MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 24 points, and No. 1 Memphis remained the country’s only undefeated team Saturday by pulling out a 70-64 victory over Texas-El Paso.
The Tigers (21-0, 7-0 Conference USA) are enjoying their best start ever, topping the 20-win start by the 1985-86 squad. They also extended the nation’s longest home-court winning streak to 44 in the first of a four-game homestand.
This was the tightest game this season for a team that had been winning league games by an average of 25.7 points. Credit goes to UTEP coach Tony Barbee and his Miners (13-7, 4-3), who constantly switched defenses and flustered the Tigers.
The teams swapped the lead five times with nine ties, and Randy Culpepper hit a 3-pointer that gave the Miners a 60-58 lead – their first since 21-17 – with 3:44 left.
Derrick Rose tied the game with a layup. Then Stefon Jackson missed a shot, got his own rebound and turned it over. Douglas-Roberts then scored to put Memphis ahead to stay.
No. 2 Kansas 72, Colorado 59
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) – Darnell Jackson scored 18 points and the Jayhawks overcame a poor start to turn back the Buffaloes’ upset bid.
Brandon Rush added 15 points and Sasha Kaun 12 for the Jayhawks (21-1, 6-1 Big 12), who had a hard time shaking off the doldrums from their first loss of the season, an 84-75 shocker to Kansas State Wednesday night.
The Jayhawks held the Buffs (9-12, 1-6) scoreless for more than five minutes to start the second half and used an 8-0 run to take control.
Richard Roby led the Buffaloes with 22 points.
No. 3 Duke 88, Miami 73
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – DeMarcus Nelson scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to lead Duke to its ninth straight win.
Greg Paulus had 16 points for the Blue Devils (19-1, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who scored on nine of their first 10 possessions of the second half. Duke faces archrival North Carolina on Wednesday night.
James Dews scored 15 for Miami (15-6, 2-5), which have lost two straight and five of six.
No. 5 UCLA 82, Arizona 60
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Freshman Kevin Love had 26 points and 11 rebounds for his 13th double-double and UCLA routed Arizona for its 20th victory of the season.
The Bruins (20-2, 8-1 Pac-10) built a 20-point halftime lead and cruised on 57 percent field goal shooting. Russell Westbrook added a career-high 21 points, Josh Shipp 13 and Darren Collison 12 and seven assists as the Bruins won their fourth in a row.
Jerryd Bayless scored 13 points for Arizona (15-7, 5-4), which had its four-game winning streak snapped and lost its sixth in a row to UCLA.
No. 6 Georgetown 73, Seton Hall 61
WASHINGTON (AP) – Jessie Sapp had 17 points, reserve Patrick Ewing Jr. scored 11 of his career-high 16 in the second half, and the Hoyas won their fifth straight.
Roy Hibbert added 16 points and nine rebounds for Georgetown (18-2, 8-1 Big East), which committed a season-high 21 turnovers but still improved to 11-0 at home with their fourth straight win over the Pirates. Georgetown has won 10 of 11 overall.
Brian Laing led Seton Hall (15-7, 5-4) with 24 points, but couldn’t extend the Pirates’ winning streak to six games. Eugene Harvey added 13 points.
No. 7 Tennessee 76, Mississippi St. 71
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) – Chris Lofton scored 20 points, JaJuan Smith added 15 and Tennessee turned back a late rally to beat Mississippi State.
The Volunteers (19-2, 6-1 SEC) have won 15 of their last 16 overall and four straight against Mississippi State. They looked like they’d have an easy time of it against the Bulldogs (14-7, 5-2) after building a 15-point lead early in the second half.
But Mississippi State hit 7-of-8 3-point field goals over the last 6 minutes to cut Tennessee’s lead to 73-71 with 39.2 seconds left.
Barry Stewart led Mississippi State with 21 points, including 6-of-8 on 3-pointers, Gordon added 17 and Charles Rhodes scored 15.
Penn St. 85, No. 8 Michigan St. 76
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Stanley Pringle scored 19 points and Penn State went 16-of-20 from the foul line in the closing minutes to snap the Spartans’ five-game winning streak.
Talor Battle had 17 points and David Jackson added nine – all from the free throw line – as the Nittany Lions scored their first win over a ranked team since beating No. 6 Illinois on the road on Feb. 4, 2006.
