Top 25
No. 1 Kentucky 86, South Carolina 52
Anthony Davis had 22 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks Saturday as visiting Kentucky wiped away the memories of the last time the top-ranked Wildcats came to South Carolina.
Kentucky (23-1) has won 15 in a row and moved to 9-0 in the Southeastern Conference for the first time in seven years. And they’ll stay atop the rankings, unlike in 2010 when the No. 1 Wildcats were stunned 68-62 by the Gamecocks.
This time, Davis and Terrence Jones made sure there wouldn’t be a similar flop. The two combined for 34 points in the first half as Kentucky took a 52-25 lead at the break and eventually increased the margin to 41 points.
Damien Leonard scored a career-high 19 points for South Carolina (9-13, 1-7).
No. 2 Syracuse 95, St. John’s 70
Fab Melo scored a career-high 14 points in his return after a three-game absence and Jim Boeheim tied Dean Smith for third place on the victory list with win No. 879 as visiting Syracuse dominated St. John’s.
Syracuse (23-1, 10-1 Big East) rallied behind the return of the 7-foot Melo, taking a 41-27 halftime lead and blowing it open by starting the second half on a 16-3 run in front of a sellout crowd of 19,979 at Madison Square Garden, most of whom were wearing orange.
Melo missed the last three games as he resolved an academic issue. He had been allowed to practice with the team and he looked ready from the start of his first game back, once again a force in the middle on the back line of the 2-3 zone.
After tying Smith, the longtime coach at North Carolina, Boeheim trails only fellow hall of famers Mike Krzyzewski (919) and Bob Knight (902) on the career wins list.
D’Angelo Harrison had 23 points for the Red Storm (10-13, 4-7).
No. 5 North Carolina 83, Maryland 74
Tyler Zeller scored 22 points, John Henson had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and visiting North Carolina rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half to squeeze past Maryland.
The Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got all they could handle from the upstart Terrapins, who didn’t lead over the final nine minutes but never let North Carolina get comfortable down the stretch.
UNC star Harrison Barnes, who sprained his left ankle Tuesday against Wake Forest, scored 18 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
Terrell Stoglin scored 20 for Maryland (13-9, 3-5).
No. 6 Baylor 64, Oklahoma State 60
Perry Jones III had 16 points and 11 rebounds in visiting Baylor’s tight win, and Quincy Acy provided the go-ahead basket and a key offensive rebound down the stretch.
The Cowboys (11-12, 4-6 Big 12) rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a 57-56 lead on Keiton Page’s wide-open 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:42 to play.
After a timeout, Acy answered at the other end with a layup set up by Pierre Jackson’s drive. Acy also grabbed the rebound when Brady Heslip missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 6.8 seconds left, allowing Anthony Jones to hit two foul shots to close it out for Baylor (21-2, 8-2).
No. 10 Murray State 65, Tennessee Martin 58
Isaiah Canaan, Latreze Mushatt and Jewuan Long each scored 11 points and visiting Murray State remained the lone undefeated men’s team in Division I.
The Racers (23-0, 11-0 Ohio Valley Conference) brought plenty of fans to cheer the school’s longest winning streak. Combined with a “We Back Pat” night dedicated to alumna Pat Summitt helping raise money for Alzheimer’s, a sold-out crowd of 4,700 packed the Elam Center with fans lining the upper walkway.
Tennessee Martin (3-22, 0-12) lost its 13th in a row.
Wyoming 68, No. 11 UNLV 66
Leonard Washington and Francisco Cruz scored 16 points apiece, and host Wyoming throttled the high-scoring offense of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Luke Martinez added 15 points — all on 3-pointers — and Adam Waddell scored 14 for Wyoming (18-5, 4-3 Mountain West). The win snapped a four-game losing streak against UNLV (21-4, 5-2) and was Wyoming’s first victory against a top 25 team since beating New Mexico in 1996.
UNLV had two chances after Martinez missed a long 3-point attempt for Wyoming with 22 seconds left, but the Runnin’ Rebels missed both attempts — one a two-pointer to tie it, the other a 3 for the win — snapping their five-game winning streak.
No. 12 Florida 73, No. 25 Vanderbilt 65
Kenny Boynton scored 18 points and Bradley Beal added 16, lifting host Florida to its seventh consecutive victory.
Boynton and Beal came up huge in the second half. Beal scored 14 points after halftime. Boynton drained a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining after the Commodores made it a four-point game and then sank two free throws with 25.9 seconds left to seal Florida’s 19th consecutive victory at home.
The Gators (19-4, 7-1 Southeastern Conference), returning to the court about 36 hours after their last win, made 11-of-24 shots from behind the arc.
Vanderbilt (16-7, 5-3) committed 17 turnovers.
Northern Iowa 65, No. 13 Creighton 62
Anthony James buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer as Northern Iowa upset visiting Creighton, snapping the Bluejays’ 11-game winning streak.
James scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Seth Tuttle added 13 points for the Panthers, who handed visiting Creighton its first loss since late December.
James buried a huge 3 from the corner with 23 seconds left to put Northern Iowa (16-9, 6-7 Missouri Valley) ahead 61-56.
Creighton’s Antoine Young hit a 3 with 4.6 seconds left to tie it at 62-all. But James dribbled the length of the court and pulled up for the game-winner at the buzzer, sending Panthers fans streaming onto their home court.
Young scored 23 points and Doug McDermott had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Creighton (21-3, 11-2).
No. 14 Georgetown 75, South Florida 45
Henry Sims scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Georgetown held visiting South Florida without a point for nearly 11 minutes in the first half.
