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Mountaineers Top Uconn

Associated Press

Men’s Top 25

Senior guard Greg Jones, making the first start of his career, scored 18 points to lead No. 16 West Virginia to an 80-62 victory over No. 6 Connecticut on Wednesday night, in Morgantown, W.Va.

“This is what I’ve been waiting for. (Starting) gave me a big boost. I wasn’t really nervous. I was more excited,” Jones said.

The victory puts the Mountaineers (20-4, 10-4) back into the chase for first place in the Big East 6. They are tied with St. John’s, one-half game behind Connecticut (21-4, 10-3).

The winners of each of the Big East’s two divisions and the second-place team with the best winning percentage receive first-round byes in the conference tournament.

(1) North Carolina 60, Virginia 45

At Charlottesville, Va., the Tar Heels (25-1, 11-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) overcame a 31-17 deficit to defeat the Cavaliers (10-14, 2-9).

North Carolina won despite playing without Shammond Williams for all but 4 minutes. Williams got into a disagreement with coach Bill Guthridge and was benched.

(7) Kentucky 80, Tennessee 74

At Lexington, Ky., Scott Padgett scored Kentucky’s first eight points of the second half and drilled a 3-pointer late in the game, sparking the Wildcats (22-3, 10-1 Southeasten Conference) to victory over the Volunteers (15-6, 5-6).

(15) South Carolina 74, Alabama 63

At Columbia, S.C., Herbert Lee Davis scored 16 points and Ryan Stack added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Gamecocks (18-4, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) finally had a bit of a breather with a victory over the Crimson Tide (10-14, 2-9).

(18) Mississippi 87, Vanderbilt 76

At Oxford, Miss., Ansu Sesay hit two quick 3-pointers that put the Rebels (16-5, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) ahead to stay, as they defeated the Commodores (15-9, 4-7) to extend their school-record homecourt winning streak to 18 games.

(21) Michigan 76, Ohio St. 68

At Ann Arbor, Mich., Louis Bullock scored 22 points for the shorthanded Wolverines (18-7, 8-4 Big Ten) as they held off the Buckeyes (7-16, 0-10).

(24) Maryland 78, North Carolina St. 63

At College Park, Md., Rodney Elliott scored 19 points and the Terrapins (15-7, 8-4 ACC) clinched their fifth consecutive non-losing season in the ACC with the victory over the Wolfpack (12-11, 3-9).