No. 1 Ohio State 73,
No. 23 Illinois 68
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Jared Sullinger had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Ohio State scored 14 straight points in the second half to rally past Illinois.
Aaron Craft made two free throws with 15 seconds left and Jon Diebler forced an Illinois turnover with 4 seconds on the clock to help the unbeaten Buckeyes (20-0, 7-0 Big Ten) hold on.
Jereme Richmond had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Illinois (14-6, 4-3), and Mike Tisdale added 15 points. Demetri McCamey, who leads the Illini with 16.2 points a game, scored just five on 2-of-11 shooting.
The Buckeyes trailed by eight with 12:51 left before going on a 14-0 surge. Tisdale’s 3-pointer brought Illinois within 69-68 with 16 seconds left, but Craft’s free throws and Diebler’s strip preserved the win.
No. 7 Villanova 83,
No. 3 Syracuse 72
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Maalik Wayns scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half as Villanova took a big lead and then held on to beat Syracuse in front of a raucous Carrier Dome crowd.
It was the second straight game for each squad against a top-10 team. Villanova (17-2, 5-1 Big East) lost 61-59 at No. 8 Connecticut on Monday, when the Orange (18-2, 5-2) lost 74-66 at fifth-ranked Pitt. Syracuse had won 16 straight at the Carrier Dome dating to last February, but disappointed a season-high crowd of 33,736, second-largest in the building’s history.
The Wildcats hit eight 3-pointers in the first half, then withstood Syracuse’s rally. The Orange cut a 13-point lead to five with 63 seconds left but the Wildcats, who went 22 for 24 on free throws, hit six straight in the final minute to hold on. Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher each had 16 points for Villanova.
Kris Joseph, who missed the Pitt game with a head injury, finished with 23 points. Rick Jackson had 16 points and 15 rebounds.
No. 4 Duke 83, Wake Forest 59
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Kyle Singler scored 24 points and keyed the run that helped Duke pull away from pesky Wake Forest.
Ryan Kelly added a career-high 20 points on perfect shooting and Nolan Smith shook off a slow start and finished with 19 on 6-of-22 shooting for the Blue Devils (18-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
The league’s highest-ranked team took care of its worst down the stretch, using two big runs to outscore Wake Forest 42-27 in the second half. Duke won its fourth straight and claimed its second victory of the week on an instate rival’s home floor.
Travis McKie scored 12 points for the Demon Deacons (7-13, 0-5). They had separate droughts of 9½ minutes without a field goal and 7 minutes without any points, and lost their fifth straight and 10th in 12 games.
No. 5 Pittsburgh 80, DePaul 50
CHICAGO — Gilbert Brown scored 17 points and Ashton Gibbs added 13 to lead Pittsburgh over DePaul.
With the exception of a brief lapse early in the second half, the Panthers (19-1, 7-0 Big East) cruised to their ninth straight win.
The troubles continued for DePaul (6-13, 0-7 Big East). The Blue Demons dropped their 20th straight game in the conference and have lost 43 of their last 44 Big East regular-season games. Cleveland Melvin led DePaul with 11 points.
No. 8 Connecticut 72, Tennessee 61
HARTFORD, Conn. — Kemba Walker scored a season-low 16 points but that was enough to help Connecticut beat Tennessee, spoiling coach Bruce Pearl’s brief return to the Volunteers’ bench.
Pearl is in the middle of serving an eight-game Southeastern Conference suspension for lying to NCAA investigators, but was allowed to coach the non-conference game against the Huskies.
Jeremy Lamb also scored 16 points for UConn (16-2), which has won five in a row.
Melvin Goins had 15 points for Tennessee (12-7).
No. 9 BYU 94, Colorado State 85
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Jimmer Fredette scored 42 points, his second 40-plus performance in a week, and Brigham Young beat Colorado State for its ninth straight victory.
Fredette, the nation’s leading scorer, had a season-high 47 points in a win over Utah on Tuesday. This time, he made 16 of 17 free throws and shot 11 of 24 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range, to lead the Cougars (19-1, 5-0 Mountain West) in scoring for 18th time in 20 games.
Kyle Collinsworth and Jackson Emery added 16 points apiece for BYU, which defeated Colorado State (13-6, 3-2) for the ninth straight time. Wes Eikmeier led Colorado State with a career-high 25 points.
No. 12 Kentucky 67, South Carolina 58
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Brandon Knight scored 23 points and Kentucky held off a late charge from South Carolina.
Darius Miller added 18 points for the Wildcats (15-4, 3-2 Southeastern Conference), who had their 16-point lead sliced to 61-56 with 1:16 left. But Doron Lamb hit four consecutive foul shots and Kentucky escaped with its first victory at South Carolina in three years.
Sam Muldrow tied his career high with 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Gamecocks (12-6, 3-2), who upset a top-ranked Kentucky team at home last season.
