LEXINGTON, Ky.-Sam Cunliffe scored 17 points, including two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining, and Evansville silenced Rupp Arena with an improbable 67-64 victory over No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday night.
K.J. Riley added 18 points as the Purple Aces - coached by Walter McCarty, who won a national title with Kentucky in 1996 - pulled off the biggest upset in program history with their first win over a No. 1 team in three tries.
Evansville (2-0) led much of the game and answered each Kentucky rally with clutch baskets to grab the lead and then maintain it for the season's biggest upset. The Wildcats (2-1) were a 25-point favorite.
Kentucky had been 39-0 at home against unranked, nonconference opponents when ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press poll. Evansville, meanwhile, got its first-ever road win over an AP-ranked team.
Tyrese Maxey's layup with 8 seconds remaining got Kentucky within 65-64, but with his teammates locking arms on the bench, Cunliffe stepped to the line and calmly made both ends of the 1-and-1 to seal the victory. The Purple Aces raised their hands and ran around a silent Rupp Arena after the final horn as the Wildcats slowly walked off.
Cunliffe did most of his damage with 15 first-half points off the bench.
Evansville won just 11 games last season, its first under McCarty, who played in the NBA for 10 years and was an assistant at Louisville under Rick Pitino and in the NBA before returning to his hometown to coach the Purple Aces.
Evansville made nine of 30 3-point attempts while shooting 38% from the field to Kentucky's 37%.
BIG PICTURE: Evansville: The Purple Aces stuck to their game plan, shooting from deep and outrunning the Wildcats. They trailed just once in the second half and dictated the tempo most of the night.
"We just believed and trusted each other and made plays for each other. Guys came out and gave their all. They've got a good basketball team. Kentucky's going to be a really good team, going to be around at the end of it," McCarty said. "We played a heck of a game tonight."
Kentucky: Missed shots and turnovers forced the Wildcats to play from behind. Even when they managed to tie, they were beaten to loose balls and could never get over the hump on their home floor.
POLL IMPLICATIONS: A week earlier, it was then-No. 2 Kentucky knocking off the top-ranked team, outlasting Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in the season opener for both squads. It's the first time in AP poll history that two No. 1 teams have lost in November, and the Wildcats' stay at the top of the poll will end next week.
UP NEXT: Evansville hosts IU Kokoma on Thursday.
Kentucky hosts Utah Valley on Monday.
Duke 105, Central Arkansas 54
DURHAM, N.C.-Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is pushing his young Blue Devils to worry about defense above all else, both in the intensity of their fullcourt pursuit and their ability to attack the right matchup.
That approach, he said, is "how our team is going to be built."
And the second-ranked Blue Devils are showing the ability to meet the Hall of Famer's expectation in their first games together.
Freshman Matthew Hurt scored a season-high 19 points to help Duke beat Central Arkansas 105-54 on Tuesday night, winning easily with overwhelming defense despite seeing starting point guard Tre Jones exit after being shaken up on a first-half collision.
Fellow freshman Vernon Carey Jr. added season highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (3-0), who ran off 19 straight points to build a 25-5 lead by midway through the opening half. That margin reached 57-20 by halftime, with Duke shooting nearly 57% and scoring 26 points off turnovers for the game.
Xavier 63, Missouri 58, OT
CINCINNATI-Naji Marshall hit a 3-pointer that tied it in regulation and made a pair of free throws in overtime Tuesday night as No. 21 Xavier overcame poor outside shooting and rallied to a 63-58 victory over Missouri.
The Musketeers (3-0) let a 15-point lead slip away because they couldn't hit an outside shot, going only 3 of 21 from beyond the arc. Marshall's 3-pointer - Xavier's only one in the second half - tied it 51-all with 27.1 seconds left. Marshall finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Missouri (2-1) missed a 3 at the end of regulation and never led in overtime, losing to a ranked team for the seventh time in a row. Dru Smith led the Tigers with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Paul Scruggs hit a pair of baskets in overtime as Xavier built a seven-point lead and held on. Quentin Goodin made three free throws in the final 20 seconds to close it out.
Missouri had a setback in the opening minutes. Top scorer Jeremiah Tilmon picked up two fouls in the first 2:56 and spent the rest of the half on the bench. He finished with six points.
Xavier led by as many as 15 in a ragged first half. Missouri went eight minutes between field goals and had 13 turnovers, but Xavier couldn't take full advantage because of its woeful outside shooting. Goodin's steal and dunk capped an 11-2 spurt that gave Xavier its biggest lead, 27-12.
Tilmon had a layup and Smith scored twice off drives to the basket during a 14-point run that gave Missouri a 38-34 lead, its first since the opening minutes. Xavier went more than seven minutes without scoring while the Tigers rallied.