Last-second layup leads Seton Hall upset

NEWARK, N.J. — Kadary Richmond had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, while KC Ndefo had 14 points, including a last-second layup, and Seton Hall defeated No. 15 UConn, 67-66, at the Prudential Center on Wednesday night.

Ndefo grabbed his eighth rebound and had a follow-up layup with 1.6 seconds left. While he missed the ensuing free throw, Seton Hall held on to win after trailing by 17 in the first half.

UConn was without coach Dan Hurley due to COVID-19. The Huskies were trying to halt a two-loss skid, as Adama Sanogo scored 16 points and five rebounds, while Jordan Hawkins was an efficient 4-of-8 for 13 points to go along with six rebounds.

UConn jumped out to a 3-0 start and led 29-19 with just under five minutes left in the half. The Huskies would go on to lead by as many as 17 before the break, as Seton Hall trailed 40-26 after 20 minutes.

Ndefo gave an emphatic slam of a miss from Tyrese Samuel. Al-Amir Dawes then made a couple layups before his 3-pointer cut UConn’s lead to 48-40 early in the second half. When Ndefo had another dunk – this time on a fast break that Dawes assisted – UConn interim coach Luke Murray called a timeout with his team up 48-45 with 14:14 left.

Neither team would score again until Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway was assessed a technical foul with 11:47 left. Perhaps providing a spark, Seton Hall cut the deficit to 50-49 with 10:40 to go after Kadary Richmond hit a pair of free throws on back-to-back trips to the line.

That’s the closest it would get as UConn came away with a wire-to-wire victory until Femi Odukale slammed a dunk with authority to cut the lead to 64-63 with 2:02 left. Seton Hall would take its first lead of the game on the ensuing possession on a Richmond floater before UConn quickly retook the lead at the free throw thanks to Tristen Newton (11 points).

DePAUL 73, NO. 8 XAVIER 72: Umoja Gibson scored 22 points, Javan Johnson added 16 and DePaul surprised Xavier . The Musketeers came in rolling with 11 straight wins — their best run since the 2015-16 team got off to a 12-0 start. But they came up short against the Blue Demons. DePaul led by seven with about eight minutes remaining and made just enough plays to come away with its first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 5 Butler exactly three years earlier at Wintrust Arena

NO. 10 VIRGINIA 78, VIRGINIA TECH 68: Kihei Clark had 20 points and became Virginia’s career victories leader as a player with No. 111 as the host Cavaliers handed Virginia Tech its sixth straight loss. Armaan Franklin added 15 points and Jayden Gardner 12 for the Cavaliers (14-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Clark was tied with Mamadi Diane (2017-20) on the overall victories list and with 64 career Atlantic Coast Conference wins. Darius Maddox led the Hokies (11-7, 1-6) with 13 points and Grant Basile had 12.

WEST VIRGINIA 74, NO. 14 TCU 65: Kedrian Johnson scored 20 points and West Virginia built a big early lead and outlasted visiting TCU. Jimmy Bell Jr. added 15 points and 12 rebounds for West Virginia. The Mountaineers broke a five-game losing streak. Mike Miles Jr. scored 21 points while Emanuel Miller and Damion Baugh had 13 apiece for TCU. The Horned Frogs have never won in Morgantown. 

NO. 16 AUBURN 67, LSU 49: Wendell Green Jr. and Jaylin Williams each scored 14 points to lead Auburn to its fourth straight victory, winning at LSU. KJ Williams and Trae Hannibal scored 16 points apiece for LSU, which dropped its fifth straight Southeastern Conference game.

NO. 20 MARQUETTE 83, NO. 22 PROVIDENCE 75: Cam Jones had 21 points and Tyler Kolek scored 19 as Marquette defeated Providence. With members of Marquette’s 2003 Final Four team, including former NBA great Dwyane Wade, cheering them on from the stands in Milwaukee, the surging Golden Eagles won for the sixth time in seven games. Marquette avenged a 103-98 double-overtime loss to the Friars in Providence on Dec. 20 to take over second place in the Big East standings behind Xavier.

MISSOURI 79, NO. 25 ARKANSAS 76: Kobe Brown scored 17 points and hit two free throws with 29 seconds to lift Missouri over visiting Arkansas. DeAndre Gholston added 16 and Sean East II had 12 points for the Tigers (14-4, 3-3 SEC), who avenged a 74-68 loss in Fayetteville on Jan. 4. Davonte Davis scored 18 points and Ricky Council IV had 13 for Arkansas, which has lost four in a row. Anthony Black added 15 points for the Razorbacks (12-6, 1-5).