The Ohio State and San Diego State men’s basketball teams both picked up conference victories this week and became the final undefeated teams in the nation.
Ohio State, the top ranked team in the nation, needed a fierce rally to knock off No. 22 Illinois and improve to 20-0.
The Buckeyes fell behind by eight points with just under 13 minutes remaining, but freshman Jared Sullinger put the team on his back and guided them to a 73-68 victory. The freshman finished the game with 27 points and 16 rebounds while Jon Diebler tossed in 15 for OSU.
Sullinger, a candidate for national player of the year, is averaging 17.9 points and 10.2 rebounds a game.
The Buckeyes will host No. 13 Purdue on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, San Diego State continued their dominance out west by beating Air Force, 68-55.
The Aztecs improved to 20-0 behind the stellar play of senior point guard D.J. Gay.
Gay finished the contest with 20 points and drained six 3-pointers. The senior has been on fire from behind the arc, making 13 long-distance shots in his last two games.
Sophomore Kawhi Leonard also scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Billy White chipped in 12 points.
SDSU will play perhaps their biggest game of the year on Wednesday when they square off against Jimmer Fredette and No. 9 Brigham Young.
Texas ends Kansas’ streak
No. 11 Texas shook off a poor start to beat previously undefeated Kansas. The victory snapped the Jayhawks’ home game-winning streak, which had reached 69 games.
The Longhorns (16-3) fell into a 12-point hole in the first half but rallied to defeat the Kansas (18-1) by a score of 74-63.
Texas clamped down on the Jayhawks normally effective offense, forcing them into 15 turnovers and 36 percent shooting. Kansas struggled in the second half, converting only 8-of-30 shots from the field.
J’Covan Brown came off the bench and poured in 23 points, while Jordan Hamilton (17 points), Tristan Thompson (12 points) and Cory Joseph (10 points) paced Texas.
Tyrel Reed scored 17 points, Marcus Morris added 16 points, and Markieff Morris pitched in 10 points to lead the No. 2 Jayhawks in the loss.
Kansas’ last loss at home came against Texas A&M on Feb. 3, 2007.
Tragedy struck for KU the night before the game. Sophomore forward Thomas Robinson lost his mother to an apparent heart attack. Robinson decided to still play and scored two points in eight minutes of action.
Fredette torches Colorado State
Senior guard Jimmer Fredette led No. 9 Brigham Young past Colorado State on Saturday night.
Fredette piled up 42 points, his second 40-point outburst of the season, en route to a 94-85 victory. The senior out of Glens Falls, N.Y. went 11-of-24 from the field, 4-of-9 from 3-point range and 16-of-17 from the free throw line. He also added four assists and four rebounds.
BYU also received 16 points from Kyle Collinsworth and Jackson Emery, while Brandon Davies added 12 points.
Colorado State (13-6) was led by Wes Eikmeier who tallied 25 points for the Rams.
The win was BYU’s ninth in a row with the Cougars (19-1) only loss of the season coming at the hands of UCLA.
Fredette leads the nation in scoring this season with 26.7 points per game and will be a legitimate candidate for national player of the year. He has scored 40 or more points three other times in his career. Last year, he burst onto the scene with 49 points versus Arizona and then late in the season went for 45 against Texas Christian. Fredette ran up 47 points two weeks ago against Utah.
The Cougars will play host to San Diego State, then travel to New Mexico this week.
Jackson Alexander can be reached at [email protected].
