Notre Dame tops Rutgers for 7th win in row
Jack Cooley scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half to lead No. 23 Notre Dame to a 71-53 win over visiting Rutgers Wednesday night. Cooley also had 18 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (18-8, 9-3 Big East), who won their seventh straight game.
Jerian Grant added 11 points, Eric Atkins had 10 points and eight assists, and Pat Connaughton also scored 10. Notre Dame's last loss came at Rutgers on Jan. 16.
Dane Miller scored 11 points for the Scarlet Knights (12-14, 4-8), who committed 26 fouls, allowing Notre Dame to pour in 24 points from the free-throw line. Rutgers has lost four in a row and six of seven.
North Carolina 73, Miami 64:Harrison Barnes scored 23 points and No. 8 North Carolina rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half. The visiting Tar Heels (22-4), who came in leading the nation with 83.5 points per game, shot only 38 percent and went 5-for-18 from three-point range. But they forced turnovers on four consecutive possessions in the second half to get back in the game, and sank four of six free throws in the final minute to sew up the win.
Murray St. 75, SE Miss. State 66:Donte Poole hit four three-pointers and scored 25 points as host No. 16 Murray State (25-1), despite a poor game from leading scorer Isaiah Canaan, clinched its third straight Ohio Valley Conference title.
Indiana 71, Northwestern 66: Cody Zeller scored 23 points and Verdell Jones had all six of his points in the final 4:03 for No. 18 Indiana. The victory gave coach Tom Crean his first 20-win season in Bloomington for the Hoosiers (20-6), who are 15-1 at home.
UConn 80, DePaul 54: Shabazz Napier and Alex Oriakhi each put up double-doubles for host Connecticut, playing its fourth straight game without ailing coach Jim Calhoun. Napier had 14 points and 11 assists and Oriakhi scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Huskies (16-9, 6-7 Big East), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
-- AP
