Kentucky gets by without Ulis
Point guard sidelined, but No. 1 Wildcats handle Illinois State
Kentucky coach John Calipari expected some struggles with point guard Tyler Ulis sidelined by a right elbow injury but was glad the top-ranked Wildcats eventually figured things out.
Isaiah Briscoe scored 18 points, Jamal Murray added 16, and Kentucky overcame a sluggish first half to pull away from visiting Illinois State 75-63 on Monday night.
Out-hustled on both ends of the court by the athletic Redbirds (3-5) through 20 minutes while adjusting to Ulis’ absence, the Wildcats (7-0) emerged from halftime more physical and used that energy to gain some breathing room.
The Wildcats ended up learning what life was like without Ulis and hope they won’t have to do it much longer.
“It was a big difference,” Briscoe said of playing with Ulis. “We missed him out there. He’s our leader and floor general.”
Outrebounded 20-12 in the first half, Kentucky beat Illinois State 27-17 on the boards and held the Redbirds to 29 percent shooting in the second half.
Marcus Lee had something to do with that, adding 13 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double in five games.
“After having a couple of bad games, you have to either figure it out or stand back,” said Lee (Deer Valley High-Antioch), who did not start after combining for just 13 points and eight rebounds the past two games. “That’s not something I do. So, I got the message.”
Of Lee, Calipari said, “He was great today. If Marcus Lee doesn’t play, we lose.”
Oregon 78, Fresno State 73: Dillon Brooks had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the 15th-ranked Ducks (6-0) staved off a late rally by the visiting Bulldogs (5-1).
Chris Boucher and Elgin Cook added 14 points each for Oregon, which led 70-52 with 6:35 to play before Marvelle Harris scored 13 points in a 16-2 run by the Bulldogs that cut the deficit to four.
Poll: Kentucky, Maryland and Michigan State held the top three spots in The Associated Press poll. Cal (4-2), ranked 14th last week, fell out of the Top 25 after losses to San Diego State and Richmond at the Las Vegas Invitational.
Women
Oregon 104, San Jose State 74: Lexi Bando scored 35 points and Jillian Alleyne had 26 points and 20 rebounds as the Ducks (60) routed the Spartans (14) in Eugene. Dezz Ramos scored 22 points to lead SJSU.
UConn 79, Chattanooga 31: Moriah Jefferson scored 15 points and didn’t miss a shot as the No. 1 Huskies (4-0) breezed to their 41st consecutive victory. The three-time defending national champions have beaten each of their first four opponents by at least 40 points and haven’t lost since falling 88-86 at Stanford on Nov. 17, 2014.
The Mocs (5-3) had their 17-game home winning streak snapped.
Poll: UConn remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP poll after winning its lone game last week. Stanford (6-1) fell three spots to No. 16, and Cal (51) dropped two positions to 18th. Each suffered its first loss last week.