No. 15 Butler handles Loyola for 18th win; UIC falls
Butler seniors Pete Campbell and Mike Green spent Thursday morning worrying whether they would even play against visiting Loyola.
Then they demonstrated how much they mean to the Bulldogs success.
Campbell scored 15 points and Green added 13, leading No. 15 Butler to a 63-50 victory over the Ramblers on a chaotic game day that included pregame phone calls from school officials to the Horizon League with questions about possible rules violations.
It turned out OK for the Bulldogs (18-2, 7-2), who matched last year's 20-game record as the best in school history. Matt Howard added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
J.R. Blount led Loyola (6-13, 2-7) with 16 points.
Valparaiso 60, UIC 56: Samuel Haanpaa scored 15 points to lead Valparaiso over visiting Illinois-Chicago in the Horizon League. Jarryd Loyd finished with 13 points and Shawn Huff had 10 for Valparaiso (14-6, 4-4). Josh Mayo scored 16 to lead UIC (10-9, 4-4).
Duke 81, Virginia Tech 64: Visiting Duke didn't want to let the crowd at Cassell Coliseum be in a position to possibly help Virginia Tech down the stretch.
Freshman Kyle Singler scored 10 of his 16 points during an 18-9 run that allowed the fourth-ranked Blue Devils to build a lead early in the second half they wouldn't relinquish.
The Blue Devils (16-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their sixth straight game and for the third time in the past five drama-filled meetings with the Hokies (11-8, 2-3).
Arizona 76, Wash. St 64: Jerryd Bayless scored 23 points and Chase Budinger had 22 as host Arizona (13-6, 3-3 Pac-10) handed Washington State its first double-digit loss Dec. 2, 2005.
Kyle Weaver and Aron Baynes scored 15 points each for the Cougars (16-2, 4-2).
WIU 65, IPFW 50: David Nurse and David Jackson each scored 13 points to lead Western Illinois (9-10, 4-4 Summit) past visiting Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne (7-12, 4-4).
Women
Tennessee 98, Arkansas 55: Angie Bjorklund scored a career-high 29 points, Candace Parker had 24, and Tennessee tied a team record with 13 3-pointers in a rout of visiting Arkansas.
The margin of victory was the largest of the season for the second-ranked Lady Vols (17-1, 5-0 Southeastern Conference).
Sarah Pfeifer led the Lady Razorbacks (16-4, 1-4) with 16 points.
LSU 79, Auburn 59:Sylvia Fowles had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Quianna Chaney made six 3-pointers and had 21 points to lead LSU past host Auburn.
The Lady Tigers (15-3, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) shot 55 percent and led by 21 points at halftime. Sherell Hobbs led Auburn (13-6, 1-3) with 20 points.
Duke 73, Georgia Tech 47: Chante Black had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Duke beat host Georgia Tech for the 28th straight time.
Abby Waner scored 15 for Duke (15-4 overall, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Chioma Nnamaka led Georgia Tech (16-4, 3-3) with 13 points.