Gonzaga Overcomes Slow Start In Win, College Scores

Spokane, WA (SportsNetwork.com) -- Przemek Karnowski finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, and No. 3 Gonzaga overcame a slow start and downed San Diego 59-39 on Thursday. Gonzaga wrapped up the West Coast Conference regular-season title over the weekend, and there was a bit of a hangover against a San Diego team that had dropped three of five coming in. The Bulldogs (29-1, 17-0 WCC) nevertheless pulled away late en route to their 22nd straight victory and first-ever 17-0 start in WCC play. Their home winning streak also reached 41 games despite making only 3-of-12 from behind the arc and 8-of-15 from the foul line. Gary Bell Jr. chipped in with 13 points, while Byron Wesley and Domantas Sabonis contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the victors. The Toreros (14-15, 7-10) shot just 29.6 percent from the field and were led by Brandon Perry's nine points. Johnny Dee shot just 2-of-10 for six points -- 12 below his season average.

(7) Arizona 82, Colorado 54

Boulder, CO (SportsNetwork.com) -- Stanley Johnson scored 15 points, Kaleb Tarczewski added 14 and No. 7 Arizona cruised past Colorado 82-54 on Thursday. There was no look-ahead letdown for the Pac-12 leading Wildcats (25-3, 13-2 Pac-12) with Saturday's showdown against second-place Utah looming. They shot 52.9 percent from the floor, handily won the rebounding battle 38-25 and led by as many as 28. Gabe York made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points off the bench, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds for Arizona, which has reeled off five straight wins since losing at Arizona State. Askia Booker led Colorado (12-15, 5-10) with 14 points but needed 16 shots to do so. The Buffaloes shot 38.5 percent from the floor and 2-of-9 from 3-point range.

(13) Utah 83, Arizona State 41

Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) -- Delon Wright scored 12 points and the 13th-ranked Utah Utes bounced back with an 83-41 rout of the Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday. Kenneth Ogbe added 11 points for the Utes (22-5, 12-3 Pac-12), who looked sharp after Sunday's 69-58 loss at Oregon. Chris Reyes and Dakarai Tucker each tallied nine points. Utah will bring an 18-game home winning streak into Saturday's showdown with No. 7 Arizona. The Wildcats beat the Utes 69-51 on Jan. 17. Gerry Blakes and Willie Atwood each had 12 points for the Sun Devils (15-13, 7-8), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

(21) SMU 66, Memphis 57

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) -- Nic Moore scored 16 points and No. 21 SMU pulled away for a 66-57 win over Memphis on Thursday night to retake sole possession of first place in the American Athletic Conference. Yanick Moreira and Ryan Manuel added 11 points apiece for the Mustangs (23-5, 14-2 AAC), who have won five in a row and 21 of their last 23 games. They lead Tulsa by a half-game atop the conference standings. Shaq Goodwin had 17 points and Nick King scored 14 for Memphis (17-11, 9-6), which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Austin Peay Downs SIUE In Regular Season Finale

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- SIUE men's basketball dropped its regular season finale Thursday, falling on the road at Austin Peay, 64-61.

The Cougars finish the regular season 12-15 overall and 8-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Austin Peay improved to 8-21 overall and 3-12 in the OVC.

"We wanted to finish out the regular season on a positive note, but our execution wasn't there," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "We were very sloppy.  We were sloppy to start and sloppy down the stretch."

The Governors opened the game on an 8-0 run, but the Cougars came back to tie the score 14-14, on a Kris Davis layup, and again 18-18 on a three-pointer by Davis which came with 7:00 to play before halftime. Keaton Jackson scored on a layup to put SIUE in front for the first time at 22-20 with 5:36 left. Austin Peay held a 28-25 advantage at half.

The Cougars held as much as an eight-point lead in the second half when Grant Fiorentinos knocked down a pair of free throws with 11:29 left in the game. Austin Peay reeled off the next 10 points to lead 45-43 with 8:18 left.

The lead changed four more times and Rozell Nunn put SIUE ahead 59-58 with a three-pointer at 2:03. It was the last lead the Cougars held.

Illinois Hosts Northwestern Saturday

(Champaign, IL)  --  The Illinois Fighting Illini look to end their three-game losing streak Saturday at home against Northwestern. The Illini are coming off a 68-60 loss at Iowa on Wednesday. That dropped them to 17-11 on the season and 7-8 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats have won four straight to improve to 14-14 and 5-10.

Thursday, February 26 Scoreboard

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

#2 Gonzaga Bulldogs 59, San Diego Toreros 39

#7 Arizona Wildcats 82, Colorado Buffaloes 54

#12 Utah Utes 83, Arizona State Sun Devils 41

#21 SMU Mustangs 66, Memphis Tigers 57

Minnesota Golden Gophers 96, #25 Michigan State Spartans 90 (OT)

Friday, February 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

No Games Scheduled