EAST LANSING, Mich. — Joshua Langford scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half to help No. 3 Michigan State take a huge lead it was able to restore in the second half against No. 5 Notre Dame in an 81-63 victory Thursday night.

The Spartans (6-1) have won five straight, including a rout against then-No. 9 North Carolina, since losing to top-ranked Duke.

The Fighting Irish (6-1) trailed by 20 at halftime and cut their deficit to seven with 13:09 left, but couldn’t get closer against a team with a lot of options on offense that is defending and rebounding as if it is in mid-season form under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

In the marquee matchup of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Spartans turned a highly anticipated game into a showcase of their talent and depth.

Michigan State’s Cassius Winston had 17 points and seven assists, Miles Bridges scored 14 points and Nick Ward added 12.

(9) TEXAS A&M 78, TEXAS-RIO GRANDE VALLEY 60: Texas A&M junior guards D.J. Hogg and Admon Gilder scored 17 points each and the Aggies (7-0) opened with a 16-0 run on the way to a win over UTRGV (3-6) at College Station, Texas.

Texas A&M only led by seven points with more than 7 minutes remaining before pulling away. UTRGV kept the game close thanks to the Aggies’ struggles from the free throw line. Texas A&M made 18 of 30 from the free throw line compared to 11 of 13 for the Vaqueros.

(19) WEST VIRGINIA 102, NJIT 69: Jevon Carter scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead host West Virginia (7-1) past NJIT (4-3).

Carter had his five steals that made him WVU’s all-time leader with 255, passing Greg Jones’ record set in 1983.

SETON HALL 89, (22) TEXAS TECH 79: Myles Powell scored seven of his 19 points in a span of 45 seconds to lift Seton Hall (6-1) past Texas Tech (6-1) at Madison Square Garden in New York

Desi Rodriguez led Seton Hall with 24 points. Keenan Evans scored 21 for the Red Raiders while Jarrett Culver added 17.

RICK PITINO filed a lawsuit against the University of Louisville Athletic Association for $38.7 million on Thursday, saying it breached his contract by placing him on unpaid administrative leave without notice and firing him last month with no legally justified “cause.”

WOMEN

(2) TEXAS 88, LOUISIANA TECH 54: Brooke McCarty had 15 points, five assists and five steals to lead host Texas (6-0) past Louisiana Tech (4-3).

McCarty, a senior guard who was Big 12 player of the year last season, converted her first six shots, including three 3-pointers.

(4) LOUISVILLE 72, INDIANA 59: Myisha Hines-Allen had 25 points and 12 rebounds to help the Cardinals (7-0) use a big third quarter to beat Indiana (4-3) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Bloomington, Indiana.

(5) SOUTH CAROLINA 101, WESTERN CAROLINA 43: A’ja Wilson scored 29 points and Alexis Jennings had 19 as host South Carolina (7-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season with a pummeling of Western Carolina (1-5).

(14) DUKE 69, (8) OHIO STATE 60: Lexie Brown and Rebecca Greenwell scored 19 points each to help the Blue Devils (6-1) beat Ohio State (7-2) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Durham, North Carolina.

Erin Mathias had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (6-1), who won after giving up a 17-point lead in the second half.

(9) BAYLOR 90, (20) KENTUCKY 63: Kristy Wallace scored 15 of her 20 points in the first half and Baylor (6-1) held Kentucky (6-1) without a field goal in the third quarter in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at Waco, Texas.

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