NCAA News – Duke’s Historic Comeback, LSU’s Controversial Win Over Kentucky

It was busy in the NCAA last night as most of the ranked teams had to go out and play. WagerBop.com is bringing the short recap of the most important games of the night, along with all the important results.

Duke’s Fantastic Charge

The No.2 Duke Blue Devils were 23 points behind No.16 Louisville Cardinals in what was announced to be the game of the day in the NCAA. With 9:58 to go, the Cardinals led 59-36, and everything pointed that we are going to see one hell of a beating of the biggest favorite for this year’s title. But the Blue Devils showed what makes them so unique, and soon after, made a 21-4 burst which brought them to only two points, 66-64.

The drama was about to start.

The Cardinals were choking, and couldn’t do anything right, while the guests gained more and more confidence in their actions on the court. Cam Reddish tied the game with 88 seconds until the end. The sharpshooting forward also scored two free throws to give his team a two-point lead before the final attack. It all came down to Christen Cunningham whose game-tying shot ended in the hands of Zion Williamson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrm9Y1-JbRI

When a reporter asked Zion what the key of their victory was, he replied that coach Mike Krzyzewski constantly told them in the huddle that he “doesn’t coach losers, he only coaches winners.”

This is the second-biggest comeback in the second half, in Duke’s history.

Zion had 27 points and 12 boards, Reddish 22, RJ Barret 13. For the hosts, Jordan Nwora led the way with 23 and 12 rebounds also.

Kentucky Loses at Home to LSU

After 13 straight wins at home this season, No.5 Kentucky Wildcats finally lost. The No.19 Louisiana State Tigers got away with a buzzer-beating win at the Rupp Arena, shocking all the fans there, who got used to their team winning games at home, not losing.

LSU triumphed 73-71, but their success was reached after a highly doubtful basket, made by Kavell Bigby-Williams with the buzzer. The 6-11 forward from London, England, possibly made offensive goaltending, after his teammate, Skylar Mays missed his shot.

COUNT IT!

No. 19 LSU stuns No. 5 Kentucky … AT THE BUZZER. #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/M8LHpexYxV

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 13, 2019

The officials were instead looking at the replay to see if his tip-in was made before the end of the time, and weren’t checking whether it was a goaltending situation or not.

Home team’s coach John Calipari was pretty upset because of it, and he didn’t care about hiding his anger after the game.

“Well, this one easy to go check, too. Just go check it. Why would you not — why would that not be reviewable? So we’re like Wilt Chamberlain — we change rules. I don’t know.” Calipari stated.

Tigers were 9 points down, 2:28 into the second half, but they managed to make a 9-0 run which brought them to only one point. Soon enough they were up, and never trailed until the end, although their lead was just a couple of points.

The best players in LSU team were Tremont Waiters with 15 points and 5 rebounds, Emmit Williams with 12 and 6 boards.

PJ Washington scored team-high for the hosts , 20 buckets along with 9 boards for the home team.

Wildcats are facing the No.1 Tennessee at home this Saturday.

Spartans Defense Breaks Wisconsin

No.11 Michigan State Spartans were better than Wisconsin Badgers on the road, 67-59. The fantastic defense in the second half, in which they allowed only 21 points, was the key of the Spartans’ win.

The home team had a 6-point lead at the early stage of the second period, but Michigan State managed to stiff Badgers’ offense when it needed the most, and to break their resistance in the closing moments of the event.

An 8-0 run of the guests in the final moments of the game led them to a safe distance before the last 30 seconds.

Cassius Winston dropped 23 points and had 6 rebounds and dimes each, pushing his team forward on this tough road trip.

“The ball is in his hands, I trust it,” coach Tom Izzo said about Winston. “He made a couple of big, big plays tonight, that’s for sure.”

The next best thing among the Spartans was Kenny Goins with 12 points and 9 boards, while Ethan Happ delivered 20 for the hosts, and became the fourth player in the history of the Big Ten conference with 2,000 points.

In other games, Penn State made a huge upset against No. 6 Michigan Wolverines 75-69, No.10 Marquette won against DePaul, 92-73.

No.18 Kansas State clinched a huge road win over Texas Longhorns, 71-64, and No.24 Maryland defeated No.12 Purdue 70-56.