No. 13 Missouri 87, Iowa State 54
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Ricardo Ratliffe matched his career best with six blocked shots and Michael Dixon had 15 points with three 3-pointers, helping Missouri rout Iowa State.
Missouri (17-3, 3-2) had the game over by halftime, forging a 22-point lead with play dominant enough to overcome its own mistakes, including nine turnovers and 5-for-14 shooting from 3-point range.
Jake Anderson had 20 points for the Cyclones (14-6, 1-4 Big 12), who committed a season-worst 19 turnovers and went 4 for 22 from 3-point range while getting blown out for the first time.
No. 14 Purdue 86, No. 17 Michigan St. 76
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — E’Twaun Moore scored 26 points, and JaJuan Johnson had 20 for Purdue.
Lewis Jackson added a career-high 19 points for the Boilermakers (17-3, 6-1 Big Ten), who remained one game behind No. 1 Ohio State in the conference standings heading into their showdown in Columbus on Tuesday night.
Draymond Green had 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and Delvon Roe added 16 points for the Spartans (12-7, 4-3). Kalin Lucas finished with nine points on 3-for-16 shooting, fouled out and was outplayed by Jackson throughout the night.
No. 15 Minnesota 69, Michigan 64
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III scored 13 points apiece to lead Minnesota over slumping Michigan.
The Golden Gophers (15-4, 4-3 Big Ten) trailed 41-40 before going on a 12-3 run in the second half. Chip Armelin scored twice in a row on similar drives from the right wing, and Rodney Williams added a 3-pointer to make it 52-44.
After that, Michigan (11-9, 1-6) could pull no closer than six points until a 3-pointer by Tim Hardaway Jr. made it 65-60 with 29.1 seconds left. Hardaway finished with 20 points for the Wolverines, who have lost six straight.
Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak in the series.
No. 16 Notre Dame 80, Marquette 75
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Ben Hansbrough scored a career-best 28 points and keyed a second-half spurt that rallied Notre Dame past Marquette.
Hansbrough, who shot 10 of 15 from the field and 6 of 6 at the foul line, scored seven straight points midway through the second half to help the Fighting Irish (16-4, 5-3 Big East) come back from a 12-point deficit.
Tyrone Nash added 13 points for Notre Dame, which improved to 13-0 at home. Carleton Scott had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Darius Johnson-Odom had 25 points to pace Marquette (13-7, 4-3).
Providence 72, No. 19 Louisville 67
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Marshon Brooks scored 27 points and Gerard Coleman had a season-high 19 to lead Providence over No. 19 Louisville.
It was the first Big East victory of the year for the Friars (12-8, 1-6), and their first win over former coach Rick Pitino in his seven trips back to Providence.
Chris Smith had a season-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds for Louisville (15-4, 4-2). The Cardinals went 4 for 23 from 3-point range — missing all 12 attempts in the second half, including several airballs in the final minute as they struggled to make a comeback.
No. 20 Washington 88, Arizona State 75
SEATTLE — Matthew Bryan-Amaning carried Washington with a career-high 30 points and nine rebounds, and the Huskies matched their best conference start in 24 years with a win over scrappy Arizona State.
Washington needed Bryan-Amaning’s career day with leading scorer Isaiah Thomas focused more on trying to slow Arizona State’s Ty Abbott at the defensive end. Thomas still did his part, knifing for a pair of driving layups in the last 4 minutes, including a right-handed finish at the rim with 1:44 left to give Washington a 78-71 lead.
Thomas finished with 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Huskies (15-4, 7-1 Pac-10).
Trent Lockett and Abbott both had with 20 points for the Sun Devils (9-10, 1-6). Arizona State has dropped five straight conference games.
Vanderbilt 89, No. 22 Saint Mary’s 70
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor each scored 19 points and Vanderbilt snapped Saint Mary’s 11-game winning streak.
Vanderbilt (14-4) improved to 3-1 against the Top 25 this season and 2-0 against the Gaels. The Commodores won their second straight by closing out the first half with a 21-5 run and shooting 11 of 22 from 3-point range.
Saint Mary’s (17-3) hadn’t lost since Dec. 1 to then-No. 17 San Diego State. This defeat marked a tough end to a week when the Gaels moved into the rankings for the first time since Jan. 26, 2006.
Matthew Dellavedova paced Saint Mary’s with 19 points.
No. 25 Cincinnati 53, St. John’s 51
NEW YORK — Yancy Gates’ three-point play with 8 seconds remaining gave Cincinnati a close victory over St. John’s.
The Bearcats (17-3, 4-3), the leading defensive team in the Big East at 56.7 points per game, came up with their biggest defensive possession when they forced Dwight Hardy into a tough running shot with 3 seconds left and then St. John’s missed two tips before the buzzer sounded.
Gates finished with 13 points and eight rebounds but was limited to 21 minutes because of foul trouble.
The Red Storm (11-7
