Top 25 roundup
Villanova hands second-ranked Kansas its first loss PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Undefeated Kansas never stood a chance once Allen Ray, Curtis Sumpter and the rest of the spirited Villanova Wildcats got rolling.
Sumpter sank five 3-pointers and scored 25 points, Ray made four 3s and scored 27 and Villanova led by as many as 32 points in a stunning 83-62 victory over No. 2 Kansas on Saturday.
The Wildcats (10-4) lost their last two games on free throws in the final seconds, but this one was never really close. After holding a modest seven-point lead at halftime, the Wildcats went on a 15-2 run to open the second half, gave up three points, then reeled off 16 straight points.
Wayne Simien led Kansas (14-1) with 15 points and J.R. Giddens and Sasha Kaun each had 11.
No. 3 Wake Forest 74, No. 20 Cincinnati 70
CINCINNATI – Eric Williams scored a career-high 29 points, having his way with Cincinnati’s shorter front line.
The Demon Deacons (16-2) rebounded from an overtime loss to Florida State by hitting their last seven free throws down the stretch.
The Bearcats (15-3) lost at home to a ranked team for the second time in eight days. They also fell by three points against Louisville last Saturday.
No. 4 Duke 88, Florida State 56
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., – J.J. Redick scored a season-high 31 points and Duke stayed unbeaten.
The Blue Devils (15-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) were never in trouble, jumping to an 18-8 lead and steadily building it to as many as 33 late in the game. Redick waved bye-bye at Florida State’s student section after his fifth 3-point basket of the first half ripped through the net at buzzer. He scored 19 as the Blue Devils took a 44-26 halftime lead.
No. 5 Oklahoma St. 82, Baylor 53
STILLWATER, Okla. – Joey Graham scored 24 points to help Oklahoma State rebound from its loss to Texas.
Freshman JamesOn Curry added 14 points, including 10 in the final 2:16, as the Cowboys (14-2, 4-1 Big 12 Conference) won the first game at the newly named Eddie Sutton Court.
No. 6 N. Carolina 87, Miami 67
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Sean May had 17 points, Jawad Williams and Jackie Manuel each added 14 and North Carolina made the most of a rare home game by beating Miami.
Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants had 10 points apiece for the No. 6 Tar Heels (16-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are in the middle of a stretch during which they play six of eight games on the road.
No. 7 Syracuse 72, W. Virginia 64
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Hakim Warrick had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Gerry McNamara scored 18 points and Billy Edelin added a season-high 12 to lead Syracuse.
It was the 12th straight win for Syracuse (19-1, 6-0 Big East), which equaled the best start in school history. In 1999, Syracuse won its first 19 before losing to Seton Hall 69-67 at home and also started 19-1 in 1979-80.
Patrick Beilein led the Mountaineers (11-5, 1-4) with 17 points, and Mike Gansey, Tyrone Sally and D’or Fischer each had 11.
No. 8 Kentucky 89, LSU 58
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Patrick Sparks went 5-of-7 from 3-point range and scored 15 points to lead the Wildcats.
Kelenna Azubuike added 16 points for Kentucky (14-2, 5-0 Southeastern Conference), which made a season-high 11 3-pointers in 20 attempts to win for the 14th time in its last 15 meetings with LSU (9-6, 2-2).
No. 9 Boston College 79, St. John’s 73
NEW YORK – Jared Dudley scored 19 points to lead Boston College’s balanced offense and the Eagles remained one of three unbeaten teams in Division I.
The win extended the best start in school history, leaving the Eagles (16-0, 5-0 Big East) three shy of their longest winning streak set by the 1968-69 team. It was Boston College’s ninth straight road win.
No. 11 Gonzaga 68, San Diego 56
SAN DIEGO – Center J.P. Batista scored a career-high 22 points and Gonzaga opened the second half with a 16-0 run to beat poor-shooting San Diego.
The Bulldogs (14-4, 4-2 West Coast Conference) rebounded nicely from a 73-70 loss at San Francisco on Thursday night, and they got some help from the Toreros (10-8, 2-3), who shot just 10 percent in the second half and 30.6 percent overall.
Va. Tech 70, No. 12 Ga. Tech 69
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s Isma’il Muhammad missed two free throws with 5.5 seconds left and Virginia Tech handed the Yellow Jackets their third straight loss.
Following Muhammad’s second miss, Mario West rebounded and missed a putback for Georgia Tech, then Ra’Sean Dickey and Muhammad couldn’t tip in the ball.
No. 14 Louisville 85, Tennessee 62
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Francisco Garcia scored 20 points to lead Louisville.
Garcia had seven points during a crucial 24-2 second-half run, and added had nine rebounds and four assists for the Cardinals (16-3), who have won 10 of 11.
No. 17 Mississippi State 73, South Carolina 65
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Lawrence Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead five Mississippi State scorers in double figures.
Marcus Campbell, Jamall Edmondson and Shane Power each had 11 points for Mississippi State (16-4, 4-2 Southeastern Conference), which bounced back from one of its worst losses with the closest of its 10 straight home victories.
No. 18 Oklahoma 64, No. 15 Texas 60
NORMAN, Okla. – Kevin Bookout had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Lawrence McKenzie scored 15 and Oklahoma won its ninth straight.
The Sooners outmuscled the Longhorns, who were in their first game without leading scorer and rebounder P.J. Tucker, ruled academically ineligible earlier in the week.
No. 19 Michigan State 69, Minnesota 55
MINNEAPOLIS – Alan Anderson scored 13 points – 11 from the foul line – as Michigan State made 26 of 28 foul shots to hold off Minnesota.
Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown each added 12 points for the Spartans (12-3, 4-1 Big Ten), who played their usual stifling defense and won their second straight since a 62-59 loss at Wisconsin last Sunday.
No. 22 Ala. 66, Mississippi 58
OXFORD, Miss. – Kennedy Winston scored 26 points and Jermareo Davidson had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama (15-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) snapped a seven-game road losing streak at Mississippi (11-8, 2-4), last winning 59-46 in the 1996-97 season.
No. 23 Iowa 71, Purdue 57
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Greg Brunner and Doug Thomas each scored 14 points to help Iowa bounce back from a loss to top-ranked Illinois.
After a sluggish start, the Hawkeyes (14-4, 2-3 Big Ten) built an 18-point halftime lead and were never threatened in the second half, easily rebounding from Thursday’s overtime loss against the Illini.
No. 24 Wisconsin 72, Michigan 61
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Mike Wilkinson had 28 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to help the Badgers win for the eighth time in nine games.
The Badgers (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten) led by just five at halftime, but opened the second half with an 11-2 run. Their next game is against No. 1 Illinois on Tuesday at home, where they have won 38 straight games – the longest home winning streak in Division I.
Charlotte 76, No. 25 Marquette 66
MILWAUKEE – Eddie Basden scored 23 points and Brendan Plavich added 20 for Charlotte.
Curtis Withers had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the 49ers (13-3, 4-1 Conference USA), who rebounded from a loss to Cincinnati on Wednesday that snapped the team’s nine-game winning streak.
Marquette (14-4, 2-3) has lost three of its last four games. Travis Diener had 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles.