NEWARK, N.J.—Hasheem Thabeet had career-highs of 25 points and 20 rebounds and just missed his second triple-double in two weeks with nine blocks, helping No. 1 Connecticut win its 13th straight game, 62-54 over Seton Hall on Saturday.
The 7-foot-3 Thabeet was 10-for-13 from the field and dominated again inside for the Huskies (24-1, 12-1 Big East), who matched the 1995-96 team for the best start in school history.
Thabeet had 11 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocks against Providence in Jan. 31. He’s been an intimidating force inside all season, but especially over the last six games.
Jeff Adrien had 14 points and 15 rebounds—his 44th career double-double—for Connecticut, which finished with a 55-43 rebounds advantage and blocked 11 shots. The Huskies have led the nation in blocks the last seven seasons and are second in Division I with an average of 7.4.
John Garcia had a career-high 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Pirates (14-10, 5-7), who had won their last six, all in the Big East. Robert Mitchell had eight points and 15 rebounds for Seton Hall, which shot 31.2 percent (24-for-77) for the game.
This was Connecticut’s first game since losing second-leading scorer Jerome Dyson. The junior guard, who was averaging 13.2 points and is one of the team’s most effective outside shooters, tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee against Syracuse on Wednesday. He will undergo surgery Tuesday and likely miss the rest of the season.
Connecticut led 33-23 at halftime and had its biggest lead of the game at 47-35 on a tip-in by Thabeet with 13:29 to play. The Huskies would match that lead three more times but couldn’t put Seton Hall away, as the 6-9 Garcia found a way to score inside, something no one else on the Pirates could do.
No. 2 Oklahoma 95, Texas Tech 74
NORMAN, Okla.—Blake Griffin set career-highs with 40 points and 23 rebounds to break a school record with his 22nd double-double of the season in the Sooners’ 13th straight win.
Griffin became only the third player for Oklahoma (25-1, 11-0 Big 12) to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game, joining Wayman Tisdale and Alvan Adams.
Nick Okorie scored a career-high 24 points to lead Texas Tech (12-13, 2-8) in its 11th straight road loss.
No. 4 Pittsburgh 85, Cincinnati 69
PITTSBURGH—Sam Young scored 18 points and DeJuan Blair had 17 to lead the Panthers to their fifth straight win and into a showdown Monday with top-ranked UConn.
Jermaine Dixon added 14 points and Gilbert Brown 12 for the Panthers (23-2, 10-2 Big East), who shot a season-best 67.4 percent from the field.
Mike Williams had 17 points and Larry Davis 13 for Cincinnati (17-9, 7-6). The Bearcats came into the game having won three straight and five of six, but still lack a signature victory that a win at a top-five team would have provided.
No. 7 Wake Forest 86, No. 25 Florida State 63
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Al-Farouq Aminu scored 17 points and the Demon Deacons used a 13-0 run in the second half to end the Seminoles’ three-game winning streak.
Jeff Teague added 15 points for the Demon Deacons (19-4, 6-4 ACC), who led the entire way in bouncing back four losses in their last six games. They controlled this one from the start, scoring the first six points and leading by as many as 30.
Toney Douglas scored 22 points to lead Florida State (19-6, 6-4), which returned to the national rankings this week for the first time since January 1998.
No. 8 Memphis 72, Southern Miss 47
HATTIESBURG, Miss.—Tyreke Evans scored 19 points, including nine straight during the clinching run, and Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier added 12 apiece to lead the Tigers.
Evans’ personal 9-2 run early in the second half helped Memphis (22-3, 10-0 C-USA) to their 16th straight win and the team’s three seniors to their 126th victory, tying the school record.
Jeremy Wise scored 15 points and Courtney Beasley added 12 for Southern Miss (13-11, 3-7), which has lost five straight.
Arizona 84, No. 11 UCLA 72
TUCSON, Ariz.—Nic Wise scored 26 points and Jordan Hill had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to their seventh win in a row.
Arizona (18-8, 8-5 Pac-10) broke an eight-game losing streak to the Bruins, who were swept in the desert for the first time since 2005.
Darren Collison scored 26 for UCLA (19-6, 8-4), who trailed by as many as 25 in the second half before a late rally twice cut it to nine.
No. 14 Xavier 88, Fordham 53
CINCINNATI—Brad Redford matched his career high with 15 points, all from behind the arc, and the Musketeers recovered from back-to-back losses with a dominating second half.
Xavier (21-4, 9-2 Atlantic 10) hasn’t lost three in a row since early in the 2004-05 season, and were never in trouble against the Rams (3-19, 1-9), who start a pair of freshmen and two sophomores. Fordham has lost four in a row, all by at least 23 points.
