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College Top 25 Men's Basketball Capsules: Unbeaten Florida upsets No. 2 Michigan State 77-74
Comments 0 | Recommend 0ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Chomp on this, Michigan State.
Florida craves more than another NIT this season. The Gators aspire to wildly mob each other on the court, and dance and hop their way toward the locker room in the NCAA tournament — just how they celebrated after stunning the No. 2 Spartans.
Erving Walker stepped way back to hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:56 left and Florida hung on to knock off the Spartans 77-74 on Friday night in the Legends Classic and show it can be a tourney team again.
"I'm just so happy these guys could experience a night like tonight against a terrific team," said Florida coach Billy Donovan, who led the Gators to consecutive national titles in 2006 and '07 before settling for two straight appearances in the NIT the last two seasons.
The Spartans (4-1) were sloppy for 40 minutes and missed their chance to give coach Tom Izzo a record 341 victories at the school. Durrell Summers missed two last-gasp 3-point attempts in the final minute that could have forced the game into overtime. Izzo will get another chance Saturday against Massachusetts in the consolation game.
"I'm shocked we were even in the game the way we turned it over," Izzo said.
For a program known for producing some gaudy numbers under Izzo — five Final Four appearances since 1999 — the Spartans had some ugly ones in their first loss. They hacked the Gators with bad fouls down the stretch and committed a 23 turnovers. The Spartans also missed eight of 10 3-point attempts.
"I can't really say we weren't ready to play because we were," Izzo said.
Walker finished with 12 points and seven assists to help the Gators (5-0) remain undefeated. Walker hit his 3 from beyond NBA range in front of Florida's bench for a 72-71 lead.
"We just wanted to prove to people we could be mentioned in the same breath as them," Walker said.
Chandler Parsons had 14 points and Alex Tyus added 11 for Florida. The Gators will play Rutgers in the championship game.
The Gators only went 5 of 24 on 3s — but Walker hit the big one after missing his first five attempts.
Walker added two more free throws to make it 74-71, then made 1 of 2 on the next possession to keep the lead at three.
Lucas tossed in a wild layup with 23 seconds left that sliced the lead to one. But the final minutes were filled with missed shots from the line — the Spartans finished 10 of 14 — including two clanks from Summers.
Dan Werner made two free throws with 17 seconds left to seal the win. Florida was 22 of 25 from the line.
When Summers' second 3-point attempt fell short, Florida rushed the court and celebrated a big win in front of hundreds of silenced Spartans fans. A victory like this was a long time coming for Donovan's program.
"I think we found out a lot more about us," Donovan said. "We have a chance to really improve and grow from this. The guys in the locker rooms are the ones who really did all the work."
The Spartans won the 2000 national championship against the Gators for Izzo's lone national championship. Ten seasons later, it was Florida's time to get the W.
"At this point, I think that these guys have put the work in," Donovan said. "You feel like there's a commitment and a focus that they're doing that. I think that was something that was really missing from our team the last two years, really understanding what it was about maturity-wise."
Donovan still has reason to be cautious: Florida is 5-0 for the fourth time in five years. Izzo praised a Florida defense that made a habit in the first half of snaring bad or long passes. Walker and Parsons each had three steals and the Gators finished with 12 overall.
Kalin Lucas scored 20 points for the Spartans. Draymond Green had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Delvon Roe and Summers each scored 13 points for the Spartans.
Izzo was trying to pass mentor and predecessor Jud Heathcote, who was inducted this week into the National Collegiate Hall of Fame, as Michigan State's winningest coach. When Heathcote retired, Izzo was his hand-picked successor.
Izzo had already matched him with one national championship apiece. He remains tied with Heathcote at 340 wins.
"There's no, win one for Izzo," Izzo said. "It's, win for the team and that's it. This is not like Bobby Knight. Everybody was anticipating it because he was going to break a record. I'm breaking 340 wins. Big deal."
Duke tops UConn 68-59 in all-time coaching matchup
NEW YORK — The game that started with more wins between the coaches than any in Division I history was far from an instant classic.
