By R.L. Bynum
While Elliot Cadeau set No. 3 Michigan’s tone early Tuesday, Ven‑Allen Lubin steadied N.C. State late, Vanderbilt’s rough patch continued despite a solid game from Tyler Nickel and St. John’s won despite Ian Jackson going scoreless.
Michigan (17–1, 7–1 Big Ten) never trailed in an 86–72 win over Indiana as Cadeau scored a game-high 19 points, which tied his career high. Cadeau scored 10 points before the first TV timeout as Indiana missed 14 of its first 15 shots.
“We have a lot of faith and confidence in his 3-point shot,” Michigan coach Dusty May said after Cadeau knocked in a pair of 3-pointers against the Hoosiers. “He’s shooting the ball well. He spends a lot of time in the gym with the staff working on his game, being consistent with it.”
Cadeau was 5 of 11 from the floor and tied his previous best scoring games: 10 days earlier against Wisconsin and for UNC at Miami on Feb. 20, 2024. He had one assist and two turnovers.
“He’s just so slippery finding those cracks,” May said. “If he likes his matchup, he’s able to get to the rim consistently.”
Cadeau is averaging a career-high 10.5 points per game. His assist average of 5.0 is down from last season’s 6.2, but his turnover average is down from 3.1 to 2.3.
Michigan is in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Ten, a half-game back of No. 7 Nebraska.
Lubin was a big reason the Wolfpack (13–6, 4–2 ACC) pulled off an 80–76 overtime upset at No. 18 Clemson, giving the Tigers (16–4, 6–1) their first ACC loss.
Lubin scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, giving N.C. State consistent interior solutions the Wolfpack needed once the game tightened.
“Just knowing that they haven’t lost the game at home and they’ve been very successful here, it’s just really important for us to get this win,” Lubin said, quoted in a News & Observer story. “We want to be consistent and keep going up from here.”
It was Lubin’s third game with at least 20 points this season (but first since scoring 23 against Texas on Nov. 26 and against UNC Asheville on Dec. 6) after only doing that once last season for UNC, when he scored 20 points against Duke in the ACC tournament.
“We needed everybody,” Wolfpack coach Will Wade said, according to a PackPower247 transcript. “Ven obviously made great plays.”
Lubin scored 14 points after halftime, including four in overtime. He gave State a pair of four-point leads in overtime, on a dunk with 1:11 left and a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining.
Nickel poured in 17 points and five 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough as Vanderbilt (16–3, 3–3 SEC) has gone from winning its first 16 games of the season to losing its last three games.
After losing 80–64 at Texas on Jan. 14 and 99–94 on Saturday at home to No. 16 Florida, No. 20 Arkansas dominated the visiting Commodores 93–68 on Tuesday.
Nickel, who is averaging a career-high 14.8 points and 3.5 3-pointers per game, was scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting in the second half.
Coming off the bench for the 18th time in 19 games, Jalen Washington contributed eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
St. John’s (15–5, 7–1 Big East), a game behind No. 2 UConn in the Big East, won its fifth consecutive game Tuesday, rolling to a 92–60 victory at Marquette, but Jackson went scoreless for only the third time in his career.
Jackson started, but played only 11 minutes, missing all four shots and committing three turnovers. His other scoreless games were in 10 minutes against Duke for UNC in the ACC tournament last season and in 22 minutes in the Tar Heels’ 67–66 home win over Pittsburgh on Feb. 8.
Cade Tyson fouled out with 15 points as Minnesota (10–9, 3–5 Big Ten) lost 82–74 at Ohio State for its fourth consecutive loss. He was 3 of 6 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line with two 3-pointers and five rebounds.
Not yet playing for the Buckeyes was Puff Johnson, who had won a court ruling on Friday allowing him to join their roster.
Also on Tuesday, RyLee Grays played three scoreless minutes with one rebound in Tulsa’s 78–66 loss to Rice.
