By JOHN KEKIS ADVERTISING By JOHN KEKIS AP Sports Writer SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jim Boeheim stared up in frustration at the Carrier Dome scoreboard, his No. 2 Orange in big trouble against eighth-ranked Villanova. The Wildcats had started Saturday’s game
By JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jim Boeheim stared up in frustration at the Carrier Dome scoreboard, his No. 2 Orange in big trouble against eighth-ranked Villanova.
The Wildcats had started Saturday’s game by hitting four straight 3-pointers — three swishes by James Bell and another by Darrun Hilliard — and led 25-7 midway through the first half after a dunk by Josh Hart.
Syracuse struggled to create open looks and went nearly 4 minutes without a basket as the Wildcats looked exactly like the team that had already beaten two ranked teams.
“There was no indication we were going to get going,” Boeheim said.
If the Orange were frazzled by their largest deficit of the season, it never showed. They responded with a 20-0 run over the next 5 minutes to take their first lead and never trailed again, winning 78-62 in a game between two of nine unbeaten teams left in Division I.
“They came out on fire. They kind of caught us off guard,” said C.J. Fair, who had 17 points for the Orange despite constant double-teams. “We knew the kind of team they are. It’s hard to have a defense for the type of offense they have for the first 5 or 10 minutes.”
Syracuse (12-0) tightened its defense and the Wildcats (11-1) missed seven shots, committed three fouls and were called for a travel before losing the ball out of bounds as the game began to slip away.
Villanova trailed 34-30 at the half, not bad considering leading scorer JayVaughn Pinkston had only three points on 1-of-3 shooting, his only make coming on a desperation 3 at the shot-clock buzzer in the final minute.
“They weathered the storm,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “We hit shots. When you hit shots like that, everything looks great, but you know you’re not going to shoot that percentage for the entire game. They weathered it and kept coming back at us. We had the lead and then we got sloppy.”
Trevor Cooney led Syracuse with 21 points, Tyler Ennis had 20, and Jerami Grant 11.
Bell finished with a career-high six 3-pointers and matched his career high with 25 points to lead Villanova before fouling out with 1:42 left. Hart had 10 points, the only other Villanova player in double figures. Pinkston, averaging 16.5 points, finished with three points, while Hilliard, averaging 14.4, had only five points on 1-of-7 shooting before fouling out in the final minute.
Cooney had 11 points and Fair added six in the Orange’s comeback spurt, which was capped by a driving layup by Ennis at 4:51.
“It was a tough war to get back,” said Cooney, who was 5 of 8 from long range. “Getting behind like that against a team like Villanova, it’s tough to come back. It shows a lot about us.”
Syracuse was the third unbeaten ranked team the Wildcats had faced this season. Villanova handed then-No. 2 Kansas its first loss of the season a month ago in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis and came back the next night and defeated No. 23 Iowa in overtime.
“Syracuse has a really good team,” Wright said. “They really played at a high level. This is a tough place to play. I sensed that when we came back from break we were just a little bit off. We were in such a groove. We got a little bit better yesterday. I was hoping. In hindsight, I would have practiced on Christmas night. We slipped. They did not.”
In the second half, Syracuse scored nine straight points early and the Wildcats committed four fouls in a 59-second span to fall farther behind. Cooney’s 3 from the top of the key gave the Orange a 47-37 lead with 16:32 left and Fair’s follow slam of a miss by Ennis kept the lead at 10.
Nova took advantage of a flagrant foul whistled against Grant midway through the period as boos rained down from the Carrier Dome crowd of 28,135, the largest of the season. Bell sank the two free throws and Hart’s 3 from the left corner closed the gap to 54-49 with 9:25 to play.
Villanova closed to 56-53 at 7:02 after Bell hit a 3 from the corner and Daniel Ochefu’s free throw, and wouldn’t wilt. Another 3 from the corner by Bell moved the Wildcats within 64-59 with 3:25 left, but the Orange made 14 of 16 free throws to thwart any chance of a comeback.
Syracuse finished 29 of 35 from the free throw line.
“We stepped up big-time,” Boeheim said. “This was the first adverse situation (this season) where we were really down a lot.”
