LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Karl-Anthony Towns was 4 of 4 from the field and No. 1 Kentucky shot a season-best 59 percent to stay unbeaten, topping Alabama 70-55 on Saturday and completing a season sweep.
Two weeks after romping 70-48 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Wildcats (21-0, 8-0 SEC) made 24 of 41 shots from the field to surpass their previous best of 58 percent against Boston University in November.
Kentucky also committed just five turnovers while forcing Alabama (13-8, 3-5) into 13 turnovers that resulted in 20 points.
Towns scored all 12 of his points in the first half to put Kentucky ahead. Willie Cauley-Stein snapped out of a mini-slump with 12 points and four rebounds, Devin Booker added 11 points with three 3-pointers and Aaron Harrison had 10.
Shannon Hale's 13 points led the Crimson Tide, who shot 46 percent but fell behind as Towns got Kentucky started. But that was the highlight for the 6-11 freshman, who fouled out with just one rebound.
Kentucky blocked just one shot for the second consecutive game but had five steals.
Levi Randolph added 12 points and Retin Obasohan 11 for Alabama, which played without No. 2 scorer Ricky Tarrant because of a leg injury.
While Tarrant's presence probably wouldn't have helped Alabama avenge a 22-point loss to Kentucky two weeks ago, his absence certainly didn't help. That left it to Randolph, Alabama's leading scorer at 14.7 points per game coming in, to carry the Crimson Tide, and he did his part by making 5 of 10 from the field with three rebounds.
But his scoring was a mere footnote as Kentucky quickly rolled to a large lead and positioned itself to blow out Alabama before settling for a 37-24 advantage at the break.
Towns played a big role in getting the Wildcats started with two quick baskets symbolizing his hustle on the offensive end. He offset a lack of rebounds and blocks with a steal ending with Tyler Ulis' three-pointer for a 20-7 lead, contributions that symbolized Kentucky's effort on both ends.
The Wildcats forced 10 turnovers leading to 17 points, shot 57 percent from the field and built an 18-point lead. Kentucky was outrebounded 14-10 in the first half, but that deficit didn't matter because it was so effective in other areas.
Booker soon joined the fun with 3 three-pointers after halftime to keep Kentucky safely in its first weekend home game since mid-December. The Wildcats shot 61 percent after halftime.
SOUTH CAROLINA 67,
GEORGIA 50
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Laimonas Chatkevicius scored 12 points, Duane Notice had 11 and South Carolina ended a fourgame losing streak with a victory over Georgia.
The Gamecocks (11-9, 2-6 SEC) won for just the second time since toppling then-No. 9 Iowa State in Brooklyn earlier this month.
Georgia (14-6, 5-3) had come in on a five-game winning streak and had won its past five against South Carolina. But the Bulldogs played without leading scorer and rebounder Marcus Thornton, who remained home with a concussion, and shot just 4 of 24 from the field in the second half. J.J. Frazier led Georgia with 16 points, 11 of them from the foul line.
Tyrone Johnson and Sindarius Thornwell had 10 points apiece for South Carolina. Chatkevicius, the 6-11 center, had scored only eight points his previous three games.
TEXAS A&M 69,
VANDERBILT 58
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Jalen Jones scored 15 points, Alex Caruso added 14 points with 10 assists, and Texas A&M extended its winning streak to six games with a victory over Vanderbilt. It’s the first time the Aggies have won six consecutive conference contests since 2009 when they were in the Big 12. Texas A&M (15-5, 6-2 SEC) led from start to finish and maintained a lead of more than 10 points for most of the game. But an 11-3 run by the Commodores (11-10, 1-7) got them within 59-52 with about seven minutes left.
MISSISSIPPI 67,
MISSOURI 47
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Stefan Moody scored 23 points and Martavious Newby grabbed nine rebounds to lead Mississippi past Missouri.
Ole Miss (14-7, 5-3 SEC) used runs of 8-0 and 7-0 in the opening 20 minutes to build a 37-25 lead at the break, and led by at least nine points throughout the second half.
