On an afternoon when Maryland honored its 2001-02 national championship team, Eric Ayala, Fatts Russell and the Terrapins lived up to the program’s rich history with a 75-60 upset of No. 22 Ohio State on Sunday in College Park, Md.
Russell scored 27 points, Ayala contributed 23 and Donta Scott added 14 points and nine rebounds for Maryland (14-15, 6-12 Big Ten), which is trying to avoid its first losing season since 1992-93.
With the loss, Ohio State (18-8, 11-6) dropped out of contention for the Big Ten regular-season title. Cedric Russell and Jamari Wheeler combined to score 23 points as they hit 7 of 8 shots from 3-point range. But Maryland held the Buckeyes’ two big guns, E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham, to a combined 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting from the field.
Midway through the second half, Ohio State was still within three points. But in the final 10 minutes, Fatts Russell hit four 3-pointers, and Ayala added another — along with a fast-break, three-point play — as the Terps extended their advantage to as many as 18 points.
No. 14 Houston 75, SMU 61
Fabian White Jr. and Josh Carlton co-authored a dominating effort on the glass as the Cougars moved to the brink of clinching the regular-season crown in the American Athletic Conference with a victory over the visiting Mustangs.
White finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Carlton added 19 points and eight boards to lead the Cougars (24-4, 13-2 AAC), who outrebounded SMU 49-25. Houston turned 21 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points to snuff the Mustangs’ second-half run.
Kendric Davis scored 19 points to pace the Mustangs, who shot just 39.2 percent and missed 17 of 21 3-pointers. The Mustangs (20-7, 11-4) also surrendered a 48-30 advantage on points in the paint.
No. 15 Illinois 93, Michigan 85
Kofi Cockburn scored 27 points to lead the Fighting Illini to a road win over the Wolverines. .
Alfonso Plummer scored 23 of his 26 points in the first half, and Trent Frazier added 17 points for Illinois (20-8, 13-5 Big Ten), which moved into a tie for second place in the league standings.
DeVante’ Jones scored 25 points and Caleb Houstan 21 for Michigan (15-12, 9-8).
No. 21 UConn 86, Georgetown 77
R.J. Cole scored 18 points and Isaiah Whaley added 14 as the Huskies topped the woeful Hoyas, moving them one step closer to becoming only the fourth team in Big East history to have a winless season in the conference.
Tyler Polley scored 11 points and Tyrese Martin had nine points and 14 rebounds for UConn (21-7, 12-5), which can clinch third place in the conference with a victory at Creighton on Wednesday. Andre Jackson had nine points and six assists for the Huskies.
Dante Harris scored 23 points and Aminu Mohammed 16 for the Hoyas (6-22, 0-17), who have lost 18 consecutive games and last won Dec. 15 against Howard. Donald Carey scored 13 points and Collin Holloway 11 for the hosts.
–Field Level Media