North Texas comes up big with 78-69 upset over Purdue
For an underdog named Javion Hamlet and his group of scrapping North Texas teammates, that was an easy question. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity my whole life, just to show the world who Javion Hamlet is,” he said. North Texas’ pesky defense held them to 36% from the field. “You never know what happens when you get out there and scrap,” North Texas coach Grant McCasland said. North Texas moves on to play Friday night’s winner between Winthrop and Villanova.
Edey, No. 23 Purdue beat Indiana for 9th straight time
Purdue has won nine straight in the series, matching the second-longest streak in school history. The Boilermakers also won nine straight from 1929-35 when future coach John Wooden was playing, plus they won 12 straight from 1908-14. It quickly cut a 29-20 deficit to 35-31 early in the second half before the Boilermakers answered with eight straight points. Starting guard Armaan Franklin missed his fourth straight game (right foot). The Boilermakers won despite going 6 of 21 on 3s and having 15 turnovers.
No. 7 Michigan uses strong defense to rout Purdue 70-53
– Michigan coach Juwan Howard put the emphasis on defense from the first time his entire team practiced this season. On a night Isaiah Livers matched his season high with 22 points and Eli Brooks added 11, the seventh-ranked Wolverines used a staunch defense to pull away from Purdue 70-53. Purdue: While the Boilermakers had been the Big Ten's hottest team, they sputtered without Stefanovic. POLL IMPLICATIONSWith wins over Maryland and at Purdue this week, the Wolverines won't go anywhere but up in the Top 25. Purdue: Williams has 12 straight double-doubles.