No. 1 SYRACUSE 73, No. 20 MARQUETTE 66
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kris Joseph scored 17 points, Brandon Triche added 16, and top-ranked Syracuse remained unbeaten with a gritty vctory over No. 20 Marquette on Saturday.
Syracuse (17-0, 4-0 Big East) is two wins away from matching the school's best start, established a decade ago.
Marquette (12-4, 1-2) entered the game 1-7 against the top-ranked teams. The Golden Eagles' lone triumph was 83-69 over Kentucky in the 2003 NCAA tournament, which earned them a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans, where Carmelo Anthony led Syracuse to its lone national championship. The Golden Eagles lost 82-77 to Duke in November 2010 in their previous try.
C.J. Fair had 13 points and Dion Waiters added 12 to go with seven assists and three steals.
Darius Johnson-Odom led Marquette with 19 points and Jae Crowder had 15.
No. 2 KENTUCKY 79, SOUTH CAROLINA 64
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Terrence Jones hit his first eight shots to finish with 20 points and No. 2 Kentucky beat South Carolina 79-64 on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The Wildcats (15-1, 1-0) have won seven straight and came in as the preseason favorite to win the SEC for the 45th time. They used an 11-0 run to end the first half to take a comfortable lead against South Carolina.
Freshman Anthony Davis had 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocked shots and two steals, while fellow freshman Marquis Teague added 17 points.
It was the third loss this season for South Carolina (8-7, 0-1) against a team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 after previous losses to North Carolina and Ohio State.
Damien Leonard scored 15 points as the Gamecocks' four-game winning streak ended.
No. 3 NORTH CAROLINA 83, BOSTON COLLEGE 60
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Harrison Barnes scored 25 points and No. 3 North Carolina won its eighth straight.
Tyler Zeller added 20 points for the Tar Heels (14-2, 1-0). The preseason league favorites shot 47 percent, took control with a big first-half run and used an even bigger spurt late to claim its 27th straight win at the Smith Center.
Matt Humphrey scored 14 points and Ryan Anderson added 13 for BC (5-10, 0-1), which started five freshmen and had 20 turnovers in losing its third straight.
The Eagles briefly made things interesting in the second half, cutting a 21-point deficit to nine on Patrick Heckmann's 3-pointer with 9:18 left. Barnes answered two possessions later with a slashing drive that started the 22-8 run that pushed the lead back into the 20s.
No. 5 DUKE 81, GEORGIA TECH 74
ATLANTA — Ryan Kelly scored 21 points, Seth Curry added 15 and No. 5 Duke beat Georgia Tech 81-74 on Saturday.
Duke (13-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) avoided consecutive defeats for the first time since Feb. 11 and Feb. 15, 2009.
Glen Rice Jr. scored a season-high 28 points and Mfon Udofia finished with 19 points for Georgia Tech (7-8, 0-1 ACC). The Yellow Jackets, who never led, have lost four straight.
Kelly was 14 of 14 from the free-throw line, including eight in the final 40 seconds to help seal the victory.
No. 6 OHIO STATE 76, IOWA 47
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Jared Sullinger scored a season-high 28 points and Deshaun Thomas added 10 points for the Buckeyes, who won for the second time on the road.
Ohio State (15-2, 3-1 Big Ten) went on a 16-2 run sandwiched around halftime to jump ahead 38-21 early in the second half. The Buckeyes steadily built that lead to 60-33 with just under eight minutes left and cruised to their third Big Ten win by at least 29 points.
Eric May had nine points to lead Iowa (10-7, 2-2).
RUTGERS 67, No. 8 CONNECTICUT 60
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Freshman Eli Carter continued his scoring streak with 19 points and Rutgers beat a Top Ten team for the second time this season, defeating Connecticut in coach Jim Calhoun's return from a three-game NCAA suspension.
Freshman Myles Mack added 14 points for the Scarlet Knights (9-7, 1-2 Big East), who beat then-No. 10 Florida 85-83 in double overtime on Dec. 29. It's just the second time Rutgers has ever beaten two Top Ten teams in the same season. The Scarlet Knights beat UCLA and West Virginia in 1981-82.
The win snapped Connecticut's 10-game winning streak against Rutgers and it was just the Scarlet Knights' second in 19 Big East regular-season meetings with the Huskies. Rutgers' last win over Connecticut was on Jan. 30, 2002.
WEST VIRGINIA 74, No. 9 GEORGETOWN 72
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Truck Bryant scored 25 points and West Virginia ended No. 9 Georgetown's 11-game winning streak.
Kevin Jones added 22 points and 16 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season for the Mountaineers (12-4, 3-1 Big East).
Georgetown came back from 17 points down to beat No. 20 Marquette on Wednesday night but couldn't overtime a double-digit deficit against the Mountaineers, who shot 50 percent (24 of 48) from the floor and beat the Hoyas for the fifth straight time.
Hollis Thompson led Georgetown (13-2, 3-1) with 20 points. Jason Clark, who had 26 points in the Marquette win, was limited to 10 on Saturday.