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan guard
6–1, 180 pounds | Junior | UNC 2023–25 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting point guard ahead of sophomore L.J. Cason
Season statistics — 18 games, 18 starts, 10.5 points, 44.9 FG%, 41.1 3P%, 68.6 FT%, 2.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.3 turnovers
Team record: 17–1, 7–1 Big Ten; Rank: No. 3
Tuesday: No. 3 Michigan 86, Indiana 72 — Started; 29:14, game-high 19 points (ties career-high), 5–11 FG, 2–5 3FG, 7–10 FT, 4 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, +11
Next game — 8 p.m. Friday at Ohio State, Fox
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 19 games, 19 starts, 8.6 points, 40.9 FG%, 40.0 3P%, 82.8 FT%, 2.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists
Team record: 15–5, 2–4 SEC
Thursday: No. 5 Vanderbilt 89, Mississippi State 84 — Started; 33:51, 8 points, 2–9 FG, 2–6 3FG, 2–2 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 7 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 steals, +6
Sunday: (at) Mississippi State 71, No. 7 Kentucky 59 — Started; 32:18, 16 points, 5–8 FG, 4–5 3FG (4 is season-high), 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 4 fouls, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, +14
Next game — 3 p.m. Sunday at No. 21 Alabama
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 18 games, 2.1 points, 47.4 FG%, 2–4 3FG, 72.0 FT%, 2.6 rebounds, 7 blocks, 5 steals
Team record: 12–6, 4–2 American
Tuesday: Rice 78, Tulsa 66 — 3 minutes, 0–1 FG, 1 rebound, 1 foul, -4
Next game — 3 p.m. Saturday at North Texas, ESPN+
Ian Jackson, St. John’s guard
6–5, 195 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter, sharing time in a point-guard-by-committee mix
Season statistics — 19 games, 12 starts, 10.5 points, 43.7 FG%, 34.9 3P%, 91.7 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists
Team record: 14–5, 7–1 Big East
Tuesday: St. John’s 92, Marquette 60 — Started; 11 minutes, 0–4 FG, 0–1 3FG, 3 turnovers, 1 block. team-low -8
Next game — 2:30 Saturday at Xavier, TNT/truTV
Puff Johnson, Ohio State
6–8, 190 pounds | Graduate | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Reserve
Team record: 13–5, 5–3 Big Ten
Tuesday: Ohio State 82, Minnesota 74 — Didn’t play; hasn’t played yet
Next game — 8 p.m. Friday at Michigan, Fox
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 11.0 points, 54.9 FG%, 1–12 3FG, 70.7 FT%, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 17–3, 4–2 SEC; Rank: No. 11
Thursday: No. 7 Kentucky 94, Florida 89 and Sunday: Mississippi State 71, No. 7 Kentucky 59 — Missed both games recovering from a dislocated elbow
Next game — 6:30 Thursday at No. 20 Tennessee, SEC Network
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 19 games, 19 starts, 13.2 points, 67.1 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 70.1 FT%, 6.6 rebounds
Team record: 13–6, 4–2 ACC
Tuesday: N.C. State 80, (at) Clemson 76, OT — 35:42, game-high 22 points, 9–12 FG (game-high field goals), 4–4 FT, 6 rebounds (tied for team-high), 3 fouls, 1 steal, +3
Next game — noon Saturday at Pittsburgh, ESPN2
Plays UNC —7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, ESPN or ESPN2
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 19 games, 19 starts, 14.8 points, 51.6 FG%, 46.8 3P%, 82.1 FT%, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Team record: 16–3, 3–3 SEC: Rank: No. 15
Tuesday: (at) No. 20 Arkansas 93, Vanderbilt 68 — Started; 32:05, 17 points, 6–13 FG, 5–11 3FG, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, -17
Next game — 6 p.m. Saturday at Mississippi State
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting guard
Season statistics — 16 games, 10 starts, 10.7 points, 41.3 FG%, 25.4 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 8–11, 1–6 ACC
Thursday: Virginia Tech 79, SMU 42 and Sunday: SMU 83, (at) Pittsburgh 76 — Didn’t play
Next game — 7:30 Thursday vs. Florida State, ACCN Extra
Plays UNC — 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at Carmichael Arena, ACCN
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 17 games, 3.1 points, 50.0 FG%, 40.0 3P%, 66.7 FT%, 2.4 rebounds, 12 assists, 8 blocks, 3 steals
Team record: 9–10, 2–4 Southern Conference
Wednesday: Furman 77, Samford 73 — 13 minutes, 15 points, 5–9 FG, 1–1 3FG, 4–4, 4 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, 2 blocks, 1 steal
Saturday: ETSU 76, Samford 75 — 9 minutes, 0–1 FG, 0–1 3FG,1 rebound, 1 foul, 2 turnovers
Next game — 7 p.m. Wednesday at Wofford
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 19 games, 19 starts, 20.5 points, 50.2 FG%, 39.6 3P%, 80.1 FT%, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists
Team record: 10–9, 3–5 Big Ten
Tuesday: (at) Ohio State 82, Minnesota 74 — Started; 33 minutes, 15 points, 3–6 FG, 2–4 3FG, 7–8 FT, 5 rebounds, 5 fouls, 1 assist, -5
Next game — noon Saturday vs. No. 7 Nebraska, FS1
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 19 games, 1 start, 9.7 points, 60.0 FG%, 27.3 3P%, 72.5 FT%, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks
Team record: 16–3, 3–3 SEC: Rank: No. 15
Tuesday: (at) Arkansas 93, Vanderbilt 68 — Didn’t start; 25:28, 8 points, 3–4 FG, 0–1 3FG, 2–4 FT, team-high 7 rebounds, 1 foul, 3 assists, 1 turnover, -5
Next game — 6 p.m. Saturday at Mississippi State
Photos via gopack.com and mgoblue.com
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