Duke and Connecticut combined to miss a total of 90 shots from the field, and the team that missed more of them rebounded its way to another big win at Madison Square Garden.
Seventh-ranked Duke and Mike Krzyzewski won another NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday with a 68-59 victory over No. 13 Connecticut and Jim Calhoun.
The Hall of Fame coaches set the record for total career wins in a game and Krzyzewski now has 839, fourth on the all-time list, and Calhoun still has 809, good for sixth place.
"It was a big-time game, shots were so hard to come by, open shots. Both teams are very, very good defensively and you know, you get by one guy and it's hard to get to the bucket," Krzyzewski said. "But we rebounded very well and we played outstanding defense."
The Blue Devils (6-0) dominated the Huskies (4-1) in every category except shooting in extending their winning streak in the tournament to 12 games with a third straight title (2000, 2005) and fourth overall (1985).
Duke shot 28.4 percent (21 of 74) compared to Connecticut's 37.3 percent (22 of 59), but the Blue Devils finished with a 56-43 rebound advantage, including 25-14 on the offensive boards.
"We missed 53 shots and we had 56 rebounds, you know?" Krzyzewski said. "It's a very unusual game, but it's a game where both teams played with a lot of heart, and we feel very fortunate to win this game and win the NIT championship."
The victory also snapped Connecticut's four-game winning streak in the series with the last two victories both coming in Final Fours — the 1999 national championship game and the 2004 semifinals.
It was the first time Duke won a game shooting under 30 percent since a 68-53 victory over Navy on Feb. 4, 1950, when the Blue Devils shot 27.3 percent.
"The last time we lost a game when we held a team to eight field goals in the second half and 28 percent shooting, I can't remember," Calhoun said. "Quite frankly, they outwilled us and did the things you need to do to win a game."
Tournament MVP Jon Scheyer had 19 points to lead Duke, which has won five straight games and 12 of its last 13 at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils extended their winning streak in November to 22 straight games and that will stand for 11 months because their next game is against Wisconsin on Dec. 2.
Nolan Smith had 16 points and Lance Thomas added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Duke, which beat Arizona State 64-53 in the semifinals.
"Our defense was really great and it had to be since we shot the ball so poorly," Scheyer said. "Defense won this game and our big guys rebounded huge for our team."
Jerome Dyson had 15 points and Gavin Edwards added 12 for the Huskies, who beat LSU 81-55 to get to their first championship game in three NIT Season Tip-Off appearances.
"They just wanted the offensive rebounds more than us and that killed us," Dyson said.
Duke was able to take a 37-28 halftime lead with an 8-2 run in an ugly last 4 minutes. Kyle Singler, who had his second straight poor shooting game, hit a 3 with 4:17 left that gave the Blue Devils a 32-26 lead. That was Duke's last field goal of the half and the Huskies had just one in that span, a drive by Stanley Robinson with 51 seconds left that made it 37-28.
The second half was Duke's in a hurry.
The Blue Devils used a 12-0 run — during which five players scored — to go ahead 53-34 with 13:18 to play. Calhoun called two timeouts in a 1:13 span in the run — he had already called one 1:30 into the half — to try and slow things down but the Blue Devils were scoring from the perimeter and overpowering the Huskies down low.
Duke finished 6 for 18 from 3-point range while the Huskies didn't make any in four attempts.
"I didn't want them taking 3s," Calhoun said of his team, "I thought we had the quickness to go by them. (Duke) didn't score on nine of 10 trips at one point in the second half but we scored on one of those. They outquicked us to the ball when they needed to get it to the offensive end, which is something that can't happen to us."
The Blue Devils even stayed with Connecticut in blocked shots, not an easy thing to do since the Huskies have led the nation in that stat the last eight seasons — and they averaged 10.3 coming in. The Huskies blocked 13 in each of their last two games, a total Duke managed in all five games combined. Connecticut finished with nine, two more than the Blue Devils.
"Our big guys were coming over and at least if they didn't take charges, they were trying to take charges and they got a few blocks. They distracted the shooter, kind of like how they did to us," Krzyzewski said of his team's help defense. "I thought shooters in the lane today was not a good place to shoot the ball. There were a lot of distractions defensively being made by both teams for those shooters."
