Marquette’s barrage downs Fighting Irish
College Basketball: Dwight Buycks scored a career-high 21 points and Marquette made a blistering 15 of its 21 3-point attempts in a 79-57 upset of No. 9 Notre Dame (14-3, 3-2 Big East) on Monday night.
Back at home in the Bradley Center, Marquette (12-5, 3-1) put on its best long-distance shooting performance in 10 years to win its 100th game in 251 tries against nationally ranked opponents.
• Duke still on top of AP poll: Duke is again a unanimous No. 1 in the Associated Press men’s poll following a week that saw 12 ranked teams lose.
The Blue Devils received all 65 first-place votes from the national media panel. Ohio State, Kansas, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, San Diego State and Villanova held on to second through seventh.
• AP women’s poll: Baylor stays No. 1: Baylor received 25 first-place votes in the Associated Press women’s poll, two more than last week when the Bears led for the first time.
UConn remained second, losing two first-place votes to Baylor. The Huskies drew 12 firsts after beating Villanova and rallying past Notre Dame. Duke, Stanford and Tennessee complete the first five.
No fans, no problem; Bobcats beat Griz
NBA: Stephen Jackson scored 27 points and the Charlotte Bobcats stayed hot under new coach Paul Silas with a 96-82 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies in a game played in a nearly empty arena because of a snowstorm.
A crowd of about 1,000 fans braved the treacherous roads that shut down much of the city to watch the Bobcats move to 5-2 since Larry Brown was fired. D.J. Augustin added 18 points and nine assists.
• Rockets hold on to beat Celtics: Aaron Brooks scored 24 points, hitting a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left after Boston cut a 12-point deficit to four and the Houston Rockets held on for a 108-102 victory over the Celtics.
Kyle Lowry had 17 with eight assists, Luis Scola scored 12 with nine rebounds and Jordan Hill had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets.
Marquis Daniels had season highs of 19 points and seven rebounds and Rajon Rondo had 12 assists for the Celtics, who have lost two straight..
Pyatt’s late goal lifts Coyotes over Blues
NHL: Taylor Pyatt scored the go-ahead goal on a wraparound with 3:12 to go in the Phoenix Coyotes’ 4-3 victory over the visiting St. Louis Blues.
Kyle Turris scored the tying goal on a rush that took advantage of the Blues’ fourth line, and assisted on Pyatt’s 10th of the season, a play that caught Jaroslav Halak and the St. Louis defense off-guard. The Coyotes turned the tables on the Blues, who beat them 4-3 on Jan. 31 in St. Louis.
• Bruins’ late rally beats Pens: Mark Recchi scored the third of the Bruins’ four goals in the final 3 1/2 minutes to cap their second frantic rally in two visits to Pittsburgh, and Boston beat the Sidney Crosby-less Penguins 4-2. Pittsburgh is 0-2-1 without Crosby, who is out with a concussion. Gregory Campbell added an empty-net goal and set up two goals.
Decision looms with Bonds perjury trial
Miscellany: A federal judge next week may shape the fast-approaching federal perjury trial of home run king Barry Bonds.
In court papers filed Friday night, federal prosecutors urged San Francisco U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to reject a bid by Bonds’ legal team to exclude a trove of crucial evidence and witnesses the government plans to present at the scheduled March trial. • Safina is beaten again in first round: Dinara Safina has lost in the first round for the second straight week as she prepares for the Australian Open.
The former No. 1 player was routed by Marion Bartoli of France 6-0, 6-1 at the Hobart International in Australia.
• Beckham to start training with Tottenham: David Beckham will start a monthlong training stint with Tottenham today after passing a physical for the Premier League club.
Beckham, fitted out in Spurs clothing after the medical examination, is scheduled to train with the club until Feb. 10. The Galaxy expect the former England captain back to prepare for the Major League Soccer season March 15.
• Babel charged by FA over Twitter posting: Liverpool winger Ryan Babel became the first player to be charged with improper conduct by England’s Football Association over a Twitter posting.
Babel posted a digitally altered picture of referee Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United jersey after being angered by decisions in his team’s FA Cup loss Sunday.
Babel also wrote on Twitter: “And they call him one of the best referees. That’s a joke.”
He could be fined or banned.