PULLMAN, Wash. — No. 23 UCLA rolled into Pullman on Wednesday night as the hottest team in the Pac-12, and the Bruins hadn’t lost here since 1993.
They rolled out of town as 73-61 losers to last-place Washington State, a defeat that seriously damaged the Bruins’ hopes of winning the conference title.
“The lesson learned is that anybody can beat anybody on a given night," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “We talk about that all the time.
“We are not dominant enough to just show up ready to roll, and that is my responsibility and obviously I failed tonight," he said.
Washington State was battling the loss of two key players. But the Cougars got 20 points and 11 rebounds from Brock Motum to break the 19-game home losing streak to the Bruins.
Royce Woolridge added 19 points for Washington State (12-18, 3-14 Pac-12), which also broke a nine-game losing streak that had put coach Ken Bone on the hot seat.
“It’s nice to see these guys rewarded with a win," said Bone, whose team has repeatedly lost games in the second half this season. “It’s a huge confidence builder."
Jordan Adams scored 18 points for UCLA (22-8, 12-5), which had won four straight games and came into Wednesday tied with Oregon for first place in the Pac-12.
“We didn’t come out with the emotion and intensity that we needed," Howland said. “We didn’t have the sense of urgency when so much was riding on the line for us."
Shabazz Muhammad added 14 points for UCLA on four-of-19 shooting.
Washington State had lost its past eight games against the Bruins, who were coming off a win over No. 18 Arizona.
“This is the first time in 19 years we beat them here," Motum said. “I was happy individually to have beaten UCLA for the first time."
Also on Wednesday:
Villanova 67
No. 5 Georgetown 57
PHILADELPHIA — JayVaughn Pinkston scored 20 points to help Villanova beat a top-five team for the third time this season. The Wildcats (19-12, 10-8 Big East) also beat then-No. 5 Louisville and then-No. 3 Syracuse and have put themselves in solid shape for at least an NCAA tournament at-large bid. Otto Porter Jr. scored 17 points as the Hoyas (23-5, 13-4) had an 11-game winning streak snapped.
Georgia Tech 71
No. 6 Miami 69
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Marcus Georges-Hunt followed his own miss for the winning tip-in at the buzzer and Georgia Tech kept Miami from clinching the outright Atlantic Coast Conference title. The Hurricanes (23-6, 14-3 ACC) squandered a 13-point lead in the second half.
No. 7 Michigan 80
Purdue 75
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Trey Burke had 26 points and five rebounds to lead Michigan (25-5, 12-5 Big Ten) to the come-from-behind win. Terone Johnson scored a career-high 35 points for Purdue.
No. 11 Florida 66
Vanderbilt 40
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kenny Boynton scored 15 points and Pat Young added 14 as Florida (24-5, 14-3 SEC) clinched the Southeastern Conference regular season championship.
No. 12 New Mexico 75
Nevada 62
RENO, Nev. — Tony Snell scored 25 points and Cameron Bairstow and Alex Kirk added double-doubles to lead New Mexico (26-4, 13-2 Mountain West) to its sixth straight victory.
Iowa State 87
No. 13 Oklahoma State 76
AMES, Iowa — Senior Will Clyburn scored 20 points and Iowa State (20-10, 10-7 Big 12) bolstered its NCAA tournament hopes.
Xavier 77
No. 16 Saint Louis 66
CINCINNATI — Travis Taylor had 19 points and a career-high 19 rebounds and Xavier never trailed in the overtime while ending an 11-game winning streak for the Billikens (23-6, 12-3) and leaving the Atlantic 10 title up for grabs.
No. 17 Syracuse 78
DePaul 57
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Brandon Triche and James Southerland combined for 37 points in the final home game of their careers and Syracuse (23-7, 11-6 Big East) snapped a three-game losing streak.
No. 21 VCU 93
Richmond 82
RICHMOND, Va. — Treveon Graham scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, including the go-ahead basket with 2:58 to play, for VCU (24-6, 12-3 Atlantic 10).
Stanford 83
California 70
BERKELEY, Calif. — Chasson Randle scored 20 points, Josh Huestis added 18 and Stanford (18-13, 9-9 Pac-12) beat California, completing a season sweep and ending the Golden Bears’ seven-game winning streak. Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs had 24 points apiece for the Golden Bears (20-10, 12-6).
Washington 65
USC 57
SEATTLE — Scott Suggs scored 18 points to lead Washington (17-13, 9-8 Pac-12). Dewayne Dedmon had 18 points for USC (14-16, 9-8).