Penn State (11-10, 3-6 Big Ten) snapped a six-game skid. Michigan State dropped to 19-3 overall and 7-2 in the conference.
No. 14 Stanford 67, No. 9 Washington St. 65, OT
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) – Robin Lopez hit a spinning layup with 12 seconds left in overtime to lift the Cardinal to their fifth straight win.
Washington State had a chance to tie in the closing seconds when Taylor Rochestie took the inbound pass and drove the length of the floor, but his layup bounced off the rim.
Brook Lopez and Lawrence Hill led Stanford (18-3, 7-2 Pac-10) with 18 points each.
Kyle Weaver, whose free throw sent the game into overtime, had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Washington State (17-4, 5-4), which lost for the fourth time in seven games.
Weaver had a chance to tie the game with three free throws, but missed the second one to leave the Cardinal with a 66-65 lead. Mitch Johnson made one free throws for the final margin.
No. 10 Texas 80, No. 25 Baylor 72
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Damion James came off the bench to score 17 points and grab eight rebounds, and the Longhorns rallied from 14 down early to beat the Bears.
A.J. Abrams added 20 points for the Longhorns (17-4, 4-2 Big 12), who have won 21 in a row over the Bears. Texas hasn’t lost to Baylor since the 1997-98 season.
Baylor (16-4, 4-2), ranked in consecutive weeks for the first time in school history, dropped its second straight. It was also Baylor’s first loss on an opponent’s court this season.
Kevin Rogers scored 20 to lead the Bears.
Texas also got a big game from freshman Gary Johnson, who had 12 points and seven boards.
No. 15 Xavier 75, La Salle 62
CINCINNATI (AP) – C.J. Anderson scored 16 points in Xavier’s balanced offense, and the Musketeers overcame a sloppy performance.
Xavier (18-4, 6-1) has won 10 of its last 11 and leads the Atlantic 10 because it does things well. On an off-night, the Musketeers had to do a little bit of everything to pull one out.
Six players finished in double figures for Xavier, which drew fouls and went 22-of-29 from the line.
Rodney Green scored 18 points for La Salle (8-12, 3-4), which is 4-20 against the Musketeers in Atlantic 10 play. Forward Jerrell Williams added 16 points, but fouled out with 4:52 to go.
No. 16 Drake 83, Indiana St. 77
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) – Adam Emmenecker scored a season-high 20 points, and Drake defeated Indiana State for its 20th win.
Josh Young scored 18 points and Leonard Houston added 16 for the Bulldogs (20-1, 11-0 Missouri Valley), who won their 19th straight.
Gabe Moore led Indiana State (10-11, 5-6) with 19 points. It was the Sycamores’ first loss in 10 home games this season, but their third straight loss overall.
The Sycamores made 11 of their first 13 shots to take a 26-16 lead 12 minutes into the game.
No. 17 Marquette 75, Cincinnati 60
CINCINNATI (AP) – Lazar Hayward scored 19 points and the Golden Eagles finally picked up a road win in the Big East.
Marquette (16-4, 6-3) rallied from a nine-point deficit in the first half. Hayward led the way, scoring 14 after the break as Marquette built a 15-point lead and held on.
Four Marquette players finished in double figures in a balanced attack that has carried the Golden Eagles to three straight wins. Ousmane Barro added a season-high 19 points.
Cincinnati (10-12, 5-5) didn’t get much more than Deonta Vaughn’s 23 points. The Bearcats’ defense repeatedly broke down under the basket, giving up 38 points in the paint.
Connecticut 60, No. 18 Pittsburgh 53
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A.J. Price scored 21 points and the Huskies closed the game on a 9-2 run for their fifth straight win, three of them coming against ranked teams.
Craig Austrie’s 3-pointer with 2:03 to play gave Connecticut (16-5, 6-3 Big East) a 54-51 lead. After Gilbert Brown made two of three free throws for the Panthers (17-5, 5-4), Price scored on a drive and then added two free throws with 37 seconds left for a 58-53 lead.
Sam Young, who led the Panthers with 18 points, missed a 3-point attempt and Jeff Adrien closed the scoring with two free throws with 25 seconds to go.
Adrien added 14 points for the Huskies and Austrie had 13.
Freshman DeJuan Blair had 13 points and 13 rebounds, nine offensive, for the Panthers.