Sophomore guard Mike Moore led Fordham with a career-high 24 points.
No. 16 Kansas 85, Kansas St. 74
MANHATTAN, Kan.—Cole Aldrich had 21 points, Sherron Collins added 19 and the Jayhawks used their stingy defense to rally from a 16-point first-half deficit against K-State.
Coming off a last-second, 62-60 loss at Missouri on Monday, Kansas (20-5, 9-1 Big 12) shot 56 percent to reach 20 wins for the 20th straight season. Marcus Morris had 15 points and Brady Morningstar 12 for Kansas, which has won 38 of the past 40 meetings against Kansas State.
Denis Clemente had 26 points and Jacob Pullen added 22 for the Wildcats (17-8, 6-5), who were 9-of-28 from the floor in the second half.
No. 17 Missouri 70, Nebraska 47
COLUMBIA, Mo.—DeMarre Carroll and reserve Matt Lawrence had 13 points apiece to help the Tigers win their 17th straight at home.
J.T. Tiller added 11 points and Marcus Denmon 10 for Missouri (22-4, 9-2 Big 12), which has won nine of 10 since losing by five points in the Big 12 opener at Nebraska on Jan. 10.
The Tigers’ full-court press hounded the Cornhuskers (15-8, 5-5) into a season-worst 20 turnovers. Brandon Richardson had 12 points for Nebraska, which flopped in an attempt to win four straight in the Big 12 for the first time since 1999.
No. 20 Purdue 49, Iowa 45
IOWA CITY, Iowa—E’Twaun Moore scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Boilermakers held their second straight opponent under 50 points to break a two-game slide.
JaJuan Johnson added 13 points, including a key jumper with 1:26 left. Two late defensive stops by Purdue (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) helped stave off a rally by the Hawkeyes (13-13, 3-10), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Jake Kelly led all scorers with 19 points for the Hawkeyes.
No. 23 Syracuse 98, Georgetown 94, OT
SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Jonny Flynn had 25 points and Eric Devendorf scored 23, and the two Syracuse stars combined for 14 points in overtime to lead the Orange.
Flynn also had a career-high 13 assists, and Arinze Onuaku had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Syracuse (19-7, 7-6 Big East), which had lost five of seven coming in.
Chris Wright’s 3 with 10.7 left sent the game to overtime for Georgetown (13-10, 4-8), which has dropped seven of eight. Wright finished with 25 points before fouling out. Austin Freeman added 19 points, DaJuan Summers 17, and Greg Monroe had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The 7-foot-3 Thabeet was 10-for-13 from the field and dominated again inside for the Huskies (24-1, 12-1 Big East), who matched the 1995-96 team for the best start in school history.
Thabeet had 11 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocks against Providence in Jan. 31. He’s been an intimidating force inside all season, but especially over the last six games.
Jeff Adrien had 14 points and 15 rebounds—his 44th career double-double—for Connecticut, which finished with a 55-43 rebounds advantage and blocked 11 shots. The Huskies have led the nation in blocks the last seven seasons and are second in Division I with an average of 7.4.
John Garcia had a career-high 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Pirates (14-10, 5-7), who had won their last six, all in the Big East. Robert Mitchell had eight points and 15 rebounds for Seton Hall, which shot 31.2 percent (24-for-77) for the game.
This was Connecticut’s first game since losing second-leading scorer Jerome Dyson. The junior guard, who was averaging 13.2 points and is one of the team’s most effective outside shooters, tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee against Syracuse on Wednesday. He will undergo surgery Tuesday and likely miss the rest of the season.
Connecticut led 33-23 at halftime and had its biggest lead of the game at 47-35 on a tip-in by Thabeet with 13:29 to play. The Huskies would match that lead three more times but couldn’t put Seton Hall away, as the 6-9 Garcia found a way to score inside, something no one else on the Pirates could do.
No. 2 Oklahoma 95, Texas Tech 74
NORMAN, Okla.—Blake Griffin set career-highs with 40 points and 23 rebounds to break a school record with his 22nd double-double of the season in the Sooners’ 13th straight win.
Griffin became only the third player for Oklahoma (25-1, 11-0 Big 12) to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game, joining Wayman Tisdale and Alvan Adams.
Nick Okorie scored a career-high 24 points to lead Texas Tech (12-13, 2-8) in its 11th straight road loss.
No. 4 Pittsburgh 85, Cincinnati 69
PITTSBURGH—Sam Young scored 18 points and DeJuan Blair had 17 to lead the Panthers to their fifth straight win and into a showdown Monday with top-ranked UConn.
Jermaine Dixon added 14 points and Gilbert Brown 12 for the Panthers (23-2, 10-2 Big East), who shot a season-best 67.4 percent from the field.
