Tshiebwe dominant as Kentucky routs UF; Memphis upsets Houston
Oscar Tshiebwe scored 27 points and had 19 rebounds to lead No. 5 Kentucky to a 78-57 win over Florida on Saturday.
Tshiebwe collected a nation-leading 18th double-double of the season and his 11th in a row. The Wildcats (21-4, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) have won six straight.
TyTy Washington had 10 points for Kentucky, including eight in the second half, before leaving the game with 12:51 remaining with a lower left leg injury. He didn’t return.
Kellan Grady had 15 points and Davion Mintz added 11 for the Wildcats.
The Gators (16-9, 6-6) saw their four-game winning streak snapped. Colin Castelton led Florida with 18 points, while Myreon Jones, who made seven 3-pointers in a win over Georgia on Tuesday, finished with just six points.
Kentucky made its first four field goals, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Grady and used a 14-2 run to produce a 20-6 lead. Grady scored all nine of his first-half points during the spurt, which included 12 unanswered by the Wildcats.
Despite the sluggish start, the Gators used a 15-2 run of their own to narrow the margin to 22-21 with six minutes remaining in the first half. Kentucky regrouped and responded with six straight points — all by Tshiebwe — and led 33-28 at the half.
The Wildcats put the game away by scoring 13 of the first 15 points to open the second half.
The Gators fell to 5-15 against teams ranked in the top 10. Seeking much-needed momentum going into the postseason, Florida’s next three games are against Texas A&M, No. 1 Auburn and surging Arkansas.
Florida next plays on Tuesday at Texas A&M.
Memphis 69, No. 6 Houston 59: Landers Nolley II scored 20 points and Jalen Duren had 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Tigers snapped the Cougars’ 37-game home winning streak. Houston also lost its second straight after a 12-game winning streak. It’s the first time the Cougars have lost consecutive games since January 2017, when they
Alost three in a row.
DeAndre Williams and Lester Quinones each scored 13 points as the Tigers (14-8, 8-4 American) won their fifth straight.
Fabian White Jr. and Taze Moore each had 15 points, and Jamal Shead added 12 points for Houston (20-4, 9-2).
No. 1 Auburn 75, Texas A&M 58: Walker Kessler had a tripledouble with 12 blocked shots, 12 points and 11 rebounds as the host Tigers bounced back from a loss.
The 7-foot-1 North Carolina transfer is the fifth Southeastern Conference player with multiple career double-doubles and the only one nationally this season with two.
The Tigers (22-3, 11-1 SEC) had their 19-game winning streak stopped by Arkansas in overtime earlier in the week.
The Aggies (15-10, 4-8) dropped their eighth straight game and had one of their worst offensive performances of the season.
No. 8 Kansas 71, Oklahoma 69: Jalen Wilson had 22 points as the host Jayhawks (20-4, 9-2 Big 12) used a late run to hold on and beat
AAthe Sooners (14-11, 4-8).
No. 9 Texas Tech 82, TCU 69: Terrence Shannon scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and the Red Raiders (19-6, 8-4 Big 12) beat the Horned Frogs (16-6, 5-5).
No. 10 Baylor 80,
No. 20 Texas 63: Adam Flagler had 20 points with four three-pointers and the host Bears (21-4, 9-3 Big 12), after losing big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua to a gruesome left knee injury, went on to beat the Longhorns (18-7, 7-4).
No. 15 Villanova 73, Seton Hall 67: Justin Moore scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half as the host Wildcats (19-6, 12-3 Big East) rallied from a sevenpoint deficit and beat the Pirates (15-8, 6-7).
Rutgers 73, No. 14 Wisconsin 65: Ron Harper Jr. scored 21 points as the visiting Scarlet Knights (15-9, 9-5 Big Ten) downed a ranked team for the third straight game and fourth time this season, a school record. Rutgers knocked off then-No. 13 Michigan State 84-63 a week ago Saturday and No. 16
Ohio State 66-64 on Wednesday. This marks the first time in program history they’ve beaten a
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