Connecticut did get within single digits with a 12-2 run that made it 62-54 with 52 seconds to play.
"I'm appalled by the lack of rebounding by us as a team," Calhoun said. "You can't beat anybody if they get 25 offensive rebounds. If you hold somebody to 28 percent, you can't lose, but if you give them 25 offensive rebounds and can't make a shot, you can get some problems."
-- Jim O'Connell
Hopson leads No. 9 Vols past Charleston 86-69
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 9 Tennessee claimed it was a tired team Friday night, and the Volunteers looked like it for a vast majority of their 86-69 win over College of Charleston in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee pulled away in the final minutes, but coach Bruce Pearl and his Vols admitted fatigue kept things interesting a little longer than they expected against the sweet-shooting Cougars.
"To play the way we play, you have to play with great passion and great intensity," Pearl said. "I'm not coming in here tonight saying we didn't because they didn't. We didn't because of the number of games we've played in a row, and the fact that I've probably worked them a little too hard."
Friday was Tennessee's fourth game in eight days, including a 73-72 loss to No. 6 Purdue in Monday night's Paradise Jam championship game, and Pearl practiced the Vols for nearly three hours Thursday afternoon.
"It's the hardest I've ever practiced a team the day before a game," Pearl said. "If we'd have lost the game tonight, I'd have blamed myself. I'm blaming myself now for tempting it.
"We're trying to develop a different level of physicality and intensity, and I absolutely wore us out yesterday."
Tennessee sophomore guard Scotty Hopson scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the first half, and senior forward Tyler Smith scored 16 of his 18 in the second half. Hopson was 6 for 9 from the field and 3 for 3 from long range in the first half, and Smith was 8 for 8 from the free throw line after the break.
"When you come home, the rim's like an ocean," Hopson said. "I felt great tonight."
Pearl jokingly suggested a reason for Hopson's proficiency.
"Interestingly, Scotty did not practice very hard yesterday," Pearl said with a big grin. "I was on Scotty harder yesterday than I've been on him in two years, and I even talked at halftime about the fact that one of the reasons Scotty had such a great first half was because he didn't practice yesterday.
"He was fresher than anybody."
Charleston (1-3) stayed close by starting 10 for 17 from 3-point range, but Tennessee (5-1) went on a 9-0 run to take a 76-61 lead with just under six minutes left. That lead quickly grew to 82-63 a few possessions later on a Brian Williams layup.
The Vols didn't help themselves with a 6-for-13 start from the free throw line, but they improved to a 19-for-29 finish. They also controlled the glass all night, with a 44-24 rebounding advantage over the smaller Cougars.
"We probably looked tired because, man, we are tired," junior center Brian Williams said. "It's been a tough week, but the biggest thing is we got the win tonight."
Smith slashed inside for a layup that gave Tennessee a 46-33 lead early in the second half, but three quick 3s and a Willis Hall jumper closed the gap to 48-44. An Andrew Goudelock 3 cut the Vols' lead to 61-58 midway through the second half, but Smith and Williams promptly connected on consecutive shots to make it 65-58.
Junior guard Donavan Monroe led Charleston with 16 points, and junior forward Jeremy Simmons added 15.
Charleston senior point guard Tony White Jr., a Knoxville native and the son of former Tennessee All-America point guard Tony White, was given a loud ovation during the starting lineup introduction and finished with 12 points. Cougars coach Bobby Cremins called time-out with 0:36 left, allowing White to leave the floor to another round of cheers.
"That was nice. I liked that," White said of the cheers. "My mom was joking around and saying, 'They might boo you. You don't know what they're going to do.' But I was glad they applauded me.
"It was nice to come home, but it would have been nicer to leave here with a win for our team."
Tennessee hosts East Tennessee state on Wednesday before taking a weeklong break from games to focus on fall semester final exams.
Johnson leads No. 10 Syracuse over Columbia 85-60
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — If Wes Johnson ever breaks a sweat, watch out.
