Jermaine Haley Scores 23 as West Virginia University Loses to Oklahoma, 92-80
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NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Jamal Bieniemy was calm when the pressure was on.
The freshman guard scored a season-high 22 points and made 8 of 10 free throws in the closing minutes to help Oklahoma beat West Virginia, 92-80, on Saturday.
Oklahoma led by 13 when West Virginia coach Bob Huggins had his team start fouling Bieniemy intentionally, starting with 3:08 remaining. Bieniemy had only attempted 12 free throws all season before Saturday's game, with six makes. He missed two of his first three before making the next seven.
Huggins said West Virginia had a lot to do with Bieniemy's overall performance.
"When you throw it to him as much as we threw it to him during a stretch and you don't get back on defense the way we didn't get back on defense -- which is inexcusable on our part -- then you're going to score," Huggins said. "Then, we fouled him at the end because he is a 50 percent free-throw shooter on the year, and he made free throws."
Aaron Calixte also had a season-high 22 points for Oklahoma. He made 8 of 11 shots and 3 of 5 3-pointers.
"Coach did a good job of putting me in spots and Jamal did a good job of finding me," Calixte said.
Kristian Doolittle scored 15 points and Brady Manek added 14 for the Sooners (18-11, 6-10 Big 12), who have won three of four to strengthen their case for an NCAA Tournament bid. Oklahoma shot a season-high 59 percent from the field.
Jermaine Haley scored a season-high 23 points and Jordan McCabe added 18 for West Virginia (11-18, 3-13), which has lost 6 of 7.
West Virginia won the first meeting 79-71 on Feb. 2. The Sooners felt they were more prepared for West Virginia's physical style of play this time around. They held Mountaineers forward Derek Culver to nine points and nine rebounds. He had 13 points and 14 rebounds when they played the first time.
"I feel like this game we were more physical and more focused on boxing out," Doolittle said. "First time you play somebody -- scout team can only simulate so much of what the other team is going to do. We had a good game plan coming into this game, good emphasis on Culver."
Oklahoma fell behind in the early minutes before taking charge. The Sooners shot 58 percent in the first half to take a 42-28 lead at the break. Bieniemy scored 12 points in the first half.
Oklahoma led 54-41 in the second half before going on a 13-2 run. Despite its late fouling, West Virginia never really got back into the game.
NO. 2 VIRGINIA 73
PITTSBURGH 49
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Kyle Guy scored 17 points and Virginia handed Pitt its 12th straight loss.
Jered Wilson-Frame scored 15 points and Au'diese Toney had 12 for Pittsburgh (12-17, 2-14). The loss was the 23rd in a row on the road for the Panthers, and their 20th consecutive in ACC road games.
NO. 3 DUKE 87, MIAMI 57
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- RJ Barrett had 19 points and 10 rebounds, fellow freshman Cameron Reddish added 19 points and Duke routed Miami.
NO. 7 TENNESSEE 71
NO. 4 KENTUCKY 52
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Jordan Bone scored a career-high 27 points and Tennessee beat Kentucky to maintain its home-court dominance and snap the Wildcats' four-game winning streak.
No. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 81 CLEMSON 79
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- No. 5 North Carolina survived a wild finish after coach Roy Williams fell and was helped off the court shortly before halftime, beating Clemson.
Coby White had 28 points behind six 3-pointers, and the Tar Heels (24-5) maintained a share of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, tied with No. 2 Virginia at 14-2 with a week left in the regular season. They also survived a tight ending where the Tigers (17-12, 7-9) cut a seven-point lead to two. But Shelton Mitchell lost the ball driving into two North Carolina defenders in the final seconds.
INDIANA 63
NO. 6 MICHIGAN STATE 62
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Justin Smith scored a career-high 24 points, helping Indiana knock off Michigan State for the second time this season.
CENTRAL FLORIDA 69
NO. 8 HOUSTON 64
HOUSTON (AP) -- Collin Smith scored 21 points, leading Central Florida to the win at Houston.
NO. 11 TEXAS TECH 81, TCU 66
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Jarrett Culver and Davide Moretti each had 15 points, and Texas Tech won its seventh game in row.
NO. 13 LSU 74, ALABAMA 69
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Skylar Mays scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and Javonte Smart had 19, leading LSU to the road win.
NO. 14 PURDUE 86
OHIO STATE 51
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Carsen Edwards scored 25 points and Purdue took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.
Matt Haarms had 12 points and Aaron Wheeler added 10 for the Boilermakers (22-7, 15-3). It was the final home game for senior starters Ryan Cline and Grady Eifert, who each scored eight points.
Jaedon LeDee led Ohio State (18-11, 8-10) with 16 points. Justin Ahrens was scoreless after netting 29 points in his previous game.
NO. 15 KANSAS 72
OKLAHOMA STATE 67
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- Dedric Lawson scored 20 points and tied a season high with 15 rebounds, powering Kansas to the road win.
No. 16 Kansas State 66 Baylor 60
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- Dean Wade had 20 points to lead No. 16 Kansas State over Baylor.
Kamau Stokes had 16 points and Xavier Sneed scored 14 for the Wildcats (24-5, 12-4), who held off the Bears to maintain a share of the Big 12 lead with No. 11 Texas Tech. Both teams have two games left.
NO. 18 FLORIDA STATE 78, N.C. STATE 73
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Reserve Mfiondu Kabengele scored 16 points and Trent Forrest had 13, leading Florida State to the victory.
NO. 19 WISCONSIN 61
PENN STATE 57
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Brevin Pritzl scored 17 points on 5-for-5 shooting, helping Wisconsin edge Penn State.
RUTGERS 86, NO. 22 IOWA 72
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Ron Harper Jr. scored a season-high 27 points, and Rutgers rolled to the win in Iowa's home finale.
No. 23 Cincinnati 71
Memphis 69
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Jarron Cumberland overcame a sluggish first half and scored 26 points, leading No. 23 Cincinnati to a victory over Memphis that moved the Bearcats into a tie for first place in the American Athletic Conference.
NO. 24 WOFFORD 85
SAMFORD 64
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Fletcher Magee made eight 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 36 points, leading Wofford to a victory.