Wisconsin beats ‘Bama

Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker missed last year’s game against Alabama because of a foot injury.

He made up for it Wednesday night.

Tucker had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Badgers as they stifled No. 18 Alabama’s high-powered offense in a 76-62 victory that extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 36 games.

The game was the Big Ten’s best defense – Wisconsin giving up just 56 points a game – against the Southeastern Conference’s best offense – Alabama averaging better than 86 points.

The Crimson Tide (10-2) couldn’t recover from a first half that saw the Badgers (9-2) take a 33-23 lead.

Alabama scored on seven straight possessions to open the second half and cut the lead to 42-37. Wisconsin built its lead back to double figures and then held the Crimson Tide scoreless for almost 3 minutes after Ronald Steele’s basket made it 54-46 with 6:18 left.

Tucker’s 3-pointer gave the Badgers a 65-48 lead, their biggest of the game, and Wisconsin cruised from there.

(8) Kentucky 82, Campbell 50: Freshman center Randolph Morris led Kentucky with a career-high 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting and Kelenna Azubuike added 14 points as the Wildcats (9-1) won their fifth straight game in Lexington, Ky.

The lopsided loss was The Fighting Camels’ (2-7) third of the season to a major conference opponent.

(10) Pittsburgh 72, South Carolina 68: At Pittsburgh, Chevon Troutman scored 20 points, including the go-ahead basket with 2:37 remaining, to keep the Panthers (10-0) unbeaten.

Carlos Powell and Josh Gonner each scored 15 points for the Gamecocks (7-3), who were 2 of 11 from 3-point range.

(15) Texas 100, Texas-San Antonio 82: P.J. Tucker scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Longhorns to a victory in Austin, Texas.

The Longhorns (9-2) fell behind 70-66 midway through the second half on David President’s layup. But Tucker scored six points in an 11-1 run that gave Texas the lead for good.

Justin Harbert led the Roadrunners (4-5) with 25 points.

West Virginia 71, (20) George Washington 65: Mike Gansey scored 19 points and D’or Fischer added 14, leading West Virginia to a victory over the Colonials (8-2) in Morgantown, W.Va., as the Mountaineers improved to 9-0 for the first time in 44 years.

(23) Michigan St. 92, N.C.-Asheville 63: Paul Davis and Kelvin Torbert led a balanced offense with 15 points each and the Spartans (7-2) defeated the Bulldogs (3-7) in East Lansing, Mich.

Pac-10

Arizona St. 89, Valparaiso 65: Ike Diogu had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead Arizona State past the Crusaders (3-7) in the final of the ASU Hoops Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

The Sun Devils (11-1) have won nine in a row for the first time since the 1980-81 season and won their holiday tournament for the third time in the last four.

Women

(2) Duke 89, Rhode Island 63: Jessica Foley scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half to lead the Blue Devils (12-1) over the Rams (2-8) in the first round of the Auburn (Ala.) Holiday Classic. … (3) Baylor 92, Montana St. 47: Sophia Young scored 19 points to lead the Bears (10-1), who made 58 percent of their shots, over the Bobcats (6-4) in Waco, Texas. … Oregon 62, (5) Stanford 58: Andrea Bills had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and the Ducks (9-2) overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to upset the Cardinal (9-2) in Eugene, Ore. … (24) Rutgers 65, (8) Tennessee 51: At Piscataway, N.J., freshman Matee Ajavon scored 20 points, and Rutgers held Tennessee to 16 first-half points. Fellow freshman Essence Carson added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (7-2). Shyra Ely had 13 points for the Volunteers (8-3), who had won four games in a row. … (10) Michigan St. 67, (11) Connecticut 51: Lindsay Bowen had 20 points and Kelli Roehrig was outstanding in the paint in Michigan State’s victory over the fading Huskies (6-3) in Hartford, Conn. Bowen made 5 of 7 3-point attempts. Roehrig had 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for the Spartans (11-1). … (17) Maryland 67, Massachusetts 63: Maryland’s Crystal Langhorne had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Minuteman (6-4) in the first round of the Terrapin Classic in College Park, Md. The Terrapins (9-1) extended their winning streak to seven games and advanced to today’s tournament final against Marshall. … (19) DePaul 75, Valparaiso 49: Khara Smith had 18 points and 16 rebounds to lead DePaul in the opening game of Dartmouth’s holiday tournament in Hanover, N.H. Jenna Rubino added 16 points – including four 3-pointers – for the Blue Demons (9-2). Betsy Rietema led the Crusaders (5-5) with 13 points.