No. 1 Kentucky win streak hits 17
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| Kentucky forward Anthony Davis looks for room around Vanderbilt forward Steve Tchiengang in the first half Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. (AP photo) |
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
Kentucky (25-1 overall, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) disrupted Vanderbilt with aggressive defense in the first half, and the Wildcats held off a furious charge in a sold-out and electric Memorial Gym by scoring the final eight points of the game.
No. 2 Syracuse 85, Connecticut 67: At Syracuse, N.Y., Scoop Jardine sparked a game-deciding rally with 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the closing minutes, and Syracuse beat Connecticut on Saturday.
Jardine had a season-high 21 points as Syracuse (25-1, 12-1 Big East) earned its fifth consecutive win since suffering its only loss at Notre Dame.
No. 4 Missouri 72, No. 6 Baylor 57: At Columbia, Mo., Phil Pressey scored 19 points, making four of Missouri’s season-best 14 3-pointers.
Sixth man Michael Dixon also had four 3-pointers and Marcus Denmon added three for Missouri (23-2, 10-2 Big 12), which shot 50 percent from long range.
Quincy Miller had 20 points and Perry Jones III had just four on 2-for-12 shooting for Baylor.
No. 5 North Carolina 70, No. 19 Virginia 52: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Tyler Zeller had 25 points and nine rebounds to power North Carolina to the victory. Harrison Barnes added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (21-4, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who regrouped from Wednesday night’s stunning loss to rival Duke on a last-second 3-pointer.
No. 7 Kansas 81, Oklahoma State 66: At Lawrence, Kan., Jeff Withey and Thomas Robinson each logged impressive double-doubles for Kansas (20-5, 10-2 Big 12), which wasted a big chunk of a 29-point second-half cushion before pulling away for the victory.
Tennessee 75, No. 8 Florida 70: At Gainesville, Fla., Trae Golden scored 17 points, Jeronne Maymon added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Tennessee ended Florida’s home-winning streak at 19.
Coming off a 20-point loss at top-ranked Kentucky and wearing gray uniforms to commemorate the program’s back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, Florida (19-6, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) trailed by double digits early and never mustered anything resembling a comeback.
No. 10 Duke 73, Maryland 55: At Durham, N.C., Miles Plumlee had 13 points and a career-high 22 rebounds, helping Duke (21-4, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) pull away for the win. Seth Curry scored 19 points and Mason Plumlee added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while big brother Miles became the first Duke player with 20 rebounds since Elton Brand in 1998.
No. 14 Unlv 65, No. 13 San Diego State 63: At Las Vegas, Mike Moser scored 19 points and made a key steal late that helped UNLV to the close victory. The Runnin’ Rebels (22-4, 6-2 Mountain West) forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win.
No. 15 Florida State 64, Miami 59: At Tallahassee, Fla., Bernard James scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half and Florida State (17-7, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped Miami’s five-game winning streak.
Wichita State 89, No. 17 Creighton 68: At Omaha, Neb., Joe Ragland scored 24 points, Ben Smith matched his career high with 22 and Wichita State (22-4, 13-2) moved a step closer to the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship. Creighton (21-5, 11-4) has lost three straight.
No. 18 Marquette 95, Cincinnati 78: At Milwaukee, Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder scored 23 points each, leading Marquette (21-5, 10-3 Big East) to the home win.
Georgia 70, No. 20 Mississippi State 68 (OT): At Starkville, Miss., Georgia’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points, including a crucial 3-pointer late in overtime.
Georgia (12-12, 3-7) earned its first Southeastern Conference road win this season and only its second road victory overall. Gerald Robinson Jr. added 13 points, including eight in overtime. Dustin Ware had 11.
No. 24 Louisville 77, West Virginia 74: At Morgantown, W.Va, Kyle Kuric scored 17 points to lead five Louisville players in double figures.
Louisville (20-5, 8-4 Big East) scored 13 of the game’s final 16 points to extend its winning streak to six games.
Princeton 70, No. 25 Harvard 62: At Princeton, N.J., Ian Hummer had 20 points and Princeton handed Harvard its first Ivy League loss of the season.
T.J. Bray added 12 points for the Tigers (13-10, 4-3), who defeated the Crimson at home for the 23rd straight time.
Keith Wright had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Harvard (21-3, 7-1).
