Howard scores 32 as No. 10 Marquette beats Butler 76-58
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Markus Howard scored 32 points and Sam Hauser added 19 to help No. 10 Marquette pull away from Butler for a 76-58 victory Wednesday night.
The Golden Eagles (19-3, 8-1 Big East) have won eight straight overall and picked up their first win at Hinkle Fieldhouse since the 1989-90 season. Howard finished 14 for 23 from the field and had five rebounds.
Kamar Baldwin led Butler (12-10, 3-6) with 16 points. The Bulldogs have lost three in a row and five of seven.
No. 12 VIRGINIA TECH 82, MIAMI 70
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Nickeil Alexander-Walker tied a season high with 25 points and added a highlight-reel assist as Virginia Tech shot 59 percent to beat Miami.
Justin Robinson scored 17 points for the Hokies but limped to the locker room midway through the second half. He watched the final seconds from the bench with his left foot in a boot. Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams declined to discuss the nature or severity of the injury.
Virginia Tech (17-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) closed within one game of the league lead, but now it might be without Robinson, who holds the school record for career assists and scored a career-high 35 points last week against Syracuse.
The Hurricanes (9-11, 1-7) lost their fourth in a row and are off to their worst start in conference play since 1993-94, when they went 0-18 in the Big East.
No. 14 VILLANOVA 86, DEPAUL 74
CHICAGO (AP) — Eric Paschall scored 20 points, Phil Booth added 19 points and eight assists, and Villanova won its ninth straight game by beating DePaul.
Freshman forward Saddiq Bey matched a career high with 16 points and set one with 11 rebounds for Villanova. He shot 4 of 6 on 3-pointers.
The Wildcats (17-4, 8-0 Big East) hit 15 from beyond the arc after making 17 in a romp over Seton Hall on Sunday. The defending national champions beat DePaul (11-9, 3-6) for the 18th straight time.
Femi Olujobi led the Blue Demons with 20 points and eight rebounds. Eli Cain scored 17, but DePaul lost for the fourth time in five games despite shooting 53 percent.
While much of Chicago was shut down because of frigid conditions, with temperatures dropping to around minus-23, the game went on as scheduled.
No. 15 LOUISVILLE 82, WAKE FOREST 54
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Nwora scored 20 points and Louisville routed Wake Forest for its sixth straight victory.
Dwayne Sutton added 17 points and 10 rebounds, Malik Williams finished with 13 points and Ryan McMahon had 12 on four 3-pointers for the Cardinals (16-5, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). They shot 52 percent and led by 35 while staying even with No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Virginia and No. 9 North Carolina atop the ACC.
Brandon Childress scored 13 for the Demon Deacons (8-12, 1-7), who shot a season-worst 27 percent and missed 13 of their first 14 3-pointers. They have lost seven of eight and are off to their fourth 1-7 start to league play in five years under coach Danny Manning.
No. 19 LSU 72, TEXAS A&M 57
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Tremont Waters scored a season-high 36 points and made a career-best six 3-pointers to carry LSU past Texas A&M for its 10th straight victory.
Waters was hot early, making five of seven 3-point attempts and piling up 23 points by halftime. He cooled down a bit after the break, but did enough to lead LSU (17-3, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) to the victory on a night when much of the team struggled offensively.
The Tigers led by three early in the second half before using a 10-2 run to make it 51-40 with 15 minutes to go. Naz Reid took over during that stretch, scoring seven points with a dunk and a three-point play.
Texas A&M (8-11, 1-6) got 21 points from TJ Starks but lost for the fourth time in five games.
No. 20 IOWA STATE 93, WEST VIRGINIA 68
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Lindell Wigginton scored a season-high 28 points off the bench and Iowa State cruised past West Virginia for its fourth win in five games.
Marial Shayok had 18 points for the surging Cyclones (16-5, 5-3 Big 12), who shot 26 of 40 inside the 3-point line and 29 of 32 from the free throw line. Nick Weiler-Babb had 14 points with six rebounds and four steals for Iowa State.
Lamont West led West Virginia (9-12, 1-7) with 24 points. Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins was ejected with 3:28 left for arguing with officials and had to be restrained by an assistant on his way back to the locker room.
