SEC/TOP 25 MEN
NO. 1 KENTUCKY 83, UCLA 44
CHICAGO -- No. 1 Kentucky made it look so easy that coach John Calipari felt the need to point out he had actual human beings on the court.
The only question was the final score, and that took longer to decide than the game.
Devin Booker had 19 points, and the Wildcats scored the first 24 points in an 83-44 victory over UCLA on Saturday.
"They're not machines and they're not computers," Calipari said. "They don't play great every time out."
They sure looked like machines the way they dominated this game.
Aaron Harrison added 15 points, and the Wildcats (12-0) handed the Bruins (8-4) one of their most-lopsided losses ever.
The first meeting between the storied programs in eight years turned ugly as soon as the game started, with Kentucky dominating UCLA in every possible way. It was so bad that officials lost track of one of the Bruins' second-half baskets and put out an amended box score about 90 minutes after the game.
It hardly mattered.
The opening 24-0 run was eight shy of the record between two Division I teams, set by Connecticut against New Hampshire on Dec. 12, 1990. And the 39-point margin was nine shy of the Bruins' record.
Kentucky led 41-7 at the intermission. It was the lowest point total in a half for UCLA and the fewest by a Kentucky opponent since December 1943.
"We just have to keep playing against ourselves," Booker said. "Coach always stresses that to us -- that we're not playing against the other team, we're playing against ourselves. Just keep playing. You can't look at the score."
UCLA coach Steve Alford was so impressed he said the Wildcats might not lose a game this season.
"If they continue to play at that level defensively, I'm a firm believer they got a chance to run this thing out," he said.
Kentucky was simply too deep and too athletic, with a 10-man rotation and three starters standing 6-foot-10 or taller. Some of those players probably would get more time and put up bigger numbers elsewhere. But they almost certainly would not be on a team as dominating as this one.
"People can watch these guys in 20 minutes and know how really good they are," Calipari said. "They don't need 40 minutes, and these kids are great. We're a really good team with a bunch of guys, 10 guys, that all could score double figures."
Booker hit 5 of 6 three-pointers and 7 of 10 shots overall. Harrison made 3 three-pointers, nailing one to start the game, and Kentucky hit 12 in all from long range to the delight of their cheering fans.
The Wildcats also played stifling defense, with the Bruins missing their first 17 shots and going 19 for 71.
Isaac Hamilton led UCLA with 14 points and Bryce Alford scored 13. But they came after Kentucky put this one away -- which didn't take long.
NO. 4 LOUISVILLE 76, WESTERN KENTUCKY 67
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Terry Rozier took charge after the first-half ejection of forward Montrezl Harrell to score a career-high 32 points, including 26 in the second half, to lead fourth-ranked Louisville past Western Kentucky.
Rozier closed Louisville's scoring with five free throws down the stretch along with 3 three-pointers to quash the Hilltoppers' hopes of seizing momentum following Harrell's exit with 38.7 seconds remaining in the first half. The preseason first-team All-American was assessed a flagrant-2 foul for throwing an elbow following a shoving match after a loose ball scramble.
Chris Jones added 10 points for Louisville (10-0), which made 5 of 10 from long range in the second half to keep a safe cushion against WKU (5-5).
T.J. Price scored 24 points and D.J. Clayton 14 for the Hilltoppers, who got within 73-67 with 39 seconds left before Rozier added three free throws to seal the game.
NO. 7 VILLANOVA 82, SYRACUSE 77, OT
PHILADELPHIA -- JayVaughn Pinkston had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Darrun Hilliard scored 23 points, keeping No. 7 Villanova undefeated with an overtime victory over Syracuse.
The Wildcats (11-0) never led until overtime and rallied from a 15-point hole to stun their former Big East rival.
Josh Hart buried a three-pointer and Pinkston tied the score 69-all with 4.2 seconds left in regulation on a basket off a turnover.
Hilliard's two free throws 57 seconds into OT gave Villanova its first lead of the game 71-69. He was kicked in the face during a scrum and was on the bench when Daniel Ochefu made two free throws that pushed the lead to 74-71.
Pinkston scored a late bucket, then added a monster block that preserved the lead with 15 seconds left.
Rakeem Christmas and Michael Gbinije each scored 18 points for Syracuse (6-4).
NO. 10 KANSAS 96, LAFAYETTE 69
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Brannen Greene's tardiness turned into an opportunity for Kelly Oubre Jr., and the freshman made the most of a surprise start for No. 10 Kansas.
