Top 25 men's and women's basketball roundup

Feb. 2—Men

No. 16 Xavier 85, No. 17 Providence 83 (OT)

Jack Nunge had 23 points and 14 rebounds as No. 16 Xavier held off No. 17 Providence 85-83 in an overtime thriller Wednesday night.

Colby Jones and Souley Boum each scored 20 for the Musketeers, who won a first-place showdown in the Big East without injured forward Zach Freemantle.

Xavier was coming off an 84-67 loss at Creighton on Saturday.

"This was not an easy task," coach Sean Miller said. "Traveling back from Omaha and not playing well, then losing Zach on the heels of that. I wouldn't want to play Providence in any tournament. It's tough to beat them."

Noah Locke had 22 points and Ed Croswell added 21 for Providence (17-6, 9-3), which had beaten Xavier three straight times.

A layup by Boum put the Musketeers (18-5, 10-2) ahead 82-79 with 51 seconds remaining in overtime. But a Xavier turnover led to a layup by Devin Carter that cut the margin to one with 24 seconds left.

Boum hit one of two free throws, and Jared Bynum's 3-point attempt from the left corner rimmed out at the buzzer as the Musketeers held on.

"I was just glad that last shot went in and out," Nunge said.

Bynum hit a 3 at the buzzer to beat Xavier at Cintas Center last season, and his shot on Wednesday night appeared it was going in, too.

"I was having flashbacks to last year," Jones said.

Xavier played its first game without Freemantle, the team's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. He is expected to miss four weeks with a left foot injury, the same foot that required surgery in 2021.

"We told him we were going to fight for him," Jones said. "It was big for us. He does a lot on the court. We just played for him."

Jerome Hunter, who has excelled off the bench for the Musketeers, made his first start of the season and scored nine points with eight rebounds. Xavier had used the same starting lineup in each of its previous 11 Big East games.

It was only one game, but Miller was encouraged by how his team responded without one of its top players

"We worry mostly about him because of how hard he's worked," Miller said. "For him to go down now, when the spotlight is on college basketball, it's very difficult. Losing Zach can bring out the best in other things and that's what we're really in search of right now."

Things started well for the Musketeers. who went on a 12-1 run to build a 25-11 lead.

With Boum on the bench with two fouls, the Musketeers didn't have a field goal in the final 4:18 of the first half and the Friars pulled to 39-35 at halftime.

"We were just taking quick shots, a lot of 3s," Jones said. "We did a great job of weathering the storm and sticking to our game plan."

Providence outscored Xavier 8-2 to start the second half and took its first lead, 43-41, with 17:41 left.

There was a frantic finish to regulation, with Adam Kunkel's 3-pointer putting Xavier ahead 76-73 with 55 seconds left. But then Bynum banked in a tying 3 and Boum missed two long shots to send the game to overtime.

"We went into a hostile environment and I was proud of tenacity," Providence coach Ed Cooley said. "Souley (Boum) showed why he's an all-Big East-caliber guard. When you face these atmospheres and this type of coaching, you're not going to go undefeated."

The Musketeers, who average 13 turnovers per game, committed only five — their fewest since they had four in an 81-75 win over Georgetown on Jan. 9, 2019.

"The key stat for us was five turnovers in 45 minutes," Miller said. "That's why we won the game."

Hunter, who averages 14 minutes, left with three minutes remaining in OT with an apparent cramp in his right leg. With Freemantle out, Hunter played 36 minutes. "I credit Jerome's toughness, and the energy he exerted on defense," Miller said. "Just look at how much energy he used guarding Bryce Hopkins."

The Friars, who won their first Big East regular-season title last year, entered the night tied atop the conference standings with Xavier and No. 14 Marquette, which hosted Villanova later. Providence was picked fifth in the preseason. "There are no moral victories ever in sports," Cooley said. "But I'm happy where we are."

Florida 67, No. 2 Tennessee 54

Colin Castleton had 20 points and nine rebounds, Kyle Lofton added 14 points and Florida used a 13-0 run late in the second half to upend No. 2 Tennessee.

The Volunteers (18-4, 7-2 Southeastern Conference), playing with their highest ranking in four years, lost for the first time in five games. They had won nine of 10.

Tennessee led by six points in the second half before the Gators (13-9, 6-3) stormed back behind Castleton. He scored 11 of 14 points as Florida rallied.

Zakai Ziegler led the Vols with 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting.

No. 1 Purdue 80, Penn State 60

Mason Gillis broke the Mackey Arena record by making nine 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points as Purdue beat Penn State.

Gillis went 10 of 14 from the field and 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. Zach Edey added his 18th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

The Big Ten-leading Boilermakers (22-1, 11-1) have won nine straight overall, six straight in the series and are the only Power Five team with fewer than two losses this season.

Seth Lundy had 18 points to lead the Nittany Lions (14-8, 5-6).