Mike Williams had 17 points and Larry Davis 13 for Cincinnati (17-9, 7-6). The Bearcats came into the game having won three straight and five of six, but still lack a signature victory that a win at a top-five team would have provided.
No. 7 Wake Forest 86, No. 25 Florida State 63
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Al-Farouq Aminu scored 17 points and the Demon Deacons used a 13-0 run in the second half to end the Seminoles’ three-game winning streak.
Jeff Teague added 15 points for the Demon Deacons (19-4, 6-4 ACC), who led the entire way in bouncing back four losses in their last six games. They controlled this one from the start, scoring the first six points and leading by as many as 30.
Toney Douglas scored 22 points to lead Florida State (19-6, 6-4), which returned to the national rankings this week for the first time since January 1998.
No. 8 Memphis 72, Southern Miss 47
HATTIESBURG, Miss.—Tyreke Evans scored 19 points, including nine straight during the clinching run, and Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier added 12 apiece to lead the Tigers.
Evans’ personal 9-2 run early in the second half helped Memphis (22-3, 10-0 C-USA) to their 16th straight win and the team’s three seniors to their 126th victory, tying the school record.
Jeremy Wise scored 15 points and Courtney Beasley added 12 for Southern Miss (13-11, 3-7), which has lost five straight.
Arizona 84, No. 11 UCLA 72
TUCSON, Ariz.—Nic Wise scored 26 points and Jordan Hill had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to their seventh win in a row.
Arizona (18-8, 8-5 Pac-10) broke an eight-game losing streak to the Bruins, who were swept in the desert for the first time since 2005.
Darren Collison scored 26 for UCLA (19-6, 8-4), who trailed by as many as 25 in the second half before a late rally twice cut it to nine.
No. 14 Xavier 88, Fordham 53
CINCINNATI—Brad Redford matched his career high with 15 points, all from behind the arc, and the Musketeers recovered from back-to-back losses with a dominating second half.
Xavier (21-4, 9-2 Atlantic 10) hasn’t lost three in a row since early in the 2004-05 season, and were never in trouble against the Rams (3-19, 1-9), who start a pair of freshmen and two sophomores. Fordham has lost four in a row, all by at least 23 points.
Sophomore guard Mike Moore led Fordham with a career-high 24 points.
No. 16 Kansas 85, Kansas St. 74
MANHATTAN, Kan.—Cole Aldrich had 21 points, Sherron Collins added 19 and the Jayhawks used their stingy defense to rally from a 16-point first-half deficit against K-State.
Coming off a last-second, 62-60 loss at Missouri on Monday, Kansas (20-5, 9-1 Big 12) shot 56 percent to reach 20 wins for the 20th straight season. Marcus Morris had 15 points and Brady Morningstar 12 for Kansas, which has won 38 of the past 40 meetings against Kansas State.
Denis Clemente had 26 points and Jacob Pullen added 22 for the Wildcats (17-8, 6-5), who were 9-of-28 from the floor in the second half.
No. 17 Missouri 70, Nebraska 47
COLUMBIA, Mo.—DeMarre Carroll and reserve Matt Lawrence had 13 points apiece to help the Tigers win their 17th straight at home.
J.T. Tiller added 11 points and Marcus Denmon 10 for Missouri (22-4, 9-2 Big 12), which has won nine of 10 since losing by five points in the Big 12 opener at Nebraska on Jan. 10.
The Tigers’ full-court press hounded the Cornhuskers (15-8, 5-5) into a season-worst 20 turnovers. Brandon Richardson had 12 points for Nebraska, which flopped in an attempt to win four straight in the Big 12 for the first time since 1999.
No. 20 Purdue 49, Iowa 45
IOWA CITY, Iowa—E’Twaun Moore scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Boilermakers held their second straight opponent under 50 points to break a two-game slide.
JaJuan Johnson added 13 points, including a key jumper with 1:26 left. Two late defensive stops by Purdue (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) helped stave off a rally by the Hawkeyes (13-13, 3-10), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Jake Kelly led all scorers with 19 points for the Hawkeyes.
No. 23 Syracuse 98, Georgetown 94, OT
SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Jonny Flynn had 25 points and Eric Devendorf scored 23, and the two Syracuse stars combined for 14 points in overtime to lead the Orange.
Flynn also had a career-high 13 assists, and Arinze Onuaku had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Syracuse (19-7, 7-6 Big East), which had lost five of seven coming in.
Chris Wright’s 3 with 10.7 left sent the game to overtime for Georgetown (13-10, 4-8), which has dropped seven of eight. Wright finished with 25 points before fouling out. Austin Freeman added 19 points, DaJuan Summers 17, and Greg Monroe had 16 points and 11 rebounds.