Men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball – there’s no shortage of college ball, every night.
Don’t worry, we’re here to help you figure out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in college basketball.
Hannah Hidalgo makes NCAA history
Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo was D-I’s leading scorer on Wednesday, beating Audi Crooks by just one point with 44 — more on Crooks in a moment. That actually might not even be the most impressive thing the junior guard pulled off against Akron, either: Hidalgo had a double-double, but not because of rebounds or assists, though, she had 9 and 4 of those, respectively. No, Hidalgo had 16 steals, which more than made up for having six turnovers of her own. If you can turn the ball over half-a-dozen times and still be +10 there for the night, you’re doing something right.
Like, NCAA-record levels of right. Hidalgo’s 16 steals is more than anyone has ever had in an NCAA game before. Not just women’s, not just D-I, but in general.
Let’s not forget about those 44 points, however. That’s the most anyone in Notre Dame’s program has ever scored before, either, and it would come off as the big deal that it is if only Hidalgo hadn’t also set an NCAA record for steals on the same night. Either of those things on their own is plenty impressive. The two together at the same time? Literally unbelievable, but she did it.
Audi Crooks had a historic night, too
No. 16 Iowa State took on Valparaiso in the first-ever meeting the two schools, and it was the Audi Crooks show. Despite the fact that the junior center played just 20 minutes, she scored 43 points while pulling down 7 rebounds, a pair of assists and a block. Those 43 points represent a program record for the Cyclones, breaking the previous mark set in 1984 by Tonya Burns. Crooks set the record on a free throw, but earlier, on a layup, reached a new career-high of 41.
It was also a significant night for Addy Brown, as the Cyclones’ junior forward notched her 1,000th career point while putting up 18 in the game. It took her 72 games to reach that mark.
Brown added 7 rebounds and 4 assists to her line, as well, while senior guard Jada Brown logged her first double-double courtesy 11 points and 10 assists. A thoroughly dominating effort by Iowa State, who would win 97-50.
No. 1 UConn moves to 3-0
UConn faced off against Loyola Chicago on Wednesday night in Connecticut, and had things under control from the start. Transfer Serah Williams, who scored 19.2 points per game for Wisconsin last season as a junior, has been pressing a bit early in her time with the Huskies, but looked a lot more like the Williams of the past against the Ramblers.
The 6-foot-4 forward scored the first points of the night for UConn, and, in a game in which the Huskies went to the bench early and often, put up 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist in just 16 minutes on the court.
Williams was also one of three players to reach double-digits in scoring, with sophomore forward Sarah Strong and junior guard KK Arnold both picking up 11 points each in the 85-31 victory.
It was pretty clear that this was UConn’s game before this happened, but when Allie Ziebell hits the 3-point buzzer beater to end a quarter when the Huskies were already up by 44 points, well. Sometimes it’s just not your night, and the basketball gods want to make sure everyone knows it.
That buzzer beater was part of a 26-0 run by UConn, as well: the score was 41-17 with 9:46 left in the third quarter, and the Ramblers wouldn’t score again until there was 8:11 left in the fourth quarter, when they made it 67-20 with another 3-pointer.
What a heave!
If you thought Ziebell’s buzzer beater was something, then you better sit down and watch this one. Nebraska’s junior forward Jessica Petrie shot from deep for this 3-pointer. Like, had just cleared the three point line on the other side of the court levels of deep.
It took nearly three seconds for the ball to make it all the way across the court and into the basket! That would put the Cornhuskers up 17-9 to end the first quarter, and they would go on to win 84-50 over Creighton. Petrie had a fine game overall, too: 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block in 24 minutes.
Honestly it’s hard to believe she missed two other 3-point attempts on the night when she secured that ludicrously deep buzzer beater, but hey, that’s basketball.
Serving it up
If you’ve played enough “NBA Street” in your life, then you heard the voice just now.* You know the one. Anyway: what an alley oop in the Indiana game, courtesy Reed Bailey and Conor Enright.
Even better is that when you watch the replay from the alternate angle behind the basket, you see that it was the 6-foot-11 forward, Bailey, passing the ball to his fellow senior, Enright. And then the guard tossed it up on the backboard so his teammate, nearly a foot taller, could get the ball back and tower over any defenders. A real beauty of a play there, and one of 23 assists Indiana had against Milwaukee — the Panthers logged just 7 dimes, as they didn’t have nearly the ball movement, nor success with it, that the Hoosiers did. That played a not insignificant role in the final score: Indiana 101, Milwaukee 70.
DeVries push-back 3
Also helping the Hoosiers out? Shots like this one. This looks like a hell of an offensive play from West Virginia transfer Tucker DeVries in real-time, but when you see the slow-motion replay, you can see just how stone-cold Indiana’s forward was here. Look at that shove!
Create your own space if you have to, then let it fly. There’s no foul there, just a strong reminder that basketball is a contact sport.
Houston takes care of business
No. 1 Houston took on Oakland — the team that last week’s No. 1 Purdue did not beat by nearly enough to retain their spot atop the poll — but unlike the Boilermakers, the Cougars dispatched the Golden Grizzlies with ease. Whereas Purdue had a 10-point victory, Houston won by 33, and were in control from the start to the point that their win probability for the evening never dipped below 99.3%.
Kingston Flemings led things for the Cougars, with the freshman forward scoring a team-high 19 points, and while Oakland’s junior forward Isaac Garrett led all scorers with 20, he had no help: the Golden Grizzlies’ bench scored a single point in 45 minutes of play, and no other player managed to reach even double-digits.
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