Again making the game look as effortless as one could imagine, Johnson scored a career-high 26 points in only 28 minutes on the floor to lead No. 10 Syracuse over Columbia, 85-60, on Friday night.
"I'm just out there having fun," said Johnson, in his first year playing for the Orange after transferring from Iowa State. "Everybody is flowing annd I'm back to my normal self."
Arinze Onuaku added 12 points for Syracuse, Rick Jackson had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Scoop Jardine had eight points, seven assists and five steals for the Orange, who are averaging 15 thefts a game.
Noruwa Agho finished with 22 points for Columbia.
Syracuse (6-0) struggled to pull away from the Lions (2-2) in the first half before dominating the second.
Five points from Onuaku — on a three-point play and layup off a feed from Johnson — and Johnson's 3-pointer from the left side built Syracuse's 36-27 halftime lead to 44-27 with 17:31 left.
Then, in a span of 67 seconds, Johnson hit a pair of 3s and Mookie Jones hit another from the top of the key to complete a 19-3 spurt and boost the lead to 55-30 at 13:55.
"We moved the ball better," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after his 805th career win, seventh all-time in Division I and one more than Eddie Sutton. "They were giving us open looks. In the second half, we did a better job getting the ball to the right guy."
Syracuse shot 52.6 percent, outscored the Lions 40-18 in the paint and 16-2 on the fast break, and had 29 points off Columbia's 20 turnovers.
"They played the zone as well as any Syracuse team that I've seen, to be honest," said Columbia coach Joe Jones, who graduated from nearby Oswego State and was an assistant at Villanova. "They didn't even look to trap us that much and they turned us over a bunch. You're just not used to facing that kind of pressure constantly.
"I thought, mentally, they wore us down, and their athletic ability just took over," Jones said.
If not for Agho, the Lions, who have six first-year players, would have been in trouble very early. Agho, who entered the game shooting 77.8 percent (14 of 18) from beyond the arc, hit the first three 3-pointers he attempted — he finished 4 of 7 from long range — and had 11 of Columbia's 13 points midway through the first half while his teammates were 1 of 9 from the floor.
"I think it got tough for us as a team. We started turning the ball over. They can do that to you," Agho said. "I definitely thought we were still in the game (at halftime) and didn't want to force bad shots.
"They make you take tough shots and it really becomes methodical," Agho said. "If you don't execute and you don't run the plays the same way every time, they can force you to turn the ball over."
After Agho swished a 3 from left wing and Steve Egee converted two free throws to move Columbia within 16-15 at 10:44, Syracuse scored eight straight points.
Johnson began the spurt by converting a tip follow off a miss by Brandon Triche, then stole the ball and fed Jardine for a fast-break layup. After Johnson sank a pair of free throws, Triche hit a driving layup off the glass for a 24-15 lead at 8:15.
A layup by John Daniels and a 3 by Niko Scott after a pair of strong offensive rebounds by Daniels had the Lions back within four points, but Jackson converted a three-point play and Johnson's slam dunk and long baseline jumper gave the Orange their nine-point lead at the break.
With the game well in hand in the second half, Boeheim substituted freely, getting 14 players on the court.
None was happier than redshirt freshman Mookie Jones, who did not play in Syracuse's 88-73 victory over two-time defending Ivy League champion Cornell on Tuesday and briefly stormed off the bench in that game. Jones had a career-high 12 points, all on 3-pointers.
"I'm trying to do whatever he (Boeheim) asks me so I can get out there," said Jones, who played 12 of his 14 minutes in the second half. "I belong out there. Let me show you. I can do those things. I'm here to play, not sit on the bench."
-- John Kekis
Hayward's late free throws give Butler win
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Gordon Hayward saved Butler from being upset with two clutch free throws.
Hayward made two free throws with 0.6 seconds to play, giving No. 12 Butler a 69-67 victory over UCLA in the 76 Classic on Friday night.
Shelvin Mack scored a season-high 21 points for the Bulldogs (4-1). Hayward finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
"Winning is unusual," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "That's one of the things we talk about all the time. When you play a championship team that has not had its best night, then you know what you're getting."
