By R.L. Bynum
Ian Jackson and Elliot Cadeau helped their teams continue their rolls while Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington’s No. 11 Vanderbilt team ended a three-game skid. Meanwhile, Ven-Allen Lubin notched a double-double and Puff Johnson made his Ohio State debut.
Jackson scored 16 points and three 3-pointers, all in the first 14 minutes of the game, with four rebounds and two assists, as the St. John’s (15–5, 8–1 Big East) won its sixth consecutive game, winning Saturday at Xavier 88–83 to stay a game back of No. 2 UConn in the Big East.
“I’ve said this all year long, how enjoyable they are to coach,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said after his 900th career victory. “But tonight was the icing on the cake. A lot of teams would break, but they stayed with it. Bryce Hopkins made big plays, and Ian Jackson kept us in the game in the first half.”
Jackson scored 13 of the Red Storm’s first 20 points, including three 3-pointers, to give St. John’s an early nine-point lead before Xavier led 49–37 at halftime.
Cadeau scored six points, his fewest points in nine Big Ten games, but dished out eight assists and had four turnovers as No. 3 Michigan (18–1, 8–1 Big Ten) knocked off Ohio State 74–62 on Friday.
Cadeau’s points were significant, though, because his two 3-pointers keyed a decisive 24–12 run to end the game.
The Wolverines have a huge home game at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Peacock) against league-leading No. 7 Nebraska (20–0, 9–0). Michigan, No. 10 Michigan State and No. 11 Illinois are all tied for second place, one game back of the Cornhuskers.
Johnson played five scoreless minutes in his Buckeyes debut against Michigan, and will face Penn State, where he played the last two seasons, at 7 p.m. Monday (FS1). He became eligible to play for Ohio State (13–6, 5–4) after a Jan. 16 court ruling.
Vanderbilt (17–3, 4–3 SEC) went from a 16-game unbeaten streak to start the season to three consecutive losses before rebounding Saturday with an 88–56 victory at Mississippi State.
Tyler Nickel had 13 points, three 3-pointers, three steals and two assists and was a team-high +37, while Jalen Washington collected eight points, eight rebounds, four blocks and two assists. The four blocks tied his season-high.
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Lubin produced his fourth double-double of the season and 15th of his career (four last season for UNC) with 17 points and 12 rebounds Saturday as N.C. State (14–6, 5–2 ACC) won 81–72 at Pittsburgh.
Lubin is averaging 13.4 points per game and leads the ACC in field-goal percentage at 66.9% (UNC’s Henri Veesaar is second at 63.0%).
The struggles continue for Minnesota (10–10, 3–6 Big Ten), which got blown out by No. 7 Nebraska 76–57 on Saturday for the Gophers’ fifth consecutive loss.
Cade Tyson scored 12 points and two 3-pointers with six rebounds and two assists. He has been held to 15 points or fewer in the last four games, after that happened only three times in the first 16 games.
In other late-week games:
— Paulina Paris returned after missing two games, contributing four points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in SMU’s 73–51 Thursday loss to Florida State as a starter. She didn’t start and played was scoreless in 10 minutes, 52 seconds on Sunday as she battled foul trouble and the Mustangs (8–13, 1–8 ACC) lost 75–66 at home to Miami.
— Will Shaver combined for two points in 12 minutes as Samford (10–11, 3–5 Southern Conference) lost 88–78 at Wofford on Wednesday but beat Chattanooga 75–64 at home on Saturday.
— RyLee Grays played seven scoreless minutes with a rebound and a steal in Tulsa’s 57–53 road victory on Friday against North Texas.
— Teonni Key missed both of No. 11 Kentucky’s games last week as she continues to recover from an elbow injury. She has missed six games since getting injured on Jan. 4 against Missouri.
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
Photo via redstormsports.com