Johnathan Williams III scored 14 points for Missouri (7-14, 1-7), which has lost seven consecutive games for the first time since 1993.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 73,
LSU 67
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Fred Thomas scored 18 points and Mississippi State made 13 of 14 free throws down the stretch as the Bulldogs beat LSU.
Mississippi State hit 11 of its first 21 free throws, but finished 23 of 35, with 7-of-7 shooting by Thomas.
Craig Sword had 14 points for Mississippi State (10-11, 3-5 SEC). Gavin Ware and I.J. Ready (Little Rock Parkview) added 12 apiece.
Jordan Mickey led LSU (16-5, 5-3) with 25 and a career-high 20 rebounds.
TENNESSEE 71, AUBURN 63
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Armani Moore scored a career-high 19 points and matched a career high with 13 rebounds as Tennessee defeated Auburn.
The loss was the fourth in a row for Auburn (10-11, 2-6 SEC), representing the longest losing streak of Bruce Pearl’s 20-year head coaching career.
Kevin Punter had 17 points and Josh Richardson had 15 for Tennessee (13-7, 5-3)
TOP 25 MEN
In other top 25 men’s games Saturday, Przemek Karnowski scored 17 points and Kyle Wiltjer added 15 to help No. 3 Gonzaga (22-1) beat Memphis (13-8) 82-64 for its 15th consecutive victory. ... Frank Kaminsky had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 5 Wisconsin (18-2, 6-1 Big Ten) to a 74-63 victory over Iowa (13-8, 4-4). … Ryan Arcidiacono scored all 18 of his points in the second half and No. 7 Villanova (19-2, 6-2) beat DePaul (11-12, 5-5) 68-55 to take the lead in the Big East standings. ... James Robinson, who had 14 points and 10 assists, hit a basket with 12 seconds remaining to give host Pittsburgh (14-8, 4-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) the lead for good in a 76-72 upset of No. 8 Notre Dame (20-3, 8-2). ... Perry Ellis had 16 points and 12 rebounds and No. 9 Kansas (18-3, 7-1 Big 12) bolted to a big lead in the opening minutes in a 68-57 victory over Kansas State (12-10, 5-4).... Terry Rozier scored No. 10 Louisville’s first six points in overtime and the Cardinals (18-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) erased an 18-point second-half deficit to beat No. 13 North Carolina (17-4, 7-2) 78-68. … Seth Tuttle scored a career-high 29 points and No. 18 Northern Iowa (20-2, 9-1) trounced No. 12 Wichita State (19-3, 9-1) 70-54, snapping the Shockers’ 27-game regular season winning streak in Missouri Valley Conference play. ... Kendall Anthony scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half as Richmond (12-9, 5-3 Atlantic 10) rallied to take a 64-55 upset victory over No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth (17-4, 7-1). ... Georges Niang scored 23 points and No. 15 Iowa State (16-4, 6-2 Big 12) pulled away in the second half to beat TCU (14-7, 1-7) 83-66. ... Devin Williams scored 18 points and No. 17 West Virginia (18-3, 6-2 Big 12) forced 26 turnovers in a 77-58 victory over Texas Tech (11-11, 1-8). … Kenny Chery scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half and Royce O’Neale added 20 points to help 20th-ranked Baylor (16-5, 4-4 Big 12) beat No. 19 Texas (14-7, 3-5) 83-60. … D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 24 points and No. 21 Georgetown (15-6, 7-3 Big East) held Creighton (10-13, 1-9) without a field goal for more than 17 minutes in a 67-40 victory. … James Blackmon Jr. scored 20 points and Nick Zeisloft made two three-pointers in a late 8-0 run to send No. 22 Indiana (16-6, 6-3 Big Ten) past Rutgers (10-13, 2-8) 72-64.... Jordan Woodard scored a season-high 17 points to help No. 24 Oklahoma (14-7, 5-4 Big 12) defeat Oklahoma State (14-7, 4-5) 64-56. ... Andrew Chrabascz scored 30 points and No. 25 Butler (16-6, 6-3 Big East) overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 4:21 of regulation to beat Marquette (10-11, 2-7) 72-68 in overtime.
Sports on 02/01/2015