Otto Porter added 12 points, and Jason Clark had 11 for the Hoyas (18-4, 8-3 Big East), who led 18-5 late in the first half and spent much of the second half with a 20-point cushion.
Augustus Gilchrist scored 15 points to lead the Bulls (13-10, 6-4), who shot 26 percent in the first half and 31 percent for the game. They also committed 17 turnovers.
Notre Dame 76, No. 15 Marquette 59
Freshman Pat Connaughton had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and host Notre Dame made 11 3-pointers in the victory.
Connaughton shot 5-for-8 from long range, helping the Irish (15-8, 7-3 Big East) earn their fourth consecutive win. Notre Dame has defeated five ranked opponents this season.
Eric Atkins chipped in 18 points and Jerian Grant had 12 in a strong performance by the Irish backcourt.
Marquette (19-5, 8-3) had won seven consecutive Big East games. Darius Johnson-Odom scored 10 points for the Golden Eagles in the first half, but was held to just two points the rest of the game.
No. 21 Florida State 58, No. 16 Virginia 55
Reserve Okaro White scored 13 points, Xavier Gibson added 10 points and host Florida State earned its seventh consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference victory.
Virginia (17-4, 4-3) trailed by 13 in the second half but couldn’t complete the comeback. Virginia’s four losses this season have come by a total of 10 points.
Mike Scott and Joe Harris led the Cavaliers with 16 points apiece. Scott also had a game-high 11 rebounds.
It’s the first time Florida State (16-6, 7-1) has won seven consecutive games in ACC play since joining the league in 1991-92.
No. 22 Mississippi State 91, Auburn 88
Arnett Moultrie scored 21 points and Renardo Sidney added 17 to lead host Mississippi State.
Dee Bost hit three consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half, turning Mississippi State’s 44-43 halftime deficit into a 52-44 lead. The Bulldogs never trailed again, shooting 60.4 percent (29-of-48), including 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from 3-point range.
Mississippi State (18-5, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) has won five of its past seven games.
Auburn (13-10, 3-6) was led by Varez Ward, who scored 24 points off the bench. Kenny Gabriel added 22.
Big Ten
No. 20 Indiana 78, Purdue 61
Victor Oladipo scored a career-high 23 points to help visiting Indiana break a five-game losing streak against its in-state rival.
Cody Zeller had 16 points and eight rebounds and freshman Remy Abell scored a season-best 13 points for the Hoosiers (18-6, 6-6).
Robbie Hummel had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Purdue. The senior came up limping after he went to the ground in the final minutes, but he played through it.
Hummel missed last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. D.J. Byrd scored 15 points and Kelsey Barlow added 12 for the Boilermakers (15-8, 5-5).
Iowa 77, Penn State 64
Bryce Cartwright has been in and out of Iowa’s starting lineup all season. Now the senior looks like he’s there to stay.
Cartwright scored 17 points with five assists and one turnover as the Hawkeyes beat visiting Penn State.
Matt Gatens scored 18 points for Iowa (13-11, 5-6), which opened with a 16-2 lead and led by double digits the rest of the game. Freshman Aaron White added 17 points and nine rebounds.
Iowa, fresh off a comeback victory over Minnesota on Wednesday, won its second in a row after losing five of the previous six games.
Tim Frazier scored 23 points to lead the Nittany Lions (10-14, 2-9), who have lost four in a row and seven of their last eight.
Mid-American
Ohio 68, Central Michigan 42
Walter Offutt scored 17 points and Nick Kellogg added 14 as Ohio University dominated visiting Central Michigan for its sixth consecutive win.
The Bobcats (19-4, 7-2) matched their win total for all of last season. Kellogg and D.J. Cooper combined to open the game with three consecutive 3-pointers, putting Ohio up 9-1 early.
The Bobcats pushed that lead to 24-14 after a Cooper free throw.
Ohio pulled away in the second half, taking a 56-33 lead after Kellogg knocked down his fourth 3-pointer off the day.
Oliver Mbaigoto led Central Michigan (7-15, 2-7) with 14 points.
Miami 59, Ball State 53
Quinten Rollins scored 14 points and Brian Sullivan knocked down four 3-pointers as Miami (Ohio) handed visiting Ball State its fourth consecutive loss.
Sullivan, who made three of his four 3-pointers in the first half, finished with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Miami (6-14, 2-6) led 15-13 midway through the first half before Sullivan knocked down a 3-pointer, sparking a 16-5 run for the RedHawks.
Miami was 20-of-37 from the field, compared to 20-of-60 for Ball State (12-8, 4-4).
Bowling Green 65, Northern Illinois 40
Jordon Crawford scored 15 points and Bowling Green used a big first half to rout visiting Northern Illinois.
Bowling Green got off to an 18-1 start on its way to a 41-16 halftime lead. The Falcons were never threatened in the second half as the lead remained above 16 points.
Scott Thomas added 14 points for the Falcons (11-11, 5-4), who have won two in a row for the first time since November.
Northern Illinois (2-19, 1-8) went without a double-digit scorer but Abdel Nader had 10 rebounds. It was the third time the Huskies have been held to 40 points or less this season.
Buffalo 72, Toledo 65
Titus Robinson scored 14 points and visiting Buffalo overcame a double-digit deficit.
Mitchell Wyatt almost had a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls (14-6, 7-2), who extended their winning streak to six games.
Rian Pearson finished with 26 points and eight rebounds for Toledo (10-13, 2-7).
