NCAA Basketball: Butler outlasts Georgetown, FSU dismantles VT

Butler followed up their upset win over Villanova with a victory over Georgetown, while other NCAA basketball drama happened throughout the nation.

In the Busting Brackets Daily Wrap-Up, we go through the major games of the day with a few short summaries and articles to keep you up to date on the recent news in the college basketball world. This covers the major games of yesterday and today, as well as looking at major news stories from across the nation.

Related Story: Is Grayson Allen back to his old ways?

We also go through each game of major importance in our “Games to Watch” section, which includes a Game of the Day and a Bubble Watch for each day.

Here we go:

For a more in-depth look at this game, Lukas Harkins has you covered here.

In what was basically a must-win game for Texas A&M, they could not get the job done, falling to South Carolina by 11. D.J. Hogg led the way with 25 for the Aggies, while four players reached double figures for South Carolina, including 19 from both Duane Notice and Rakym Felder. A&M’s 25 (!) turnovers really hurt them.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes only scored four points and Dwayne Bacon shot 0-of-3 from three, yet the Seminoles still topped Virginia Tech thanks to 22 points and nine rebounds from Terance Mann.

No. 10 Creighton took care of business in their final game of the week, defeating Providence to move to 15-1 on the season. Justin Patton recorded 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting and Maurice Watson Jr. dropped a double-double of 11 points and 14 assists. Oh, and Marcus Foster (17 points) and Khyri Thomas (16 points) also had good games. Emmitt Holt had 17 for the Friars.

Clemson entered this game looking for a marquee win, but they could not come out on top on the road. Jaron Blossomgame was one of two Tigers to reach double figures (Gabe DeVoe had 14 off the bench) with his 22 points. V.J. Beachem was 6-for-10 from three and led the Irish with 22 points. Bonzie Colson once again had a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

For a more in-depth look at this game, Bryce Bennett has you covered here.

For a more in-depth look at this game, Carmine Carcieri has you covered here.

Playing on the road is tough, especially against a top-10 team. TCU found that out in this one, falling to West Virginia. Vladimir Brodziansky (14 points) and Alex Robinson (17 points) were the lead men for the Horned Frogs, but the three pronged attack of Daxter Miles Jr. (22 points), Esa Ahmad (16 points) and Jevon Carter (13 points) were too much.

Texas Tech was unable to follow-up their win over West Virginia with another victory over a top-10 team, as Kansas took control of this game. Player of the Year candidate Frank Mason III had 26 points to go with Josh Jackson’s 17 and Devonte’ Graham’s 20.

Villanova did not seem fazed in this game, despite dealing with their first loss of the season to Butler in their last game. Katin Reinhardt hit five threes off the bench for Marquette and three others reached double figures, including 21 from freshman Markus Howard. Luke Fischer really struggled for the Golden Eagles, as he only dropped in four points. Villanova had four players in double-figures, including 23 from Kris Jenkins. Player of the Year candidate Josh Hart had 19 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in the win.

Kentucky did what Kentucky does on Sunday, dominating NCAA Tournament hopeful Arkansas by 26 points. De’Aaron Fox had a career-high 27 points and four other players went for double figures for Big Blue. Arkansas struggled to shoot the three, as they were just 4-of-16.

Lauri Markkanen was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and ended with 22 points for Arizona, while every other starter also finished in double digits aside from Kobi Simmons. In the end, it was Arizona’s edge in efficiency from beyond the arc (8-of-14) that made the difference as Arizona mostly cruised to a victory. Xavier Johnson had the game-high 26 points for Colorado, while Wesley Gordon also added 16.

Games to Watch on Sunday, January 8th:

**Game of the Day**          ^^Bubble Battle of the Day^^

NC State Wolfpack @ No. 14 North Carolina Tar Heels, 1:00 p.m. ET: For a more in-depth preview of this game, Drew Dinnhaupt has you covered here.

^^Northwestern Wildcats @ Nebraska Cornhuskers, 2:15 p.m. ET^^: In a Bubble Battle, both of these teams have an outside shot at making the tournament. Northwestern has the better odds at this point, but winning road games like this are huge. On the other hand, Nebraska is off to a hot Big Ten start and could use another win.

**No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers @ No. 20 Purdue Boilermakers, 4:30 p.m. ET**: Two of the frontrunners in the Big Ten, this game could go a long way in determining the conference champion. If Wisconsin can pull this one out on the road, they’ll likely be the favorite moving forward.

Ohio State Buckeyes @ Minnesota Golden Gophers, 7:30 p.m. ET: Another bubble game, Minnesota is having a remarkable start to the season. However, they need to win home games like this one to prove they’re a team to fear in the Big Ten. Ohio State, in a down year, could really use a road win.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons @ No. 11 Virginia Cavaliers, 8:00 p.m. ET: Virginia has dropped their last two games and will likely come out hungry against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are very much on the fence, so taking advantage of the Cavaliers while they’re slumping is very possible.

California Golden Bears @ No. 25 USC Trojans, 10:00 p.m. ET: USC has lost their undefeated season, but home wins are still vital for them to maintain a high seed. Cal, on the other hand, could use every win that it can get as they look for a spot near the top of the Pac-12.

Best of Yesterday from Busting Brackets:

Kansas Basketball: Sam Cunliffe transfers to Kansas: Former No. 36 overall recruit in 2016 Sam Cunliffe, who was originally with Arizona State, announced his commitment to transfer to Kansas yesterday. Matt Ostrowski looks at what he could do to help the Jayhawks.

Syracuse Basketball: Orange pound Pittsburgh for second win in row: Syracuse has clearly been one of the most inconsistent teams in the country this season. Carmine Carcieri takes a look at their last two games and the season on the whole to see what they’re going to become.

Kentucky Basketball: Hamidou Diallo chooses Kentucky over UConn and others: Announced yesterday, five-star guard Hamidou Diallo committed to play at Kentucky. Carmine Carcieri has the details.

Duke Basketball: Grayson Allen back to his old “trips”?: After another controversial play by Grayson Allen occurred yesterday, Mike Knapp has the coverage for Busting Brackets.

Next: Theo Pinson set to return for North Carolina

That ends today’s Daily Wrap-Up. Tune in tomorrow for another edition and have a great day!