Pittsburgh fails again against top-ranked team
Marcus Williams made five free throws in the final 30 seconds and No. 1 Connecticut won its eighth straight, 80-76 over No. 9 Pittsburgh on Tuesday night in Storrs, Conn., in a Big East Conference men’s basketball game.
Rudy Gay had 22 points for the Huskies (19-1, 7-1), who improved to 6-0 this season against ranked teams and to 32-5 when playing as a top-ranked team.
Aaron Gray had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Panthers (17-2, 6-2), who dropped to 0-13 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams.
(6) Illinois 66, Wisconsin 51: Dee Brown and Rich McBride scored 16 points each and the Fighting Illini (20-2, 6-2 Big Ten) beat the Badgers (15-6, 5-3) in Madison, Wis.
It was Illinois’ fourth straight victory over the Badgers – including two victories at the Kohl Center, where Illinois is the only Big Ten team to beat the Badgers in five years under coach Bo Ryan.
Illinois trailed 24-13 before going on a 19-0 run to take the lead for good.
(8) Florida 69, Mississippi 58: Taurean Green had 17 points and Al Horford added 14 to lead the Gators (19-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) to a win over the Rebels (13-7, 3-4) in Oxford, Miss.
The Gators led by as many as 15, shot nearly 54 percent and snapped a two-game road losing streak.
The Rebels have lost four straight since a seven-game winning streak included a 3-0 start in SEC play.
(17) Georgetown 64, DePaul 44: Roy Hibbert scored 17 and the Hoyas (15-4, 6-2 Big East) used an early 18-0 run to rout the Blue Demons (8-11, 1-7) in Rosemont, Ill., for their fifth straight victory.
The 18-0 run built a 16-point lead just 6 minutes into the game.
Creighton 63, (25) Northern Iowa 55: Nick Porter scored 14 of his career-high 16 points in the second half and the Bluejays (15-5, 9-3) topped the Panthers (19-4, 9-3) in Omaha, Neb., spoiling Northern Iowa’s debut in the national rankings.
The Panthers, who had never been ranked in the program’s 25-year Division I history, saw star guard Ben Jacobson held to eight points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Women
Renee Montgomery scored a game-high 26 points and the fourth-ranked Connecticut Huskies (20-2, 9-0 Big East) beat the Louisville Cardinals (13-6, 4-4) 75-68 in Louisville, Ky.
(11) Oklahoma 70, Oklahoma State 54: Courtney Paris tallied 17 points and 12 rebounds for her 14th straight double-double and the Sooners (18-4, 8-0 Big 12) beat the Cowgirls in Norman, Okla., for their 15th straight win over their in-state rival. … West Virginia 82, (13) DePaul 70: LaQuita Owens scored a career-high 20 points as the Mountaineers (12-6, 4-3 Big East) beat the Blue Demons (18-4, 5-4) in Morgantown, W.Va.