The ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS – Roosevelt Jones stole an inbound pass with 3.5 seconds left and hit a floater from just inside the foul line right before the buzzer to help No. 13 Butler upset No. 8 Gonzaga 64-63 on Saturday night.
Jones finished with 20 points and the Bulldogs have now won 13 in a row including two straight without their top scorer, Rotnei Clarke. It’s the first time Butler (16-2, 3-0 Atlantic 10) has ever beaten three top 10 teams in one season. They also defeated No. 9 North Carolina in November and No. 1 Indiana in December.
Gonzaga (17-2, 4-0 West Coast Conference) was led by Saw Dower and Elias Harris who each had 20 points. The loss ended the Zags eight-game winning streak.
The game was considered the biggest nonpower conference matchup of the season, and it met the hype.
Trailing 33-32 at the half, Butler scored the first five points of the second half and never trailed again until Elias Harris scored with 1:24 to go the teams traded leads on the next four possessions before Jones won it.
No. 18 Michigan State 59, No. 11 Ohio State 56: At East Lansing, Mich., Keith Appling made two free throws with 7.9 seconds left and finished with 15 points for Michigan State.
The Buckeyes had a chance to potentially tie the game in the closing seconds, but Shannon Scott didn’t come close on a running 3-point attempt.
Deshaun Thomas scored a career Big Ten-high 28 points, including six 3-pointers.
The Spartans (16-3, 5-1 Big Ten) have won five straight conference games.
Ohio State (13-4, 3-2) was playing for the first time since handing Michigan its only loss last Jan. 13.
No. 20 Notre Dame 69, Rutgers 66: At South Bend, Ind., Jack Cooley had 19 points, 10 rebounds and blocked a shot with 2 seconds left to help No. 20 Notre Dame hang on for a win over Rutgers, ending a two-game losing streak for the Fighting Irish.
Rutgers used a 6-1 run late to close to 67-66 when Eli Carter scored on a layup with 7 seconds left then forced a held ball on Eric Atkins two seconds later. Carter drove inside for the layup, but Cooley blocked the shot. Atkins then made a pair of free throws for the Irish (15-3, 3-2 Big East). Myles Mack’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer missed as the Scarlet Knights (14-4, 3-3) lost for the ninth straight time at Notre Dame.
Cincinnati 71, No. 25 Marquette 69 (OT): At Cincinnati, Sean Kilpatrick scored seven of his career-high 36 points in overtime Saturday night, and Cincinnati (16-3, 4-2 Big East) blew a 16-point lead before rallying to a victory over Marquette, ending the Bearcats’ streak of three straight home losses.
Nebraska 68, Penn State 64: At State College, Pa., Shavon Shields scored a career-high 29 points, Ray Gallegos had 15 points and Nebraska held off Penn State.
Penn State trailed by three points with 24 seconds left in the game before Nebraska’s (10-9, 1-5 Big Ten) Brandon Ubel was called for a flagrant foul on D.J. Newbill. The foul gave Penn State (8-10, 0-6) two extra free throws.
Purdue 79, West Virginia 52: At West Lafayette, Ind., D.J. Byrd scored 17 points to help Purdue defeat West Virginia.
Rapheal Davis added 16 points, Anthony Johnson 12 and Terone Johnson 11 for the Boilermakers (10-8), who won their third straight.
Purdue shot 49 percent from the field and outrebounded the Mountaineers 44-34.
Eron Harris scored 10 points for West Virginia (8-9), which barely surpassed its season low of 50 points.
Iowa 70, Wisconsin 66: At Iowa City, Iowa, Aaron White scored 17 points and Iowa hung on to beat Wisconsin 70-66 on Saturday night, knocking the Badgers out of first place in the Big Ten.
Devyn Marble added 13 for the Hawkeyes (13-5, 2-3 Big Ten), which picked up their biggest win of the season on the 20th anniversary of the death of former player Chris Street.
Wisconsin (13-5, 4-1) hit just one basket in the first 10 minutes of the game and Gabe Olaseni’s lay-up put the Hawkeyes ahead by 20 with 4:56 left in the first half.
Bradley 69, Missouri State 66: At Peoria, Walt Lemon Jr. drove the length of the court and banked in a running 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving Bradley (12-7, 4-3 Missouri Valley) a victory over Missouri State (5-14, 3-4).
St. John’s 71, Depaul 62: At Rosemont, Jamal Branch scored 18 points to lead St. John’s to a 71-62 victory over DePaul on Saturday.
D’Angelo Harrison added 15 points and Sir’Dominic Pointer had 14 for the Red Storm (11-7, 3-3 Big East), who have won seven straight against DePaul.
Jamee Crockett scored 19 points for DePaul (10-8, 1-4), which has lost three in a row and five of its past six.