No. 19 Vanderbilt 78, Auburn 71
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A.J. Ogilvy scored 19 points and the Commodores snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the first time in two weeks.
Vanderbilt (18-3, 3-4 SEC) led by 14 points in the first half, but Auburn charged back in the second half, chopping the deficit to 63-62 with 6:35 remaining on two free throws by Frank Tolbert.
Jermaine Beal answered for the Commodores, scoring seven straight points, including two baskets off steals. Ogilvy also scored inside, keeping Vanderbilt ahead 72-62 with 4:20 to go.
Tolbert, who scored a career-high 32 points, hit a 3-pointer with 2:16 left to make it 72-66, but the Tigers (12-8, 2-5) got no closer.
Arkansas 80, No. 20 Florida 61
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Sonny Weems scored 17 points, and the Razorbacks raced to a 25-point halftime lead en route to an easy victory over the Gators.
Gary Ervin added 15 points and six assists for the Razorbacks, who gave coach John Pelphrey a win over his mentor Billy Donovan.
Darian Townes scored 14 points for Arkansas, which led 46-21 after a nearly flawless first half. The Hogs (16-5, 5-2 SEC) shot 58 percent in the half and turned the ball over three times.
Florida (18-4, 5-2) missed its first 13 attempts from 3-point range and finished 4-of-25. Walter Hodge led the Gators with 13 points.
No. 21 Saint Mary’s 86, Portland 49
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) – Ian O’Leary scored a season-high 20 points and Saint Mary’s routed Portland in the Gaels’ final tuneup before facing West Coast Conference unbeaten and rival Gonzaga.
This was the Gaels’ first victory as a ranked team since 1988-89, and came in their first home game during two stints in the AP poll this season – though they might be bumped come Monday considering the team’s 63-55 loss at San Diego on Jan. 28 that snapped a five-game winning streak.
Diamon Simpson had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Omar Samhan added 18 points and eight boards and Tron Smith scored 10 off the bench for the Gaels (18-3, 5-1 WCC), who shot 54 percent and won for the 11th time in their last 13 meetings with the Pilots.
Nik Raivio scored 18 points for cold-shooting Portland (7-15, 1-5).
Missouri 77, No. 22 Kansas St. 74
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – J.T. Tiller scored a career-high 20 points, including two key free throws with 6 seconds left, helping short-handed Missouri shock the Wildcats.
Kansas State (15-5, 6-1 Big 12) failed to capitalize on momentum gained from ending a 24-game homecourt losing streak to No. 2 Kansas three days earlier, and couldn’t overcome 16 turnovers and off-games from freshman stars Michael Beasley and Bill Walker.
Beasley had 17 points, eight below his average, and 10 rebounds. Walker, who averages 16 points, was held to 11 and missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Five Missouri players, including three starters, were suspended Tuesday after a nightclub altercation left leading scorer Stefhon Hannah with a broken jaw. Leo Lyons, reinstated along with reserve Marshall Brown for Missouri (13-9, 3-4).
M 60, Oklahoma 52
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) – Joseph Jones scored 18 points to lead the Aggies to their third straight win.
M (18-4, 4-3 Big 12) led by one when Donald Sloan got a steal and cut through the lane for a layup that made it 54-51 with just less than 2 minutes remaining. Two free throws by Sloan about a minute earlier had given the Aggies the lead.
The physical defensive battle continued through the final minutes, with Bryan Davis finishing a three-point play that made it 58-52 and put the game out of reach.
David Godbold led the Sooners (15-6, 3-3). with a career-high 22 points, including six 3s.
South Carolina 80, No. 24 Mississippi 77
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) – Dominique Archie scored 20 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left, and South Carolina upset Mississippi .
Devan Downey led the Gamecocks (11-10, 2-5 SEC) with 25 points, and capped the win with a pair of technical foul free throws with 1.1 seconds left. South Carolina has won two straight after knocking off Georgia earlier in the week.
Dwayne Curtis had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Rebels (16-4, 3-4), becoming the 30th player to score more than 1,000 career points at Mississippi. Chris Warren and Zach Graham had 14 points apiece, and David Huertas finished with 13 for Ole Miss, which was coming off a big win over No. 19 Vanderbilt and lost at home for the first time in 11 games.
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