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.
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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 — Starter
Season statistics — 38 games, 38 starts, 10.2 points, 41.6 FG%, 37.7 3P%, 69.4 FT%, 2.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists
Team record: 35–3; Rank: No. 3
Friday: 90–77 win Midwest Regional Sweet 16 in Chicago vs. No. 18 Alabama — Started; 33:37, 17 points, 6–14 FG, 3–8 3FG, 2–5 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 7 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 1 block, +15
Sunday: 95–62 win Midwest Regional final in Chicago vs. No. 23 Tennessee — Started; 34:20, 8 points, 3–7 FG, 1–2 3FG, 1–2 FT, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls, 10 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 steals, +30
Next game — 8:49 p.m. Saturday vs. No. 2 Arizona at Final Four in Indianapolis, TBS
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 30 games, 30 starts, 8.7 points, 38.3 FG%, 37.1 3P%, 84.6 FT%, 2.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Team record: 18–13
Season ended with SEC tournament loss
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 30 games, 2.3 points, 43.6 FG%, 4–10 3FG, 69.7 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 8 blocks, 12 steals
Team record: 19–12
Season ended with loss in American Conference tournament
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 — 36 games, 19 starts, 9.4 points, 40.9 FG%, 34.3 3P%, 90.0 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Team record: 30–7; Rank: No. 13
Friday: 80–75 loss in East Regional Sweet 16 in Washington vs. No. 1 Duke — Didn’t start; 16 minutes, 5 points, 2–8 FG, 1–7 3FG, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 assists
Season ended with loss to Duke
Puff Johnson, Ohio State
6–8, 190 pounds | Graduate | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Reserve
Team record: 21–13
Season statistics — 9 games, 1 start, 2.3 points, 33.3 FG%, 3–7 3FG, 6–9 FT, 1.1 rebounds
Season ended with first-round NCAA tournament loss to TCU
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 28 games, 28 starts, 11.4 points, 51.2 FG%, 2–15 3FG, 69.8 FT%, 7.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks
Team record: 25–11; Rank: No. 17
Saturday: 76–54 loss in Fort Worth Regional 1 Sweet 16 vs. No. 3 Texas — Started; 31:31, 10 points, 2–8 FG, 0–1 3FG, 6–6 FT, 9 rebounds, 4 fouls, 2 assists, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block, -17
Season ended with loss to Texas
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 34 games, 34 starts, 13.6 points, ACC-leading 66.8 FG%, 27.3 3P%, 73.3 FT%, 7.1 rebounds
Team record: 20–14
Season ended with NCAA First Four loss to Texas
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 36 games, 36 starts, 13.5 points, 44.4 FG%, 40.0 3P%, 84.7 FT%, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists
Team record: 27–9: Rank: No. 22
Season ended with loss to No. 4 Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA tournament
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Season statistics — 20 games, 12 starts, 9.6 points, 39.9 FG%, 25.0 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 9–21, 2–16 ACC
Season ended with left foot injury in February
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 30 games, 2.6 points, 47.6 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 59.3 FT%, 2.6 rebounds, 17 blocks, 7 steals
Team record: 18–14
Season ended with loss in Southern Conference tournament
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 31 games, 32 starts, team-leading 19.6 points, 50.0 FG%, 42.2 3P%, 82.6 FT%, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Team record: 15–17
Next game — 10:30 Wednesday at College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas vs. Baylor, FS1 (first game since March 11)
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 36 games, 9 starts, 8.9 points, 56.3 FG%, 29.4 3P%, 74.1 FT%, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 blocks
Team record: 27–9; Rank: No. 22
Season ended with loss to No. 4 Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA tournament
Photos via gopack.com and mgoblue.com