UCLA began the 76 Classic with a 74-47 loss to Portland on Thursday night.
"I think we made a step in the right direction in terms of our effort and our intensity for 40 minutes," Bruins coach Ben Howland said. "If we continue to work this hard and play this hard, we're going to be a much improved team."
UCLA, which trailed by nine points with 9:58 remaining, tied it at 67 on Jerime Anderson's 3-point shot with 8.6 seconds left.
"They hit big shots late," Stevens said of the Bruins. "Anderson was making plays, Malcolm Lee was making plays and the young big guys (Drew Gordon and Reeves Nelson) hurt us."
On the ensuing inbound play, Hayward received Avery Jukes' pass, drove the lane under intense physical pressure, was fouled by Michael Roll and made both free throws.
"When I had the ball and looked up, I didn't realize that we didn't have that much time left," Hayward said. "I just tried to take (the ball) down the floor and get to the basket."
Hayward then intercepted Anderson's long inbound pass intended for Nicola Dragovic in the Bruins' frontcourt as time expired.
Dragovic had 14 points and six rebounds for the Bruins (2-3), who had three players foul out. Malcolm Lee added 11 points and four assists.
Butler used a 12-3 surge to take a 21-11 lead with 9:14 left in the first half, and led by 14 points with 7:38 before halftime. Mack scored 16 points in the first half.
Hayward scores 22, Marquette beats No. 15 Michigan
ORLANDO, Fla. — Marquette turned team speed into an early-season upset.
Lazar Hayward scored 22 points and Jimmy Butler had 17 to lead Marquette past No. 15 Michigan 79-65 at the Old Spice Classic on Friday.
"That was as quick a team that I can recall," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "That's incredible quickness at all five positions."
Darius Johnson-Odom added 14 points for Marquette (6-0), which will play in the tournament championship game Sunday.
"I thought we did a really good job of handling their changing defenses," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. "We had our hands full from the beginning."
Marquette was 17 for 21 from the free throw line, while Michigan was 12 for 18.
Michigan (3-1) got 22 points and nine rebounds from Manny Harris.
Harris had seven points as Michigan opened the second half with a 12-4 spurt to cut its deficit to 48-47. But Hayward scored six points and Butler added four in a 10-0 run by Marquette that made it 58-47 with 12 minutes to play.
"They're an excellent passing team, and low turnover numbers," Beilein said.
Hayward, who celebrated his 23rd birthday Thursday by scoring 27 points in Marquette's 71-61 victory against Xavier, gave the Golden Eagles a 70-57 lead on a putback with four minutes remaining.
"Hayward, obviously, is a great player," Beilein said.
Johnson-Odom had 12 of his points in the first half as Marquette took a 44-35 lead.
Michigan was just 3 for 20 from 3-point range.
"They did a great job of contesting shots," Wolverines forward DeShawn Sims said. "We just wasn't able to knock down any shots today. A credit to their defense; they did a great job defending us."
Hayward has 1,361 points, which moves him into 18th place on the Marquette career list.
Glover's buzzer-beater lifts Utes over Illini
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas has been a great place for Utah in 2009.
After winning the Mountain West Conference tournament last March in Sin City, the Utes scored another huge win on Friday night, knocking off No. 20 Illinois 60-58 on a buzzer-beater from Shawn Glover in the third round of the Las Vegas Invitational.
Glover, a freshman guard, banked home a runner in the lane and Utah (3-2) rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to stun the Illini (4-1).
Jay Watkins hit Glover on an outlet after pulling down the rebound on a missed jumper by Demetri McCamey with four seconds left.
"I wanted to dunk it, but I had to just float it up," Glover said. "I was running down the court and (Watkins) saw me out of the corner of his eye. We've been struggling, but our (veterans) stepped it up."
McCamey led Illinois with 19 points and seven rebounds, and teammate Mike Tisdale added 18 points.
Luka Drca led Utah's second-half charge with 14 of his team-high 16 points. Watkins added 12 points and Glover had five.