NOTRE DAME 67, No. 11 LOUISVILLE 65
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Eric Atkins scored six points in the second overtime and the Fighting Irish got their first road win of the season.
Notre Dame (10-6, 2-1 Big East) held the Cardinals without a field goal in the second overtime until Rakeem Buckles' tip in at the buzzer.
Atkins hit jumpers on back-to-back possessions to give Notre Dame a 65-63 lead with 17 seconds to play, and after Louisville's Peyton Siva missed on the other end, he sealed the win with two free throws.
Jack Cooley led the Irish with 18 points and 10 rebounds, Jerian Grant scored 17 points, and Atkins finished with 15 points. Scott Martin also chipped in a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Kyle Kuric and Chane Behanan each scored 17 points to pace Louisville (13-3, 1-2).
TENNESSEE 67, No. 13 FLORIDA 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kenny Hall scored a season-high 13 points and Tennessee upset No. 13 Florida.
The Gators, who have lost all four of their true road games this year, came in averaging 85.4 points this season, best among SEC teams and fifth in the nation. The Volunteers held them to 35.7 percent shooting while hitting 51 percent of their own attempts.
Josh Richardson hit a 3-pointer 41 seconds into the second half that set the tone for the Vols the rest of the way. Cameron Tatum stole the ball from Erving Walker on the next possession and ran it down the floor for a dunk to give Tennessee a 38-31 lead.
Kenny Boynton hit a 3-pointer for the Gators at the other end. Boynton, who entered the game averaging 19.5 points, finished with 13. Erik Murphy also had 13 for Florida (12-4, 0-1) and Patric Young added 12.
ARKANSAS 98, No. 15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 88
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Julysses Nobles scored a career-high 24 points as Arkansas opened Southeastern Conference play with a win over Mississippi State.
Nobles, a Mississippi native, scored 15 in the first half as the Razorbacks (12-3, 1-0 SEC) forced 11 turnovers and opened a 43-37 halftime lead. The junior finished 7 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers.
Arkansas freshman BJ Young helped open a 20-point lead and close out the Bulldogs, scoring 18 of his 24 points in the second half. Young scored 10-straight points at one point for the Razorbacks, who scored 23 points off 18 Mississippi State turnovers.
DeVille Smith led the Bulldogs (13-3, 0-1) with 25 points, while Dee Bost added 21 and Rodney Hood 17.
No. 19 MURRAY STATE 87, AUSTIN PEAY 75
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Isaiah Canaan scored 35 points to keep Murray State unbeaten with a victory over Austin Peay.
Canaan scored the first 16 points for the Racers (16-0, 4-0), who tied the best start in school history — matching the 1935-36 squad. He hit seven of his eight 3-point attempts.
Murray State hit eight 3s in the first half to build a 17-point lead before the Governors rallied with an 11-1 run shortly before the end of the half.
Ed Daniel had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Racers, who are one of four unbeaten teams left this season. Syracuse, Missouri and Baylor also haven't lost.
Josh Terry scored 16 points to lead the Governors (3-13, 0-3).
No. 21 VIRGINIA 52, MIAMI 51
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Mike Scott scored 23 points and No. 21 Virginia held off a rally and hung on for its 12th consecutive win.
The victory wasn't secured until the final second when Miami's Durand Scott missed on a driving layup and grabbed the rebound, but Sammy Zeglinski grabbed the ball before he could go back up with it, tying him up without fouling as the shot clock expired.
Zeglinski added six points, making a 3-pointer with 3:42 to play just after Miami had taken its first lead since early in the game. The Cavaliers (14-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued their best start since the 1981-82 team opened 27-1.
Kenny Kadji led Miami (9-5, 0-1) with 14 points and Scott had 12, all in the second half, but the Hurricanes came up just short.
No. 22 HARVARD 63, DARTMOUTH 47
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Oliver McNally scored 17 points, hitting a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run that gave the Crimson the lead for good, and No. 22 Harvard pulled away with a dominant second half.
Kyle Casey and Keith Wright scored 10 apiece for Harvard (13-2, 1-0 Ivy), which bounced back from a loss to Fordham and made its case to remain in The Associated Press Top 25.
Gabas Maldunas scored 15 points and added nine rebounds for Dartmouth (3-13, 0-1), which lost its sixth consecutive game.
Dartmouth led 34-27 in the second half but was outscored 36-13 from there.
Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust was at the game, Harvard's second sellout of the season.
No. 25 GONZAGA 80, SANTA CLARA 58
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Sam Dower scored 17 points and No. 25 Gonzaga pulled away in the second half for a win over Santa Clara.
Freshman Gary Bell Jr. added 15 points for the Bulldogs (13-2, 3-0 West Coast Conference), who broke the game open early in the second half with an 18-0 run. The Zags have not allowed more than 65 points during their streak.
Santa Clara (8-7, 0-2), which fell to 0-5 on the road with its third-straight loss, was led by Raymond Cowels III with 13 points and Brandon Clark with 12.
