Associated Press
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. — Ben Brust scored 18 points, Sam Dekker added 17 and No. 4 Wisconsin used a 20-0 run in the first half to beat No. 23 Illinois 95-70 on Wednesday night.
The Badgers (16-0, 3-0 Big Ten) are off to the best start in school history.
Wisconsin shot 53 percent from the field in the first half to open up a 25-point lead by halftime. The Illini (13-3, 2-1) stumbled badly in their debut this season as a Top 25 team and lost a sixth straight to their border rival.
Rayvonte Rice led Illinois with 19 points on 7-of-21 shooting.
The Illini missed 13 straight shots, some on easy looks, while Wisconsin methodically wore them down inside and on the perimeter during the big first-half run.
NO. 14 KENTUCKY 85, MISSISSIPPI ST. 63
LEXINGTON, Ky. — James Young scored 26 points and Kentucky rallied from a halftime deficit to beat Mississippi State.
The Wildcats (11-3, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) were playing for the first time since Dec. 28 and started slow offensively, trailing 40-37 at the break. They regrouped to tie it at 47 before going on a 27-6 run over the next 10:54 for a 74-53 lead.
Kentucky shot 65 percent in the second half, and Mississippi State (10-4) went nearly 9 minutes without a field goal.
Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress each added 12 points for the Wildcats.
Craig Sword led the Bulldogs with 19 points.
NO. 6 WICHITA ST. 66, ILLINOIS ST. 47
WICHITA, Kan. — Cleanthony Early and Ron Baker each scored 11 points, and Wichita State routed Illinois State.
Wichita State (16-0, 3-0 Missouri Valley) extended both the longest winning streak and best start to a season in program history by holding Illinois State (8-7, 1-2) to 27 percent shooting (18 of 55).
Bobby Hunter scored 11 points for the Redbirds.
NO. 8 VILLANOVA 83, SETON HALL 67
NEWARK, N.J. — Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points and Villanova hit a dozen 3-pointers in a victory over undermanned Seton Hall.
JayVaughn Pinkston added 17 points, Ryan Arcidiacono had 14 and the Wildcats (14-1, 3-0 Big East) shot 52 percent from the field and 3-point range in beating Seton Hall (10-6, 1-2) for the 11th time in the last 12 games.
Brian Oliver had 20 points to lead Seton Hall. The Pirates played without swingman Fuquan Edwin, their second leading scorer, and Eugene Teague, their top rebounder. Edwin, who beat Villanova last season with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, has a knee injury. Teague missed his third straight game with a concussion.
NO. 10 FLORIDA 74, SOUTH CAROLINA 58
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Scottie Wilbekin scored 17 points before leaving with a sprained right ankle, and Florida opened Southeastern Conference play with a victory over South Carolina.
Casey Prather and Patric Young added 13 points apiece for Florida. The Gators (12-2) won their sixth straight and tied a school record by winning their 24th consecutive home game.
Tyrone Johnson led South Carolina (7-7, 0-1) with 12 points.
NO. 11 OKLAHOMA STATE 87, TEXAS 74
STILLWATER, Okla. — Markel Brown scored 27 points and Marcus Smart had 24, helping Oklahoma State beat Texas.
Phil Forte added 14 points for the Cowboys (13-2, 1-1 Big 12), who shot 54 percent from the field in the second half after struggling early.
Demarcus Holland had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Damarcus Croaker scored 12 points for the Longhorns (11-4, 0-2).
NO. 13 SDSU 69, BOISE ST. 66
SAN DIEGO — Xavier Thames and Winston Shepard scored 16 points each for the San Diego State Aztecs, who held on to defeat Boise State after Derrick Marks missed the potential-game winning shot with 4 seconds left.
The Aztecs (13-1, 2-0 Mountain West) won their 12th straight game. They led by 18 points in the first half before allowing the Broncos (11-4, 1-1) to come almost all the way back in the closing minutes.
Marks hit a jumper with 54.2 seconds left to pull BSU to 67-66. After an Aztecs turnover, the Broncos held the ball for the final shot. Marks missed a 17-foot jumper with 4 seconds left and Xavier Thames rebounded. A foul was called on BSU’s Ryan Watkins with 0.2 seconds and Thames hit the two free throws.
Marks had 21 points and Anthony Dmric added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
NO. 15 COLORADO 71, WASHINGTON STATE 70, OT
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Josh Scott scored eight of his 19 points in overtime in Colorado’s victory over Washington State.
Askia Booker added 18 points to help Colorado (14-2, 3-0 Pac-12) tie the second-best start in program history.
Dexter Kernich-Drew scored a career-high 24 points to lead Washington State (7-8, 0-3), which was playing without leading scorer DaVonte Lacy — out with a rib injury.
NO. 18 KANSAS 90, OKLAHOMA 83
NORMAN, Okla. — Wayne Selden Jr. had a career-high 24 points and Perry Ellis added 22 points to help Kansas started Big 12 Conference play with a victory over Oklahoma.
Kansas (10-4) won its conference opener for the 23rd straight year, a streak that began with the 1991-92 season. Oklahoma, in January 1991, was the last team to beat the Jayhawks in a conference opener.
Cameron Clark tied his career high with 32 points for Oklahoma (12-3, 1-1).
NO. 19 MASSACHUSETTS 66, SAINT JOSEPH’S 62
AMHERST, Mass. — Chaz Williams scored eight of his 22 points in the final 6 minutes to lift Massachusetts past Saint Joseph’s in the Atlantic-10 opener for both teams.
Maxie Esho scored 12 points, and Raphiael Putney had 11 for the Minutemen (13-1). Halil Kanacevic led Saint Joseph’s (9-5) with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
GEORGIA 70, NO. 21 MISSOURI 64, OT
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Charlie Mann scored 18 points, including the go-ahead basket with 35.8 seconds to go in overtime, and Georgia overcame its free-throw shooting struggles to beat Missouri.
Nemanja Djurisic had 16 points and hit the tying 3-pointer with 1:39 to go, and Kenny Gaines and Brandon Morris hit a pair of free throws apiece in the final half-minute. The Bulldogs (7-6, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) ended Missouri’s 26-game home winning streak — the longest run in the nation.
Jabari Brown had 19 points and Earnest Ross added 15 for Missouri (12-2, 0-1).