Baylor Holds Off OK State Behind Johnathan Motley's 24 Points, 11 Boards

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, February 8, 2017

#6 Baylor defeated Oklahoma State Wednesday, keeping the Bears a game back of Kansas in the Big 12. Kansas is 9-2 in conference action; Baylor is right behind at 8-3.

Johnathan Motley dominated inside play with 24 points in the 72-69 win at Oklahoma State. Motley was 9-for-12, all of his scoring coming from inside the paint or the foul line, where he nailed 6 of 8 free throws.

A 6'10" junior from Houston Texas, Motley has become one of the most overpowering figures in college hoops. With 11 boards Motley registered his third straight double-double, though the prior two were in losses to Kansas (73-68) and Kansas State (56-54).

This was also the tenth double-double for the big man, his most dominating performance coming in a 74-64, January 17 win over the Texas Longhorns, where he notched career highs with 32 points and 20 rebounds. Motley, who has improved his scoring a rebounding averages each of his three years at Baylor, leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per outing.

The 21-3 Bears host TCU on Saturday and travel to Texas Tech on Wednesday prior to their February 18 showdown with the Kansas Jayhawks. The prior loss to the Jayhawks was in Kansas. Baylor will be home for the rematch, which is shaping up to be one of the most highly-anticipated games of the season.

Josh Hart Scores 25, Leading #2 Villanova Past Georgetown

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Josh Hart scored 25 points, leading #2 Villanova to a 75-64 win over the visiting Georgetown Hoyas.

Hart a 6'6" senior guard, hit eight of 18 shots from the field, including 4-for-9 from three-point range. He also canned five of six free throws and had seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

Hart's been on a scoring tear, having put up 26 in the Wildcats' 92-79 win over St. John's on Saturday. He leads Villanova in minutes (33.3), scoring (19.2) and rebounding (6.6) per game.

The 22-2 Wildcats won their fourth straight game following a setback at Marquette on January 24.

Villanova has a meeting at #24 Xavier this Saturday. The Musketeeers knocked off #22 Creighton this past Saturday, 82-80.

Virginia On Track In ACC As Isaiah Wilkins Leads Cavaliers to 71-55 Win Over Louisville

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, February 6, 2017

Isaiah Wilkins had a double-double, scoring 13 points to go with 11 rebounds as the Virginia Cavaliers upended Louisville, 71-55.

Ranked #4 in by the AP, the loss was just the fifth for Louisville (18-5), but #12 Virginia's win pushed the Cavaliers into a second place tie with Florida State in the ACC at 8-3. Both the Seminoles and Cavaliers trail North Carolina (9-2) by one game. Louisville dropped to 7-4 in the ultra-competitive ACC.

Wilkins and his teammates dominated the glass against Louisville, outrebounding the Cardinals, 38-19. A 6'7" junior from Lilburn, Georgia, Wilkins was 5-for-7 from the field and made all three of his free throws. High scorer for the Cavaliers was London Perrantes, who leads the team in scoring (12.2), with 18.

The effort by Wilkins was one of his best of the season and shows why Virginia is a threat to go deep into the NCAA tournament in March. Including Monday's game, he averages 7.7 points and 6.1 boards per game.

Virginia showed resilience at home after losing at Syracuse on Saturday, 66-62. The Cavaliers take to the court next on Sunday, at Virginia Tech.