>>Illinois Edges Western Carolina
Brandon Paul scored 14 points and No. 13 Illinois earned a 72-64 win over Western Carolina on Tuesday.
Western Carolina tied the game at 54-54 with 5:53 left.
Illinois guard D.J. Richardson hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions for a 62-56 lead. Richardson finished with 13 points.
After a Western Carolina turnover, Illini guard Tracy Abrams made two free throws and a basket on the following possession for a 66-56 lead.
Guard Preston Ross paced the Catamounts (3-6) with 17 points. James Sinclair added 13 points.
The Illini (9-0) play at No. 10 Gonzaga on Saturday.
Illinois was 3 of 14 from the field to start the game, but the Illini stretched the lead to 32-22 at halftime with a 15-8 run to end the half.
NCAA Top-25 Basketball ("USA Today" Rankings)
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#3 Michigan Wolverines 73, Western Michigan Broncos 41
#6 Louisville Cardinals 80, Charleston Cougars 38
#8 Arizona Wildcats 63, Southern Miss Golden Eagles 55
#11 Missouri Tigers 81, Southeastern Missouri Redhawks 65
#18 UNLV Rebels 68, Portland Pilots 60
#19 Kentucky Wildcats 88, Samford Bulldogs 56
#21 Minnesota Golden Gophers 88, South Dakota State Jackrabbits 64
#23 Georgetown Hoyas 64, Texas Longhorns 41 (Jimmy V Classic at New York, NY)
#24 North Carolina State Wolfpack 69, Connecticut Huskies 65 (Jimmy V Classic at New York, NY)
>>ISU Falls To Wyoming
Larry Nance Jr. scored 19 points and the Wyoming Cowboys ran their winning streak to nine with an 81-67 comeback win over Illinois State Tuesday night.
Wyoming trailed 43-29 at halftime, and was down 50-31 with 17 minutes left. A 14-0 Cowboys run pulled them within 60-59 with 8:32 to play, and Wyoming outscored the Redbirds 18-1 in the final 5 minutes.
Luke Martinez added 17 points for Wyoming, 9-0 for the first time since the 1987-88 Cowboys won their first 11. Leonard Washington and Josh Adams had 15 points apiece and Derrious Gilmore scored 13 for Wyoming, which shot 64% in the second half and 54% for the game.
Tyler Brown led Illinois State (5-3) with 22 points. Jon Ekey added 13 points and John Wilkins scored 12 for the Redbirds, who were coming off a 3-point loss Saturday at No. 5 Louisville.
The game was part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge.
>>Bradley Edges George Washington
Jordan Prosser matched his career high with 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, the Braves defense had 17 steals and Bradley narrowly escaped a second half surge by George Washington to hold on for a 72-68 victory Tuesday night.
Bradley (6-2) led 38-21 at halftime and took a 19-point lead just 13 seconds into the second half but the George Washington (4-4) outscored the Braves 47-32 the rest of the way and still came up short.
The Braves defense forced 23 turnovers and outscored George Washington 24-8 on turnovers.
Walt Lemon Jr. added 14 points, five steals and four assists for Bradley and teammate Dyricus Simms-Edwards scored 11 points, pulled five rebounds and tallied five steals.
Patricio Garino was 10 of 17 from the field to lead the Colonials with 24 points and Isaiah Armwood recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
