8-6).
Darris Nichols and Frank Young scored 14 apiece for West Virginia, which is still looking for a road win against a quality opponent.
Women
Tina Charles scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, leading third-ranked Connecticut to its 11th consecutive victory, 81-67 over South Florida (18-9, 8-6) in Tampa, Fla.
The Huskies (25-2, 14-0) clinched their first outright Big East regular-season title in three years and remained unbeaten through 14 league games for the sixth time in the program’s history.
(18) Bowling Green 89, Kent State 66: At Kent, Ohio, reserve Amber Flynn scored 21 points to lead the Falcons (25-2, 14-0 Mid-American Conference) over the Golden Flashes (13-12, 9-5).
Seton Hall 63, (19) Marquette 58: At South Orange, N.J., Ela Mukosiej scored 16 points and Monique Blake added 13 as the Pirates (17-9, 8-6 Big East) rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat the Golden Eagles (22-5, 10-4).
(21) Rutgers 69, Providence 34: At Piscataway, N.J., Matee Ajavon had 23 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Scarlet Knights (18-7, 11-3 Big East) over the Friars (13-14, 3-11).
(23) Louisville 91, St. John’s 62: At Louisville, Ky., Angel McCoughtry scored 21 points, 17 in the second half, and the Cardinals (23-5, 9-5 Big East) rolled over the Red Storm (8-17, 4-10).
Iowa State 64, (25) Nebraska 53: At Ames, Iowa, Megan Ronhovde, playing her final home game, scored eight of her 15 points during a game-turning run that carried the Cyclones (20-7, 8-6 Big 12) past the Cornhuskers (21-7, 9-5).