TOP 25 MEN
NO. 2 WISCONSIN 68, GEORGETOWN 65
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Sam Dekker scored 17 points, Nigel Hayes' acrobatic tip-in with 20 seconds left capped his 15-point day, and No. 2 Wisconsin needed to rally in the second half to beat Georgetown 68-65 on Thursday in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals.
The Badgers hadn't trailed in the second half this season, but found themselves down 53-44 with 11:36 left. A 22-6 run put Wisconsin (5-0) up for good, and the Badgers could finally exhale when D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera's three-pointer rimmed out as time expired.
Smith-Rivera, who was 5 for 5 from beyond the arc until the game's final shot, led all scorers with 29 for Georgetown (4-1).
Wisconsin will face Oklahoma in today's title game. Georgetown, which got 10 points from Joshua Smith, will play Butler in an all-Big East matchup for third place.
Bronson Koenig tied a career best with 14 points for Wisconsin, which survived despite a six-point, 1-for-8 shooting day from standout center Frank Kaminsky.
Georgetown's players didn't get back to their hotel rooms until around 1 a.m. today, thanks to the Hoyas needing overtime to beat No. 18 Florida in the quarterfinals.
Less than 15 hours later, they tipped off against the Badgers.
Rest might be overrated: The Hoyas made their first six shots, setting the tone for how their offense was going to work all afternoon -- or at least, until the final 10 minutes. Midway through the second half, Georgetown was at 61 percent shooting for the game, but the Hoyas missed eight of their final 10 shots.
Wisconsin led for only 56 seconds in the first half -- but that included the final 3 seconds. Down by six early, the Badgers chipped away and went into the locker room with a 35-34 lead on Koenig's layup that followed a Georgetown turnover.
NO. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 78, NO. 22 UCLA 56
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Marcus Paige scored 21 points and handed out five assists, Justin Jackson scored 12 points and No. 5 North Carolina had little trouble on the way to beating No. 22 UCLA in the consolation round of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Isaiah Hicks and J.P. Tokoto each scored 10 points for the Tar Heels (4-1), who closed the first half on a 32-11 run and put the game away with a 15-0 second-half run.
Paige had back-to-back three-pointers to get that second run going, as North Carolina turned a nine-point edge into a 62-38 lead with 9:12 left.
NO. 11 KANSAS 76, RHODE ISLAND 60
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Perry Ellis scored 17 points and No. 11 Kansas beat Rhode Island in the opening round of the Orlando Classic.
Ellis had 11 points in the opening 20 minutes to help Kansas cruise to a 43-25 halftime lead. The Jayhawks went ahead 31-11 with just over 6 minutes before intermission on Ellis' rebound slam.
Frank Mason III added 12 points for Kansas (3-1), which has a pair of victories since a 72-40 loss to No. 1 Kentucky on Nov. 18.
NO. 20 MICHIGAN STATE 77, RIDER 45
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Denzel Valentine had a career-high 19 points, Bryn Forbes added 15, and No. 20 Michigan State rolled past Rider in the first round of the Orlando Classic.
Valentine hit two long-range jumpers and Forbes added a third that extended the Spartans advantage to 43-15 only 3 minutes into the second half. Another three-pointer by Valentine made it 76-41 with 4 minutes left.
Travis Trice had eight of his 10 points to help Michigan State go up 32-11 at the half.
SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 67, WISCONSIN 44
FREEPORT, Bahamas -- A'ja Wilson scored 11 points and Jatarie White added 10 and No. 1 South Carolina beat Wisconsin in the Junkanoo Jam.
After a sluggish start, the Gamecocks (4-0) got going. They led 15-14 before going on a 16-4 run to close the half. South Carolina scored the first 10 points during its burst which was capped by a three-pointer by Tina Roy.
The Gamecocks led 31-18 at the half. Wisconsin (1-3) closed to 11 but South Carolina used a 12-3 run to put the game away.
ILLINOIS 77, NO. 9 KENTUCKY 71
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands -- Chatrice White scored 23 points and Ivory Crawford added 22 to help Illinois upset No. 9 Kentucky at the Paradise Jam.
Illinois (5-0) led 40-39 early in the second half before scoring eight consecutive, including the last four by Crawford to open a nine-point lead. Kyley Simmons' three-pointer with 9:45 left extended the advantage to 57-45 before Kentucky (4-1) rallied to cut it to 66-63 with 2:15 left.
Simmons hit nine of 10 free throws over the rest of the game to seal the victory.
Sports on 11/28/2014