Kansas no match for super ‘Nova

Undefeated Kansas never stood a chance once Allen Ray, Curtis Sumpter and the rest of the spirited Villanova Wildcats got rolling.

Sumpter sank five 3-pointers and scored 25 points, Ray made four 3s and scored 27 and Villanova led by as many as 32 points in a stunning 83-62 victory over No. 2 Kansas on Saturday in Philadelphia.

“We had some tough breaks this season, but guys stuck with it everyday,” Sumpter said.

The Wildcats’ fans – who braved the first snowstorm in Philly this year – chanted “Overrated!” early in this one and counted down the final minutes before storming the 76ers’ home court in celebration.

“Villanova today, the Eagles tomorrow!” one fan yelled as he left the court.

Only Illinois, Duke and Boston College remain among the undefeated teams in the Top 25. It was the Jayhawks’ worst loss under second-year coach Bill Self and most lopsided defeat since they lost to Wake Forest by 31 points on Dec. 7, 2000.

“It had been coming,” Self said. “We’ve been putting a lot of band aids on our deficiencies.”

The Jayhawks (14-1) have hardly played like one of the best teams in the country lately with four of their last games decided by six or fewer points. They were never really in this one against the up-tempo Wildcats (10-4).

Kansas played fast and loose with the ball with bad decisions and costly turnovers. Self benched his starters for one long stretch in the second half as the game turned into a blowout and the Wildcats pounced on every mistake with one big shot after another.

(3) Wake Forest 74, (20) Cincinnati 70: Eric Williams scored a career-high 29 points, having his way with Cincinnati’s shorter front line, and the Demon Deacons (16-2) beat the Bearcats (15-3) in Cincinnati.

(4) Duke 88, Florida 56: J.J. Redick scored a season-high 31 points as the Blue Devils (15-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) remained unbeaten with a win over the Seminoles in Tallahassee, Fla. Duke was never in trouble, jumping to an 18-8 lead and building it to as many as 33 late in the game.

(5) Oklahoma St. 82, Baylor 53: Joey Graham scored 24 points to help the Cowboys (14-2, 4-1 Big 12 Conference) upend the Bears (9-6, 1-3) in Stillwater, Okla. Freshman JamesOn Curry added 14 points, including 10 in the final 2:16.

(6) North Carolina 87, Miami 67: Sean May had 17 points, Jawad Williams and Jackie Manuel each added 14 as the Tar Heels (16-2, 5-1 ACC) beat the Hurricanes (12-5, 5-3) in Chapel Hill, N.C. Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants had 10 points apiece for UNC.

(7) Syracuse 72, West Virginia 64: Hakim Warrick had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Gerry McNamara scored 18 points and Billy Edelin added a season-high 12 to lead the Orange (19-1, 6-0 Big East) past the Mountaineers (11-5, 1-4) in Syracuse, N.Y.

(8) Kentucky 89, LSU 58: Patrick Sparks went 5 of 7 from 3-point range and scored 15 points to help the Wildcats (14-2, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) beat the Tigers (9-6, 2-2) in Lexington, Ky. Kelenna Azubuike added 16 points for Kentucky.

(9) Boston College 79, St. John’s 73: Jared Dudley scored 19 points to lead Boston College’s balanced offense as the Eagles (16-0, 5-0 Big East) remained one of three unbeaten teams in Division I with a win over the Red Storm (7-8, 1-4) in New York.

Virginia Tech 70, (12) Georgia Tech 69: Georgia Tech’s Isma’il Muhammad missed two free throws with 5.5 seconds left as the Hokies (10-6, 3-2 ACC) survived a frantic final seconds to pull off the upset and hand the Yellow Jackets (11-5, 2-3) their third straight loss.

(14) Louisville 85, Tennessee 62: Francisco Garcia scored 20 points to lead the Cardinals (16-3) past the Volunteers (10-8) in Louisville, Ky.

(21) Pittsburgh 76, (16) Connecticut 66: Chevon Troutman scored 25 of his career-high 29 points in the second half and the Panthers (13-3, 3-2) erased a 17-point deficit to upset the Huskies (11-4, 3-2) in a Big East matchup in Storrs, Conn.

(18) Oklahoma 64, (15) Texas 60: Kevin Bookout had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Lawrence McKenzie scored 15 as the Sooners (15-2, 4-0 Big 12) turned back the Longhorns (15-3, 3-2) in Norman, Okla. Texas was in its first game without leading scorer and rebounder P.J. Tucker, ruled academically ineligible earlier in the week.

(17) Mississippi State 73, South Carolina 65: Lawrence Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead five Mississippi State scorers in double figures as the Bulldogs (16-4, 4-2 SEC) beat the Gamecocks (10-6, 2-3) in Starkville, Miss.

(19) Michigan St. 69, Minnesota 55: Alan Anderson scored 13 points on 11-for-12 shooting from the free-throw line as the Spartans (12-3, 4-1 Big Ten) beat the Gophers (13-5, 3-2) in Minneapolis.

(22) Alabama 66, Mississippi 58: Kennedy Winston scored 26 points and Jermareo Davidson had a game-high 13 rebounds to lift the Crimson Tide (15-3, 4-2 SEC) past the Rebels (11-8, 2-4) in Oxford, Miss.

(23) Iowa 71, Purdue 57: Greg Brunner and Doug Thomas each scored 14 points to help the Hawkeyes (14-4, 2-3 Big Ten) beat the Boilermakers (4-12, 0-6) in Iowa City, Iowa.

(24) Wisconsin 72, Michigan 61: Mike Wilkinson had 28 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to lead the Badgers (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten) past the Wolverines (12-7, 3-2) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Charlotte 76, (25) Marquette 66: Eddie Basden scored 23 points and Brendan Plavich added 20 to help the 49ers (13-3, 4-1 Conference USA) beat the Golden Eagles (14-4, 2-3). It was Marquette’s third loss in four games.