Ky. Wildcats scratch No. 1 Volunteers
LEXINGTON, Ky. — PJ Washington scored 23 points, Keldon Johnson added 19 and No. 5 Kentucky upset No. 1 Tennessee 86-69 Saturday night to end the Volunteers’ 19-game winning streak. The Wildcats used a 25-7 surge over a little more than seven minutes for a 62-38 lead, providing a cushion that withstood the Volunteers’ 13-0 spurt soon after that cut the advantage in half. Kentucky maintained a double-digit lead to win the highly anticipated matchup of top-five schools.
Kentucky (21-4, 10-2) also avoided a second consecutive SEC loss to stay within reach of co-leader Tennessee (23-2, 11-1), which hadn’t lost since Nov. 23 to No. 2 Kansas.
NO. 2 DUKE 94, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 78
In Durham, N.C., RJ Barrett had Duke’s first tripledouble in 13 years, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the second-ranked Blue Devils’ victory over North Carolina State.
Zion Williamson scored 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting and Tre Jones added 13 to help the Blue Devils (23-2, 11-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) win their ninth straight.
NO. 4 VIRGINIA 60, NOTRE DAME 54
In Charlottesville, Va., Kyle Guy scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter had 20 with 10 rebounds and Virginia withstood a late push by Notre Dame.
Hunter scored six points during a 9-0 run for the Cavaliers (22-2, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) after the Fighting Irish closed to within 45-44 with 8:12 left.
NO. 6 MICHIGAN 65, NO. 24 MARYLAND 52
In Ann Arbor, Mich., Charles Matthews scored 14 points and Iggy Brazdeikis added 13 to lift Michigan over Maryland.
The Wolverines (23-3, 12-3 Big Ten) rebounded from their loss at Penn State earlier in the week. Michigan raced out to a 14-2 advantage and led by as much as 15 in the first half.
NO. 8 NORTH CAROLINA 95, WAKE FOREST 57
In Winston-Salem, N.C., Cameron Johnson scored 27 points, and North Carolina scored the game’s first 18 points en route to its biggest-ever margin of victory in an Atlantic Coast Conference road game.
Freshman Coby White added 10 points, five rebounds and six assists for the Tar Heels (20-5, 10-2), who dominated from the tip following their first loss in a month.
NO. 12 PURDUE 76, PENN STATE 64
In West Lafayette, Ind., Carsen Edwards scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and Matt Haarms added a career-high 18 for Purdue.
The Boilermakers (18-7, 11-3 Big Ten) reclaimed a share of the conference lead with their ninth win in 10 games.
NO. 14 KANSAS 78, WEST VIRGINIA 53
In Lawrence, Kan., Devon Dotson and K.J. Lawson each scored 15 points, and Kansas beat depleted West Virginia.
Dedric Lawson, K.J.’s brother, had 14 points for the Jayhawks (20-6, 9-4 Big 12), who won their third straight as they continue to start four freshmen.
Lamont West and Chase Harler scored 11 points apiece for West Virginia (10-15, 2-10).
NO. 15 TEXAS TECH 86, BAYLOR 61
In Lubbock, Texas, Jarrett Culver scored 18 points and Davide Moretti added 17 as Texas Tech cruised past short-handed and turnover-prone Baylor.
Jared Butler scored 16 points and Mario Kegler added 15 for the Bears (16-9, 7-5 Big 12), who were without key backcourt players Makai Mason (foot) and King McClure (knee) for the third consecutive game.
NO. 16 LOUISVILLE 56, CLEMSON 55
In Louisville, Ky., Christen Cunningham scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to rally Louisville, which hung on in the final seconds.
The Cardinals (18-8, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 56-49 with 17 seconds left after a free throw by Steven Enoch but then nearly lost a third straight in disastrous fashion. Marcquise Reed hit two 3-pionters that cut the deficit to one, but Louisville survived.
NO. 17 FLORIDA STATE 69, GEORGIA TECH 47
In Atlanta, Christ Koumadje had 10 points and 12 rebounds as Florida State tied a school record with its seventh straight Atlantic Coast Conference win.
Freshman Devin Vassell came off the bench to score a team-high 11 while playing in his hometown for the Seminoles (20-5, 8-4).
NO. 19 LSU 83, GEORGIA 79
In Athens, Ga., Tremont Waters scored 20 points, Ja’vonte Smart added 19 and LSU won its fourth straight game.
The Tigers (21-4, 11-1 Southeastern Conference) are off to their best start in league play since the 1981 Final Four team was 11-0. They never trailed after Smart’s 3-pointer midway through the second half, but Georgia (10-15, 1-11) stayed close and didn’t allow
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 78, NO. 18 KANSAS STATE 64
In Manhattan, Kan., Lindell Wigginton hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points, Talen Horton-Tucker buried six 3s and had 20, and Iowa State pulled away late to tighten up the Big 12 title race.
Marial Shayok added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Cyclones (19-6, 8-4), who pulled within a game of the Wildcats (19-6, 9-3) with six games to go in the conference schedule.
NO. 21 IOWA 71, RUTGERS 69
In Piscataway, N.J., Joe Wieskamp banked in a 3-pointer from the corner with less than a second to play and Iowa posted a miraculous victory over Rutgers for its fourth straight win.
NO. 22 VIRGINIA TECH 70, PITTSBURGH 64
In Pittsburgh, Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored a seasonhigh 29 points, Ahmed Hill added 14 and Virginia Tech held off slumping Pittsburgh.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Blackshear overwhelmed the undersized Panthers, making his first six field goal attempts.