NO. 6 KENTUCKY 100, TEXAS A&M 58
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Malik Monk scored 26 points, De'Aaron Fox had 15 and No. 6 Kentucky rode an early 15-0 run to cruise past Texas A&M 100-58 on Tuesday night.
Playing at home for the first time in nearly a month, the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0 SEC) quickly answered the Aggies' game-opening three-pointer with that surge over 2:39 to take control. Kentucky continued pouring it on for its most lopsided victory in a recently tight series with overtime deciding four of the last five.
Monk continued his high-scoring ways by making 8 of 11 shots including five three-pointers to pace Kentucky, which shot 52 percent and broke the century mark for the second time in four games. The Wildcats forced 25 turnovers, their second-highest total this season.
Tyler Davis had 13 points for Texas A&M (8-5, 0-2), which trailed by as many as 44 points in the final minutes.
Any hope the Aggies had of staying with the Wildcats was quashed during Kentucky's surge. Their 15 first-half turnovers were just one shy of their total in the loss to Tennessee.
One bright spot was their 45 percent shooting, which was better than against the Volunteers but didn't matter against a Kentucky squad that took them out quickly and thoroughly.
The Wildcats controlled the pace on both ends with their defense particularly impressive. Besides holding the Aggies to 38 percent first-half shooting, they forced 15 turnovers and converted them into 21 points by the break.
There was a lot to like about their offense, as they again started hot behind that 15-0 run that ended with eight consecutive points by Monk. He made consecutive threes followed by a thunderous one-handed dunk after a steal by Fox.
In other games involving Top 25 men's teams Tuesday, Svi Mykhailiuk went the length of the court and threw in a finger-tip layup as the buzzer sounded to give No. 3 Kansas a 90-88 victory over Kansas State. Josh Jackson matched a career high with 22 points to go with nine rebounds and six assists, and Landen Lucas added 18 points and 12 rebounds, as the Jayhawks (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) pushed their home winning streak to 50 in one of the closest games during that incredible streak. The Wildcats (13-2, 1-1) had the first chance to take the lead in the final seconds, but Dean Wade missed a three-pointer and the ball bounced out of bounds with 5.6 ticks left on the clock. ... Ethan Happ scored 19 points and Bronson Koenig added 17 to lead No. 13 Wisconsin past No. 25 Indiana 75-68. The Badgers (13-2, 2-0 Big Ten) have won nine consecutive. De'Ron Davis, Juwan Morgan and Robert Johnson each finished with 12 points to lead the Hoosiers (10-5, 0-2). ... Joel Berry II had a career-high 31 points and Kennedy Meeks' basket with 1:12 left in overtime put No. 14 North Carolina ahead for good as the Tar Heels defeated Clemson 89-86. The Tigers (11-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had two chances to retake the lead after Meeks' shot, but Jaron Blossomgame and Sidy Djitte missed close-in shots to lose to North Carolina (13-3, 1-1) for the 19th time in the last 20 games. Justin Jackson followed with a basket and Clemson could not catch up. ... Canyon Barry tied a season high with 20 points, KeVaughn Allen added 14 and No. 24 Florida beat Mississippi 70-63. Overcoming a cold shooting start, the Gators built a 19-point lead that the Rebels only managed to get to single digits twice in the second half. Deandre Burnett's three-pointer cut Florida's big lead to 42-34 with 14:18 remaining. The Gators (11-3, 2-0 SEC) responded with an 11-0 spurt that essentially put the game away. Ole Miss (9-5, 0-2) made another run, making it 69-63 on Burnett's driving layup with 20.1 seconds remaining. But it was too little, too late.
SEC
Tide victorious
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Avery Johnson Jr. and Dazon Ingram each scored 13 points to lead Alabama to a 68-58 victory over Mississippi State.
Riley Norris added 11 points and Alabama (8-5) out-rebounded Mississippi State 43-26.
Mario Kegler scored 12 points and Tyson Carter added 10 for Mississippi State (9-4).
The Bulldogs jumped to a 9-3 advantage as Alabama missed its first six shot attempts, but the Crimson Tide scored 11 consecutive and led 22-13 midway through the first half. Alabama led by as many as 13 and held a 32-20 halftime advantage.
Mississippi State shot 25 percent in the first half and made 1 of 14 from behind the arc. Alabama shot 35.5 percent from the field in the first half.
The victory marked Alabama's fourth consecutive at Humphrey Coliseum, the longest such streak for the Crimson Tide.
Sports on 01/04/2017