CHAMPAIGN, ILL. ? Indiana’s Eric Gordon finally gave Illinois fans something to cheer about. Armon Bassett wasn’t as kind.
Bassett scored 11 of his 16 points in the second overtime, and No. 14 Indiana rallied to beat Illinois, 83-79, Thursday even though Gordon struggled for much of the night.
The Hoosiers’ star freshman was jeered throughout the night for reneging on an early verbal commitment to Illinois and committed what looked like a costly turnover in the second overtime. He also hit a game-tying three late in regulation, so it wasn’t all bad for Gordon.
Illinois’ Calvin Brock had just converted a runner, cutting Indiana’s lead to 79-76, when Gordon got called for a 10-second violation with 26 seconds left. The Illini’s Demetri McCamey then dribbled the ball off his knee and out of bounds.
Bassett then hit two free throws, and he converted two more to make it 83-79 with five seconds left following a three-pointer by McCamey, who scored 31 points.
With that Indiana (19-3, 8-1 Big Ten) could exhale. The Hoosiers, who trailed by 12 early in the second half, have won two straight since back-to-back losses against Connecticut and Wisconsin. And they earned this victory – their first at Illinois since 1999 – even though Gordon was a mess early on.
Chants of “Liar! Liar!” – and others not quite so friendly – directed toward Gordon echoed through the arena. All that came before the pregame introductions.
No. 5 UCLA 67, No. 17 Washington State 59
Pullman, Wash. – Darren Collison scored all of his 18 points in the decisive second half, and freshman Kevin Love added 16 points and nine rebounds to lead UCLA. Collison made all seven of his free throws and coolly shook off 0-for-4 shooting in the first half as the Bruins (21-2, 9-1 Pac-10) stayed one game ahead of Stanford atop the Pac-10. UCLA, which has appeared in two consecutive Final Fours, remained on its best start since the 1994-95 team went 32-1. That team won the NCAA title.
No. 9 Stanford 72, Oregon 43
Stanford, Calif. – Robin Lopez had 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks, and Stanford jumped to an early lead on the way to winning its sixth straight game.
No. 13 Xavier 70, Saint Louis 68
St. Louis – Derrick Brown made a tip-in with 0.1 seconds to go, enabling Xavier barely to avoid a second-half meltdown. Josh Duncan led a balanced atack with 15 points for Xavier (19-4, 7-1 Atlantic 10), which squandered all of a 16-point cushion against the persistent Billikens. Drew Lavender added 13 points, and three others scored in double figures for Xavier, which has won five in a row and 11 of 12.
No. 21 Pittsburgh 55, West Virginia 54
Pittsburgh – Ronald Ramon barely beat the final horn with a game-winning three-pointer from the left wing, as Pittsburgh rallied in the final minute.
