Louisville becomes latest No. 1 to lose

Texas Tech tops unbeaten Cardinals in Jimmy V Classic

New York — Davide Moretti scored 18 points and hit successive 3-pointers that helped Texas Tech knock off undefeated No. 1 Louisville 70-57 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Louisville became the fourth top-ranked team to lose this season, joining Michigan State, Kentucky and Duke.

The Cardinals (9-1) easily played their worst game of the season, shooting an absymal 34 percent from the floor and leading scorer Jordan Nwora had only 14 points. Coach Chris Mack let loose his frustration in the Jimmy V Classic game in the final 90 seconds and was whistled for a technical.

Moretti hit a pair of free throws to seal the win and Texas Tech fans sitting behind the basket told security to "move the rope, we're running on the floor!"

There was no court storming at the Garden — but another AP No. 1 bit the dust in an upset. It's the third time an unranked team has beat an AP No. 1 this season.

Texas Tech (6-3) played without leading scorer Jahmi'us Ramsey (17.3 points) for the third straight game because of a hamstring injury. The Red Raiders lost four of their top five scorers off the team that took Virginia to overtime before losing in the NCAA championship game last season.

While fourth-year coach Chris Beard could have expected a bit of a transition season, three straight losses, including one at — an albeit, improved and nationally ranked — DePaul made for a rocky start.

Moretti buried two straight 3s midway through the second half for an 11-point lead that gave the Red Raiders the space they needed. Chris Clarke hit another 3 for Texas Tech and it went into a timeout with a seven-point lead.

Louisville could never make a run, and Nwora was held below his 21.4 scoring average. Louisville missed 3s, layups and generally looked lethargic on offense.

Down eight, guard Darius Perry was whistled for a charge in the paint and the unraveling Cards were about out of chances.