No. 2 Ohio State 68, Michigan 64
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — William Buford scored 19 points and No. 2 Ohio State went on a 12-0 run in the second half before holding off Michigan 68-64 on Wednesday night.
New Michigan football coach Brady Hoke arrived with athletic director Dave Brandon moments after the opening tip and immediately began firing up the crowd, pointing at the student sections and raising his right fist. Hoke was introduced during an early timeout and waved to the fans.
The Wolverines (11-6, 1-3 Big Ten) rallied from a 53-41 deficit, pulling within 64-62 when Zack Novak made two free throws with 22.3 seconds left. Michigan then fouled Buford, who made a pair of free throws with 18.6 seconds to play.
David Lighty and Jared Sullinger scored 12 points each for the Buckeyes (17-0, 4-0).
Darius Morris scored 18 points and Novak had 16 for Michigan. Evan Smotrycz scored 14 points for the Wolverines, including a 3-pointer that made it 41-all soon after halftime.
No. 4 Syracuse 76, St. John’s 59
NEW YORK — Kris Joseph scored 18 points and No. 4 Syracuse remained undefeated by beating St. John’s at Madison Square Garden.
The Orange (17-0, 4-0 Big East) are off to the second-best start in school history thanks to the 2-3 zone defense they have used so effectively for years.
Syracuse, one of five unbeaten Division I teams entering the day, held the Red Storm (10-5, 3-2) to 36.8 percent shooting.
The win was the 1,800th in school history, fifth on the all-time list in Division I, and 846 of them have been under coach Jim Boeheim. Syracuse has won five straight.
Justin Brownlee had 13 points for St. John’s, 1-2 in its stretch of eight consecutive games against ranked opponents.
No. 5 Pittsburgh 72,
No. 22 Georgetown 57
WASHINGTON — Ashton Gibbs hit five 3-pointers and scored 22 points, and No. 5 Pittsburgh broke open the game early and remained unbeaten in the Big East with a win over No. 22 Georgetown.
Brad Wanamaker added 14 points and Gilbert Brown had 12 for the Panthers, who shot 58 percent in the first half to build a 17-point halftime lead. Pitt (16-1, 4-0) has won six straight overall.
Chris Wright scored 14 points for the slumping Hoyas (12-5, 1-4), who have lost three straight and are off to their worst conference start since 1998-99.
No. 7 Villanova 88,
No. 18 Louisville 74
PHILADELPHIA — Corey Stokes scored 23 points and Mouphtaou Yarou had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 7 Villanova over No. 18 Louisville for its 10th straight win.
Corey Fisher scored 17 points and Maalik Wayns had 15 for the Wildcats, who beat their second straight Top 25 team. The Wildcats (15-1, 4-0 Big East) defeated then-No. 24 Cincinnati on Sunday and haven’t lost since Nov. 26.
The Wildcats resisted turning the game into a complete 3-point exhibition after Louisville (13-3, 2-1) was sharp early.
Preston Knowles scored 24 points for the Cardinals. Chris Smith scored 18 points and Peyton Siva had 14.
No. 15 Missouri 77, Nebraska 69
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Marcus Denmon made five 3-pointers and matched his career best with 27 points, helping No. 15 Missouri end Nebraska’s 11-game winning streak.
Ricardo Ratliffe added 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for the Tigers (15-2, 1-1 Big 12), who bounced back from a 13-point loss at Colorado. They succeeded playing at Nebraska’s half-court style for the most part, and became the second team to top 70 points against the Cornhuskers.
Toney McCray had 17 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers for Nebraska (13-2, 1-1), which held its first 10 opponents under 60 points before beating Iowa State in the conference opener.
No. 19 Temple 83, St Bonaventure 55
PHILADELPHIA — Ramone Moore scored 13 of his 19 points in the last 5:17 of the first half and No. 19 Temple beat St. Bonaventure.
Temple has won the last 14 games in the series and all 31 of its home games against the Bonnies. The Owls (12-3, 3-0 Atlantic 10) have won nine of 10 overall.
Andrew Nicholson, who leads the A-10 in scoring at 22.4 points per game, was held to 12 after scoring 34 in the Bonnies’ league-opening win over Charlotte on Saturday.
Michael Davenport led St. Bonaventure (9-6, 1-1) with 13 points, and Ogo Adegboye and Demitrius Conger each had 11.
No. 25 Cincinnati 74,
South Florida 66
CINCINNATI — Redshirt freshman Sean Kilpatrick scored 18 points, giving No. 25 Cincinnati some spark in a listless game, and the Bearcats bounced back from their first loss of the season by beating South Florida.
Cincinnati (16-1, 3-1 Big East) was coming off a 72-61 loss at Villanova that ended its 15-0 start, tied for second-best in school history.
South Florida (6-12, 0-5) made several runs and cut the deficit to four twice, but faded and lost its seventh in a row. Ron Anderson Jr. had a team-high 13 points.
Wednesday's AP Top 25 Capsules