INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Julian Betko scored a career-high 17 points, all in the first half, and No. 14 Butler held off Wright State 66-61 Thursday night to clinch the No. 1 seed in next week’s Horizon League tournament.
The 6-foot-6 senior from Slovakia topped his previous career high of 15 points in 14 minutes in the first half and missed his only attempt in the second period.
Mike Green had nine of his 15 points in the second half, and Matt Howard added 12 points for the Bulldogs. Vaughn Duggins led Wright State with 17 points.
Butler (26-3, 15-2) finishes the regular season against last-place Detroit on Saturday. The Bulldogs had already clinched at least a tie for the regular-season title, and the win assured them of the top seed and a bye into the conference tournament semifinals at Butler on March 8.
Wright State (20-8, 13-5) would get the No. 2 seed and a spot in the semifinals by beating Valparaiso on Saturday. But a loss to the Crusaders could drop the Raiders to the third seed and force them to play a first-round game at home on Tuesday.
No. 13 Louisville 90, No. 17 Notre Dame 85
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – David Padgett scored a season-high 26 points and No. 13 Louisville overcame a dazzling 40-point performance from Notre Dame center Luke Harangody.
Louisville’s eighth straight victory moved the Cardinals (23-6, 13-3 Big East) into a first-place tie with No. 11 Georgetown with two games remaining. Louisville plays Villanova on Sunday and ends the season at Georgetown on March 8.
Harangody made sure Notre Dame (21-6, 11-4) stayed in it. He knocked down the first three 3-pointers of his career in the final 1:32, eventually pulling the Irish within 86-81 with 23 seconds left.
In the end, it wasn’t quite enough to overcome the Cardinals. Earl Clark and Edgar Sosa made four straight free throws in the last 19 seconds to preserve the victory.
No. 10 Wisconsin 57, No. 19 Michigan State 42
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Brian Butch hit a career-high four 3-pointers as No. 10 Wisconsin used a late run to shake loose from No. 19 Michigan State. It was the fifth straight victory for Wisconsin (24-4, 14-2 Big Ten). Michigan State (22-6, 10-5) has lost three of its last five, including three straight road games.
Butch finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. The Badgers’ defense did the rest.
Wisconsin frustrated Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel all night, holding him to a single 3-pointer on 1-for-10 shooting. Goran Suton scored 14 and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Michigan State.
No. 4 UCLA 70, Arizona State 49
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Kevin Love had 18 points and 12 rebounds for his 17th double-double in the Bruins’ eighth straight win over the Sun Devils.
Darren Collison and Josh Shipp each added 17 points for the Bruins (25-3, 13-2 Pac-10), who have won nine of 10 and maintained their one-game lead over No. 8 Stanford in the conference race.
It was UCLA’s eighth straight win over the Sun Devils. The Bruins drubbed Arizona State by a combined 54 points in the two-game season series.
The Sun Devils (17-10, 7-8) had hoped to spring an upset and solidify their bid for their first NCAA tournament berth since 2003. But they struggled against the Bruins’ defense, which allows 57.9 points per game, sixth in the nation.
No. 8 Stanford 82, Washington 79
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) – Brook Lopez had 21 points and seven rebounds, and No. 8 Stanford struggled before holding off Washington to keep the Huskies winless at Maples Pavilion since 1993.
Anthony Goods added 16 points for the Cardinal (23-4, 12-3 Pac-10), who couldn’t break away from the eighth-place Huskies despite never trailing in their school-record 15th home victory of the season. Stanford has won 10 of 11 overall heading into Saturday’s home finale against No. 22 Washington State.
Jon Brockman had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Huskies (15-14, 6-10), who repeatedly pulled within one basket of taking the lead in the second half. But Washington always failed to go ahead despite Brockman’s outstanding play, and Stanford hung on with a series of free throws and Taj Finger’s exceptionally tough layup with 1:07 to play.
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