No. 4 WISCONSIN 80
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 43
MADISON, Wis. — Sam Dekker had 16 points and 11 rebounds for his third career double-double as Wisconsin improved to 13-0 for its best start since the 1913-14 squad went 15-0.
Ben Brust scored 11 for the Badgers in their nonconference finale. Frank Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes added 10 points apiece.
Montrael Scott scored 14 to lead the Panthers (2-10), who finished 1-8 on a nine-game road swing.
Playing for the first time in two weeks, the Badgers were a little rusty from 3-point range. Averaging 40 percent coming in, they finishing 9 for 27 from beyond the arc. However, everything else was working as they dominated at the free-throw line and in rebounding while committing just two turnovers.
No. 5 MICHIGAN STATE 101
NEW ORLEANS 48
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Keith Appling scored 16 of his career-high tying 27 points in the first half to help Michigan State rout New Orleans.
The Spartans (11-1) struggled for several minutes before taking control with a 12-0 run midway through the first half. They led 44-27 at halftime and easily added to their comfortable cushion in the second half, finishing with their highest-scoring game since beating Nebraska-Omaha 110-68 two years ago.
Matt Derenbecker scored 16 points and Cory Dixon had 11 for the Privateers (3-5), who had won two straight.
No. 18 KENTUCKY 73
No. 6 LOUISVILLE 66
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison combined for 28 points, including 11 during a critical second-half stretch with star Julius Randle sidelined by cramps, helping the Wildcats beat Louisville.
Randle’s 17 first-half points staked Kentucky (10-3) to a 41-36 halftime lead before the 6-foot-9 forward went to the locker room early in the second with leg cramps. He returned but cramped again and spent the rest of the game on the bench.
The Harrison twins amply filled the void, turning a 52-51 deficit with 11:01 remaining into a 68-58 lead with four minutes left. Andrew Harrison and James Young each scored 18 points with Young adding a key 3-pointer during the 17-6 run that helped Kentucky beat its in-state archrival for the fifth time in six meetings.
Russ Smith scored 19 points but was just 5 of 10 from the foul line for Louisville (11-2).
No. 9 DUKE 82
EASTERN MICHIGAN 59
DURHAM, N.C. — Jabari Parker scored 23 points and Duke cruised past Eastern Michigan.
Andre Dawkins added 20 points with a season-high six 3-pointers as a late replacement for an ill Rodney Hood in the starting lineup. Rasheed Sulaimon had 13 points and came up with the key hustle play during the decisive second-half run that helped the Blue Devils (10-2) polish off their fourth straight win.
They shot 40 percent against Eastern Michigan’s tough matchup zone defense with 10 3-pointers, built a 47-32 advantage on the boards and wrapped up the pre-ACC home schedule with their 101st straight nonconference win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Mike Talley scored 20 points to lead the Eagles (7-4). They went 6 minutes between field goals during the critical stretch when Duke pulled away.
No. 15 CONNECTICUT 82
E. WASHINGTON 65
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Shabazz Napier had 15 points and nine assists to lead UConn in a home game played 80 miles from campus.
Napier led a balanced attack in which five Huskies reached double figures. Ryan Boatright had 14 points and Niels Giffey, making his first start this season, added 13 for Connecticut (11-1).
Tyler Harvey scored 19 points to lead Eastern Washington (5-6), which trailed by just six points midway through the second half. Ognjen Miljkovic added 15 points and Drew Brandon 13 for the Eagles, who took 28 shots from 3-point range and made nine.
The game at the Webster Bank Arena marked the first time the Huskies played in Bridgeport.
No. 17 MEMPHIS 75
JACKSON STATE 61
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Michael Dixon scored 14 points, Shaq Goodwin had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Memphis never trailed.
David Pellom had 12 points with all five of his field goals coming off dunks from fast-breaks and rebounds. Joe Jackson scored 11 for Memphis (9-2).
Julysses Nobles led Jackson State (4-8) with 20 points, despite going 6 of 16 from the field.
Brandon West scored 14, connecting on 7 of 10 shots and was instrumental in keeping Jackson State in the game during the first half.
