There were a slew of Top 25 teams in action this third Saturday in January, with five games featuring ranked opponents playing each other.#13 Butler survived on a last-second shot by Roosevelt Jones, keeping the Bulldogs undefeated at home, with a 64-63 victory over eighth-ranked Gonzaga.
With five seconds left to play, Gonzaga led 63-62 after a pair of made free throws by Kelly Olynyk. After a missed opportunity by Butler, Gonzaga had the ball out-of-bounds near mid-court, but when Dave Stockton lobbed a pass in the direction of Olynyk, the seven-footer was heading in another direction and the ball came right to the waiting Jones, who peeled downcourt and hit the running jumper in the lane, the ball leaving his hand just before time expired.
It was Butler's 13th straight win, making them 16-2 on the season. Gonzaga dropped to 17-2, and should not be penalized to severely by poll voters on Monday, when new rankings are released.
Jones finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, with five rebounds and four assists. Elias Harris and Sam Dower each had 20 points to lead Gonzaga.
Elsewhere, #6 Syracuse outlasted top-ranked Louisville, 70-68; #10 Florida hamered #17 Missouri, 83-52; #21 Oregon won at #24 UCLA, 76-67; and, #18 Michigan State prevailed over the visiting, 11th-ranked, Ohio State Buckeyes, 59-56.
In a key Missouri Valley Conference game, unranked Wichita State upended #12 Creighton, 67-64.