"We haven't been trusting ourselves," said Utah coach Jim Boylen, whose team lost to Seattle 77-74 at home in the second round on Tuesday. "We've grown from a couple of losses. We're thankful and we can grow from a win now. Illinois is a big-time team. This is a great win."
Utah now plays Oklahoma State in the championship game Saturday night, while the Illini will face Bradley in the consolation game.
In the second half, the Utes shot 16 for 23 after going 7 of 29 in the first half.
"We just couldn't stop them in the second half," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "We couldn't go transition. They just sat in a pack and we didn't get shots. I thought our defense was good in the first half, but not in the second half."
The Illini used an 18-2 run in the first half to take a 32-16 at the break.
But the Utes came to life in the second half, taking a 51-50 lead on Glover's free throw with 4:53 left.
After that there were four lead changes and four ties before Glover won it.
"I thought our defense had its swagger back (in the second half)," Boylen said. "We rebounded the ball and did a great job defensively in the second half."
This was the first time the teams had met since 1983.
Illinois won the Las Vegas Invitational in 2001 and 2004, when the tournament was played at a local high school gym, which had a seating capacity of around 2,000.
Clemson tops Long Beach State 87-79
ANAHEIM, Calif. — For Demontez Stitt, sharing is the key to Clemson's success.
Tanner Smith scored 17 points and Stitt had 16 points and five assists to lead No. 19 Clemson to an 87-79 victory over Long Beach State in the 76 Classic on Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Andre Young added 13 points and Trevor Booker had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers (5-1), who shot 57.6 percent and scored 20 points off turnovers.
"If we spread the floor, play as one and move the ball from side to side, teams can't focus on one player," said Stitt, one of six Tigers who scored in double figures.
T.J. Robinson scored a career-high 25 points and tied a career high with 15 rebounds for the 49ers (3-3), who have lost three of four.
Long Beach's Casper Ware had 20 points and tied a tournament single-game record with 10 assists. Eugene Phelps added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"I really thought that Casper, T.J. and Gene were some of the best athletes on the floor," 49ers coach Dan Monson said. "But we just didn't have enough help for them."
Clemson led 30-29 when David Potter scored three lay-ins in 52 seconds to put the Tigers ahead 36-29 with 1:49 left in the first half. Clemson then began the second half with a 7-0 spurt in the first 41 seconds to build a 45-34 lead.
"The defense got us the lead with our pressure," Tigers coach Oliver Purnell said. "Offensively, we got a bunch of shots going to the basket, and we took our jump shots off of that. We really attacked in the lane."
Long Beach narrowed its deficit to 61-60 with 8:55 to play. But a 6-0 run in a span of 1:06 extended the Tigers' advantage to 67-60 with 7:33 remaining.
"They came in waves," Monson said. "We got to 61-60 and it seemed like we got fatigued. Our bench isn't deep enough and experienced enough."
Portland upsets No. 22 Minnesota 61-56
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Portland's best start in 14 years now includes a victory over a ranked team.
T.J. Campbell scored a season-high 23 points to lead the Pilots to a 61-56 upset of No. 22 Minnesota in the 76 Classic on Friday night at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Robin Smeulders added 13 points and Nik Raivio grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds for Portland (5-0), which plays No. 8 West Virginia for the tournament championship Sunday night.
Portland, which routed perennial power UCLA on Thursday night, has not won its first five games since going 6-0 to start the 1995-96 season.
"We're on a great journey," Pilots coach Eric Reveno said. "I told (the players) that I thought I wrote a great practice plan. But I can't make up anything to duplicate the experience of the last couple of nights."
Minnesota coach Tubby Smith, who guided Kentucky to the 1998 NCAA championship, praised Portland's defense.
"Portland did a pretty good job of keeping us off balance," he said. "They'd be in a zone at times. They'd be in a man-to-man. They'd trap. They did a good job of making you get to your third or fourth (offensive) option."
Al Nolen scored 13 points for the Golden Gophers (3-1), who shot 33.3 percent and made just 13 of 22 free throws. Lawrence Westbrook and Devoe Joseph had 11 points apiece.