Oubre had 23 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Jayhawks to a victory over Lafayette.
Greene was expected to start, but Coach Bill Self yanked the sophomore forward from the lineup because he was late to a weightlifting session.
Oubre was 9 for 15 from the field in his second start of the season. He also was in the starting lineup on Nov. 18 against No. 1 Kentucky and had six points in just 13 minutes in the Jayhawks' 72-40 loss.
Wayne Selden Jr. finished with 12 points, all in the second half for Kansas (9-1). Freshman Svi Mykhailiuk and junior Jamari Traylor each had 11 points, and freshman Cliff Alexander had 10.
Seth Hinrichs led Lafayette (7-3) with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Kansas played without freshman Devonte' Graham because of a toe injury, and junior Perry Ellis was limited to seven minutes in the first half.
NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA 82, NO. 12 OHIO STATE 74
CHICAGO -- Brice Johnson had 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting and nine rebounds, and No. 24 North Carolina used its stout defense to hold off No. 12 Ohio State for a victory.
Marcus Paige added 16 points for the Tar Heels (8-3), and Kennedy Meeks finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots. Meeks and Johnson led North Carolina to a 53-40 rebounding advantage.
Marc Loving made 5 three-pointers and scored 19 points for Ohio State (9-2), which had won four in a row. Sam Thompson scored 17, and D'Angelo Russell had 11 points and eight rebounds.
But the Buckeyes shot 35 percent. They were averaging 84.2 points and shooting 53.7 percent coming into the day.
NO. 13 IOWA STATE 83, DRAKE 54
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Naz Long scored 13 points, Monte Morris had 12 and 13th-ranked Iowa State routed Drake.
Dustin Hogue added 10 points to help the Cyclones (9-1) run their winning streak to six following a loss to Maryland last month.
Iowa State pushed a 16-point halftime lead to as much as 35 in the second half. The Cyclones shot 12 of 23 from three-point range and had 25 assists on 32 field goals.
Highly touted transfer Jameel McKay had eight points and five rebounds in his debut with Iowa State. McKay sat out the first nine games after transferring from Marquette last year.
Trevor Berkeley and Jacob Enevold each had 10 points to lead Drake (2-9).
NO. 21 NOTRE DAME 94, PURDUE 63
INDIANAPOLIS -- Pat Connaughton had 19 points and 14 rebounds, leading No. 21 Notre Dame over Purdue in the Crossroads Classic.
Demetrius Jackson scored 22 points for the Irish (11-1).
Steve Vasturia and Austin Torres each contributed 11 for Notre Dame and Jerian Grant and Zach Auguste both added 10.
Purdue (8-4) led by eight early in the first half, but trailed 46-39 at the break.
Jon Octeus, Bryson Scott and A.J. Hammons all finished with 11 points for the Boilermakers.
INDIANA 82, NO. 23 BUTLER 73
INDIANAPOLIS -- Troy Williams matched his career high with 22 points and Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell added 20 to help Indiana beat No. 23 Butler.
Coach Tom Crean earned his 300th victory. Indiana (9-2) beat a ranked opponent for the 17th time since 2011-12, the most in the Big Ten.
Kellen Dunham led Butler (8-3) with 23 points. The Bulldogs lost their second consecutive to a power conference foe.
It looked as if things may turn out different when Kameron Woods' dunk gave Butler a 53-47 lead with 13:48 to play. But Ferrell scored 12 of his points during a 14-6 run that gave Indiana a 61-59 lead. Williams then scored four points in a 10-0 run that extended the Hoosiers' lead to 76-65 with 3:08 to go.
Butler couldn't get closer than five the rest of the way.
TEXAS SOUTHERN 71, NO. 25 MICHIGAN STATE 64
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Chris Thomas scored 22 points, and unheralded Texas Southern beat 25th-ranked Michigan State, outlasting the Spartans in overtime.
The Tigers (2-8) were coming off a 40-point loss to Gonzaga, but coach Mike Davis' team was poised throughout against Michigan State, becoming the second team this month to score a shocking win in Michigan over a Big Ten team. New Jersey Institute of Technology won at Michigan.
The Spartans (8-4) were without starting forward Branden Dawson, who fractured his wrist in a victory over Eastern Michigan earlier in the week. Michigan State needed a free throw by Javon Bess with 6.8 seconds left in regulation just to force overtime, and the Spartans never led in the extra session.
The Spartans came into the game shooting 44 percent from three-point range, but they went 4 of 21 against Texas Southern of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Sports on 12/21/2014