No. 14 Marquette 73, Villanova 64

Tyler Kolek scored 20 points and Marquette rallied down the stretch to beat Villanova and maintain a share of the Big East lead.

Kam Jones added 18 points for Marquette (18-5, 10-2), which has won four straight games and nine of 10.

Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels scored 14 each for Villanova (10-12, 4-7), which committed a season-high 19 turnovers. Brendan Hausen added 12 points.

In a game neither team led by more than six until the final minute, Kolek put Marquette ahead for good at 63-62 by sinking two free throws with 4:32 remaining, starting a 10-0 spurt.

No. 25 Auburn 94, Georgia 73

Johni Broome scored 19 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds, Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 22 points, and Auburn beat Georgia.

Wendell Green Jr. added 18 points and six assists and made two 3-pointers during a 17-0 first-half run for the Tigers (17-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference).

Broome secured his seventh double-double of the season with 2:54 remaining in the first half, then added six points and six rebounds in the second half.

Mardrez McBride led the Bulldogs (14-8, 4-5) with 20 points.

Women

No. 4 Indiana 77, Minnesota 54

Mackenzie Holmes scored 28 points with four blocks and Sydney Parrish added 23 points, eight rebounds and five steals to help Indiana beat Minnesota.

Sara Scalia had a happy homecoming against her former team with 10 points and four rebounds for the Hoosiers (21-1, 11-1), who won their ninth straight game to stay in first place in the top-heavy Big Ten. Grace Berger had nine assists despite a 2-for-10 shooting night.

Mallory Heyer scored 16 points, Mara Braun had 13 points and Alanna Micheaux added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Gophers (9-13, 2-9), who have lost eight of their last nine games. They're 0-7 against the top seven teams in the conference with an average losing margin of 21 points.

No. 10 Ohio State 90, Wisconsin 67

Taylor Thierry scored a career-high 25 points and Taylor Mikesell added 21 to help Ohio State beat Wisconsin, snapping the Buckeyes' three-game losing skid.

Thierry also had seven rebounds for Ohio State (20-3, 9-3 Big Ten Conference), which started the season with 19 straight wins before losing three in a row.

Serah Williams scored 23 points and Avery LaBarbera added 17 for Wisconsin (7-16, 2-9), which has lost five of its last six games.

Kansas State 78, No. 12 Iowa State 77

Gabby Gregory scored 25 points and combined with Serena Sundell to make 7 of 8 free throws in the last 22 seconds and Kansas State defeated Iowa State, the Big 12 Conference co-leader.

Gregory clinched it with free throws with 2.3 seconds to go as the Cyclones hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Iowa State erased a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter but only tied the game once, at 64, on an Ashley Joens layup with three minutes to go. Emilee Ebert answered with a layup and then Big 12 steals leader Jaelynn Glenn stole the ball for an uncontested layup. After an ISU basket, Glenn drilled a clutch 3-pointer that put the Wildcats up 71-66 with 1:41 to go.

Glenn finished with 15 points and Sundell 14 for the Wildcats (14-9, 3-7), who beat No. 4 Iowa 84-83 on Nov. 17.

Lexi Donarski scored 18 points and Joens had 17 for Iowa State (15-5, 7-3).

No. 19 Villanova 73, Marquette 54

Maddy Siegrist had 24 points, Lucy Olsen added 16 points and Villanova pulled away in the second quarter to beat Marquette.

Siegrist scored 10 points during an 18-0 second-quarter run that put Villanova ahead 31-15. Marquette missed 13 straight shots during the seven-minute stretch and the Wildcats led by double figures the rest of the way.

Siegrist was scoreless in the first quarter but ended the half with 14 points and the Wildcats led 37-17 as Marquette was just 7 of 33 (21%) from the field. The Golden Eagles finished the game 19 of 61 (31%) with 15 turnovers.

Siegrist, the nation's scoring leader at 28.4 points per game, has scored at least 20 points in every game this season for Villanova (19-4, 10-2 Big East).

Jordan King, who scored a game-high 23 points in a 54-52 loss to Villanova on Dec. 28, scored 18 points for Marquette (14-8, 7-6). Chloe Marotta had 12 points and nine rebounds.

No. 24 Texas 69, West Virginia 56

Sonya Morris scored 17 points, Rori Harmon scored nine of her 14 in the fourth quarter and Texas turned back West Virginia to stay on top of the Big 12 Conference standings.

The Longhorns led from the start, running their stretch without trailing to 143 minutes, but it wasn't until Harmon scored Texas' last seven points over 2 1/2 minutes that the win was secured. The final margin matched the largest of the game.

With No. 12 Iowa State losing at Kansas State, Texas is alone at the top of the Big 12.

Taylor Jones had 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting for Texas (17-6, 8-2), which held its seven opponents below 60 points. Shaylee Gonzales added 11 points.