Little things lift Ohio State to big victory over Kentucky
LAS VEGAS » Ohio State slid in for charges and blocked shots, dove on the floor for loose balls, jumped into passing lanes for steals.
Doing all the little things was just what the Buckeyes needed in game that felt like late March, not late December.
D.J. Carton had 13 points, Kaleb Wesson added 12 before fouling out and No. 5 Ohio State outlasted No. 6 Kentucky 71-65 in the CBS Sports Classic Saturday.
“The counterpunches, teams going back and forth for a 40-minute grind is what we try to talk about at the beginning of the game,” said Wesson, who also had eight rebounds before fouling out with 3:30 left.
The Buckeyes (11-1) and Wildcats
(8-3) locked into a physical game befitting two top-five programs, trading shoves, elbows and body checks.
(2) GONZAGA 112, EASTERN WASHINGTON 77 » Filip Petrusev had 24 points and nine rebounds to help Gonzaga (13-1) beat Eastern Washington (7-4), clearing a path for the Bulldogs to become the sixth topranked team so far this season.
(11) MEMPHIS 77, JACKSON STATE 49 » Precious Achiuwa had 20 points and nine rebounds and DJ Jeffries added 13 points to help Memphis
(10-1) beat Jackson State (3-9).
(12) AUBURN 74, LEHIGH 51 » Austin Wiley had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Auburn (11-0), the only unbeaten Power Five program, inbeating Lehigh (3-8). COLORADO 78, (13) DAYTON 76 » D’shawn Schwartz nailed a
3-pointer at the buzzer, McKinley Wright IV scored a season-high 29 and Colorado (10-2) beat Dayton (92) in overtime.
(14) MICHIGAN 86, PRESBYTERIAN
44 » Jon Teske scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half and Michigan (9-3) cruised past Presbyterian (2-10).
(15) MICHIGAN STATE 101, EASTERN
MICHIGAN 48 » Cassius Winston had 21 points and seven assists for Michigan State (9-3) in a win overEastern Michigan (9-2).
(17) BUTLER 70, PURDUE 61 » Bryce Golden scored 14 points and Butler
(11-1) used relentless defense to pull away from Purdue (7-5).
(19) FLORIDA STATE 66, SOUTH FLORIDA 60 » Florida State (10-2) used smothering defense to overcome a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes and beat South Florida (6-6) in the Orange Bowl Classic.
(20) SAN DIEGO STATE 80, UTAH 52 » Malachi Flynn scored 16 points and San Diego State (12-0) remained one of the nation’s four unbeaten teams with the victory over Utah (9-3).
(21) TENNESSEE 75, JACKSONVILLE STATE 53 » Jordan Bowden scored 19 points and Tennessee (8-3) beat Jacksonville State (4-8) to give Volunteers coach Rick Barnes his 700th victory.
(25) WEST VIRGINIA 75, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 64 » Oscar Tshiebwe scored 19 points and Derek Culver added 15 for West Virginia (10-1).
(24) TEXAS TECH 68, TEXAS-RIO GRANDE VALLEY 58 » Freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey scored 15 points in his return after missing four games with a hamstring injury, and Texas Tech (8-3) overcame another sluggish start.