Minnesota tops Northwestern 65-61 behind Hoffarber
Blake Hoffarber hit four 3-pointers in the final seven-plus minutes, finishing with 20 points and lifting Minnesota to a 65-61 victory over Northwestern on Tuesday night.
Lawrence Westbrook pitched in 18 points and 6 assists for the host Gophers (13-7, 4-4 Big Ten), who broke a three-game losing streak.
John Shurna led the second-half comeback for the Wildcats (14-6, 3-5) with 19 points, and Michael Thompson added 15 points and 6 assists.
Hoffarber, the conference's leading 3-point shooter, combined for only 15 points in his last three games and went 2-for-11 from behind the arc. But he got going again just when the Gophers needed him the most.
Hoffarber gave Minnesota the lead for good with just under five minutes to go at 51-49 with a 3, then hit another one on the next possession.
With Northwestern staring at a game at No. 5 Michigan State on Saturday and Minnesota playing at 20th-ranked Ohio State on Sunday, both teams were in must-win mode to keep their NCAA Tournament bid from falling too far off track.
South Carolina 68, Kentucky 62: Kentucky's return to No. 1 might not last very long.
Devan Downey scored 30 points and host South Carolina (12-8, 303 SEC) sent No. 1 Kentucky (19-1, 4-1) to its first loss of the season.
The Wildcats moved atop the rankings for this week for the first time since 2003. They were cautioned by no less a fan than President Barack Obama earlier Tuesday to keep their focus and play with the same passion that brought them to the top.
The president or Kentucky didn't count on Downey, the SEC's leading scorer to break the 30-point mark for the fourth time in six league games.
The Gamecocks had lost all seven previous games they'd played against No. 1-ranked teams.
Michigan St. 57, Michigan 56: Kalin Lucas made a go-ahead jumper with 3.5 seconds left, lifting No. 5 Michigan State to a win over host Michigan. DeShawn Sims had a shot roll off the rim on an alley-oop pass with 0.9 seconds left for the Wolverines.
The Spartans (18-3, 8-0 Big Ten) have won their first eight conference games for the first time in school history and have beaten their rival for the 17th time in 20 meetings.
Michigan (10-10, 3-5) was led by Sims' 19 points, and Manny Harris, who didn't start after serving a one-game suspension, had 16.