Smeulders and Jared Stohl each scored six points during a 14-5 surge that put Portland ahead 48-39 with 10:46 to play before the Pilots expanded their lead to 56-45 with 6:33 left.
But Minnesota used a 9-0 spurt to close within 56-54 with 3:13 to go. Nolen led the run with four points, two steals and a rebound.
Smeulders and Campbell combined to make three free throws to extend Portland's lead to 59-54. But after Nolen converted two free throws with 20.2 seconds remaining, the Golden Gophers had a chance to tie the score.
Minnesota forced a turnover on the inbound pass with 15.5 seconds left but Blake Hoffarber missed a 3-point shot with 6 seconds to play. Campbell grabbed the rebound, got fouled and made two free throws to seal it.
"Campbell really controlled the game," Smith said. "We had our problems trying to contain him."
Portland outrebounded Minnesota 42-33 to help offset 19 turnovers.
Shurna leads Northwestern past No. 23 Notre Dame
CHICAGO — Northwestern's 1-3-1 defense made Notre Dame work for its shots, and a lot of the ones the Irish did let fly Friday night misfired.
Northwestern's offense was OK, too. John Shurna had a career-high 25 points and freshman Alex Marcotullio shut off rallies with two key 3-pointers as the Wildcats upset No. 23 Notre Dame 72-58 in the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
"We felt that we had a great chance to win," said Northwestern guard Michael Thompson, who had 20 points.
"Coach wanted us to focus on (Luke) Harangody and close out on the shooters. With the 1-3-1 we did a great job of getting a hand on a lot of passes."
Harangody, often double and triple teamed, finished with 21 points. But the Irish shot only 32 percent for the game and guard Ben Hansbrough was 1-for-10 and 0-for-7 on 3-point attempts. He entered the game shooting 59 percent from the floor and 67 percent from behind the arc.
"(Harangody) wasn't under the basket as much where he is most effective and Hansbrough ... we were just trying to close out and be there right on the catch," Thompson said.
"It was just one of those nights where things didn't go right for me," said Harangody, who shot 7-for-19.
"We knew they were going to come in and run the 1-3-1. It wasn't anything we didn't expect. I think we just missed some shots we usually hit and weren't able to get on a run and get in a flow."
Northwestern (4-1) will face Iowa State in the finals Saturday night at the UIC Pavilion. The Cyclones (6-0) pulled away in the second half to beat Saint Louis 65-54 on Friday night.
Northwestern built a 12-point lead in the second half before the Irish (5-1) rallied. They were within one when Marcotullio sank a 3-pointer. When Notre Dame chopped it to 58-56, Marcotullio hit another 3-pointer with two minutes left.
Shurna then worked his way inside for a basket with a minute remaining and the Wildcats hit nine free throws to close it out.
"We had a hard time with him. We had a couple of different guys on him and he had 14 at half and he was really hard to guard tonight," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said of Shurna, a 6-foot-8 sophomore.
"I think it was my teammates finding me in good positions to score," Shurna said. "I'm not trying to force things, but I think if there is an opportunity to make plays, you got to go ahead and do it."
Thompson hit a a 3-pointer and drove for a basket, Jeremy Nash sank a 3, Luka Mirkovic worked inside for a basket and Shurna also scored during a 12-0 run that opened up a 50-38 lead with 12 minutes to go.
The Irish then caught up by picking up their defense and getting to the line. Harangody made four free throws, Carleton Scott dunked, Tim Abromaitis hit a 3-pointer, Scott made two free throws and Harangody had a layup in a 13-2 run that cut it to 52-51 with just over seven minutes left.
Marcotullio ended Northwestern's three-minute drought with a 3-pointer and added two free throws to extend the lead to six.
Abromaitis hit a 3-pointer to make it 58-54 and the Irish missed three straight 3-point attempts on the same possession. But after the Irish blocked a layup attempt by Shurna, Abromaitis worked free for a layup and Northwestern's lead was down to 58-56 with 2:18 remaining.
But Marcotullio, who finished with 13 points, connected again from 3-point range to rescue the Wildcats.
Northwestern led 30-27 at the half.
-- Rick Gano
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