COLUMBIA, Mo. – Rodney McGruder scored 24 points and Kansas State upset No. 3 Missouri 78-68 Tuesday night, the Wildcats’ second win this season over the Tigers.
Kansas State (19-8, 8-7 Big 12) led 40-30 at halftime and by 16 points in the second half after a twisting McGruder layup before a late run by Missouri (25-3, 12-3) got the Tigers within 63-60 with six minutes remaining.
Thomas Gipson added 13 points for Kansas State, which connected on 53.8 percent of its field goals for the game. The Wildcats were even better in the second half, converting 14 of 24 for 58.3 percent.
Dixon scored 21 and Marcus Denmon added 19 for Missouri. The Tigers’ made just 38.3 percent of their field goal attempts.
Kansas State, coming off a one-point weekend win over No. 13 Baylor in Waco, Texas, had already throttled Missouri 75-59 in Manhattan in January.
No. 7 NORTH CAROLINA 86, N.C. STATE 74: In Raleigh, N.C., Kendall Marshall had a career-high 22 points and 13 assists as the Tar Heels (24-4, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their 12th straight meeting with the Wolfpack (18-10, 7-6).
No. 8 OHIO STATE 83, ILLINOIS 67: In Columbus, Ohio, Deshaun Thomas scored 19 points as the Buckeyes (23-5,11-4) regained their shooting touch, hitting 65 percent from the field to remain in the thick of the Big Ten race.
Meyers Leonard had 21 for Illinois (16-12, 5-10), which has lost six in a row and nine of 10.
SETON HALL 73, No. 9 GEORGETOWN 55: At Newark, N.J., Jordan Theodore scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Pirates (19-9, 8-8 Big East) to the signature win they needed for their NCAA tournament résumé.
The Pirates shot 61 percent, the best this season against the defensive-minded Hoyas (20-6, 10-5).
No. 11 MICHIGAN 67, NORTHWESTERN 55 OT: At Evanston, Ill., Trey Burke, Zack Novak and Stu Douglass each hit three-pointers in overtime as the Wolverines improved to 21-7, 11-4 Big Ten.
Northwestern (16-11, 6-9) got 14 points from John Shurna, six below his Big Ten leading average.
No. 12 FLORIDA 63, AUBURN 47: In Gainesville, Fla., Kenny Boynton was part of a hot shooting night for the Gators (22-6, 10-3 Southeastern Conference). He scored 20 points as Florida overcame 18 turnovers and beat the Tigers (14-13, 4-9).
BUTLER 69, ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 44: In Indianapolis, Roosevelt Jones had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (18-12, 11-6 Horizon) to their fifth consecutive win.
Gary Talton had 13 points and Darrin Williams scored 11 for the Flames (8-19, 3-13).
CREIGHTON 93, EVANSVILLE 92, OT: In Omaha, Neb., Josh Jones hit a jumper with 23 seconds left and the Purple Aces’ Colt Ryan missed just before the buzzer to end his career-best 43-point game as the Bluejays (24-5, 13-4 Missouri Valley) came back from a 14-point second-half deficit.
The Purple Aces slip to 14-14, 8-9.
VALPARAISO 66, LOYOLA CHICAGO 62, OT: In Valparaiso, Ryan Broekhoff had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Matt Kenney scored six of his eight points in overtime as the Crusaders (20-10, 13-4) clinched the Horizon League regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Ben Averkamp had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Ramblers (7-20, 1-15).
Women
No. 1 BAYLOR 80, TEXAS 59: In Waco, Texas, Brittney Griner had 18 points with 10 rebounds and the Bears (28-0, 15-0 Big 12) claimed the outright Big 12 title. Griner’s 40th career double-double came in her 100th game at Baylor.
The Longhorns fell to (15-12, 5-10).
No. 4 CONNECTICUT 86, PITTSBURGH 37: In Pittsburgh, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 23 points as the Huskies (25-3, 12-2 Big East) rebounded from Saturday’s loss to St. John’s to hold the Panthers (8-19, 0-14) to three first-half field goals.
OKLAHOMA 64, No. 14 TEXAS A&M 55: In Norman, Okla., Aaryn Ellenberg scored 23 points and Morgan Hook 19 to lead the Sooners (18-9, 10-5 Big 12) over the Aggies (19-7, 10-5).
No. 20 ST. JOHN’S 63, WEST VIRGINIA 54: In New York, Nadirah McKenith matched her career-high with 26 points to help the Red Storm (19-8, 11-3 Big East) win for the 12th time in their last 14 games. The Mountaineers dropped to 19-8, 9-5.
No. 24 RUTGERS 62, SETON HALL 39: In Piscataway, N.J., April Sykes scored 17 points and the Scarlet Knights (19-8, 8-6 Big East) won their 12th straight over the Pirates (7-21, 0-14).