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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Top 25 Capsules: No. 2 West Virginia escapes with 57-54 win over Baylor

West Virginia guard Chase Harler (14), guard James Bolden (3) and guard Daxter Miles Jr. (4) walk of the court at the conclusion of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Morgantown, W.Va. West Virginia defeated Baylor 57-54. (Ray Thompson / Associated Press)
Associated Press

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Jevon Carter sank the go-ahead 3-pointer with 57.5 seconds left and No. 2 West Virginia escaped with a 57-54 victory over Baylor on Tuesday night.

West Virginia (15-1, 4-0 Big 12) struggled to make shots the entire game but extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 15, the Mountaineers’ best since winning 22 straight in 1988-89.

Lamont West and Daxter Miles Jr. led West Virginia with 12 points apiece.

Baylor’s Manu Lecomte scored 13 points and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had 11 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.

West Virginia, which had little inside success on offense against the taller Bears (11-5, 1-3), shot 31.1 percent (19 of 61) from the floor and was held to its lowest point total of the season.

But the Mountaineers never trailed in the second half of a close game with few scoring runs. Baylor made one field goal over the final eight minutes.

No. 3 Virginia 68, Syracuse 61

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Kyle Guy scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 15 and Virginia beat Syracuse.

Guy made five 3-pointers for Virginia (15-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Cavaliers attempted a season-high 27 3s and made nine. Devon Hall added 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for Virginia.

Frank Howard scored 18 points to lead the Orange (12-5, 1-3). Oshae Brissett added 16 points and Paschal Chukwu scored nine points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but the Orange shot under 40 percent against the nation’s top scoring defense and managed just three assists on 23 baskets.

No. 5 Purdue 70, Michigan 69

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Isaac Haas made a tiebreaking free throw with four seconds remaining and Purdue remained unbeaten in the Big Ten by edging Michigan.

The Boilermakers (16-2, 5-0 Big Ten) have won 12 in a row, while the Wolverines (14-4, 3-2) had their seven-game winning streak snapped. Purdue is 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 1989-90.

In the final seconds, Michigan rushed the ball up the court and Charles Matthews took a desperation shot just after crossing midcourt that hit the rim but missed.

No. 9 Oklahoma 75, No. 8 Texas Tech 65

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – Trae Young scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half to help Oklahoma top Texas Tech.

Young, a freshman point guard who leads the nation in scoring and assists, shot just 1 of 12 in the first half. He went 6 for 11 in the second to help the Sooners bounce back from a loss to No. 2 West Virginia on Saturday.

Young also had nine assists and four steals for Oklahoma (13-2, 3-1 Big 12), which won its 11th straight at home. Christian James had 15 points and Khadeem Lattin added 11 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks.

Oklahoma shot 56 percent in the second half. Texas Tech entered the night ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 59 points per game.

Keenan Evans scored 19 points for Texas Tech (14-2, 3-1).

No. 12 Kansas 83, Iowa State 78

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Malik Newman scored a career-high 27 points, Svi Mykhailiuk added 23 and Kansas staved off an upset bid by Iowa State, pulling away in the closing minutes.

Devonte Graham added 11 points for the Jayhawks (13-3, 3-1 Big 12), most of those coming in crunch time, when he shook off a 1-for-11 start from the field to knock down three big jumpers.

Lindell Wigginton had 27 points and Donovan Jackson scored 20 for the Cyclones (9-6, 0-4), whose four straight losses – including back-to-back overtime defeats – have come on the heels of nine straight wins.

Cameron Lard added 15 points and 10 rebounds, though he also committed seven of the Cyclones’ 17 turnovers. Nick Weiler-Babb contributed 13 points, 10 boards and eight assists.

Marquette 84, No. 13 Seton Hall 64

MILWAUKEE – Andrew Rowsey scored 31 points and Marquette used a 16-0 run in the second half to pull away from Seton Hall.

Sam Hauser added 14 points for the Golden Eagles (12-5, 3-2 Big East). He shot 4 of 9 from 3-point range, including a 3 with 5:25 left for a 73-55 lead.

Energized Marquette outhustled Seton Hall (14-3, 3-1) and held its own in the paint against the Pirates’ dominant center, Angel Delgado (12 points, 10 rebounds). The Golden Eagles set a quick tempo to beat the Pirates on both ends of the floor.

Seton Hall stumbled after reaching its highest ranking in the AP Top 25 poll since Jan. 2, 2001.

No. 20 North Carolina 96, Boston College 66

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Luke Maye had career highs of 32 points and 18 rebounds, and North Carolina’s small lineup got off to a fast start in an easy win against Boston College.

Cameron Johnson added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (13-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who avoided their first three-game losing streak since January 2014. UNC coach Roy Williams juggled his starting lineup to move in Johnson over freshman forward Garrison Brooks – and that wing-heavy unit responded by getting out in transition and on the attack in their active opening minutes.

Maye became the first North Carolina player with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds at home since Antawn Jamison in 1997-98, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Ky Bowman scored 21 points to lead Boston College (11-6, 2-3), which has lost 11 straight against the Tar Heels.

No. 21 Kentucky 74, Texas A&M 73

LEXINGTON, Ky. – PJ Washington made a steal that led to Kevin Knox’s go-ahead layup with 2:28 left, then added four points down the stretch to help Kentucky rally past Texas A&M.

Trailing 59-53 with 8:43 remaining, the Wildcats clawed back to tie the game three times before Washington stole a high pass and fed Knox for a 69-67 lead. Washington added a layup between two free throws for a 73-69 edge.

The Aggies weren’t done, taking advantage of missed Kentucky free throws to get within a point with four seconds left on Robert Williams’ tip-in. Two misses by Washington at the line set up a final chance for Texas A&M, but a long pass sailed out of bounds as time expired.

Hamidou Diallo had 18 points as Kentucky (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) bounced back from last weekend’s loss at No. 24 Tennessee.

Tyler Davis scored 21 for the Aggies (11-5, 0-4), who lost their second consecutive one-point game.

No. 22 Auburn 85, Mississippi 70

AUBURN, Ala. – Desean Murray had 16 points and eight rebounds to help Auburn erase a 10-point halftime deficit and beat Mississippi.

Auburn (15-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) won its 13th straight game and opened 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2002-03. The Tigers had lost 10 straight against Ole Miss.

Mustapha Heron added 15 points for Auburn, which played its first home game as a ranked team since 2000. Afernee McLemore had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Breein Tyree led the Rebels (9-7, 2-2) with 24 points.

No. 24 Tennessee 92, Vanderbilt 84

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Grant Williams scored a career-best 37 points as Tennessee rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat Vanderbilt.

The sophomore forward avoided foul trouble, and Vanderbilt couldn’t handle the 6-foot-7, 241-pound Williams around the basket. Admiral Schofield tied his career high with 22 points as Tennessee (11-4, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) won its second straight.

Jordan Bowden scored all 12 of his points in the second half for the Volunteers.

Saben Lee led Vanderbilt with 21 points. Jeff Roberson added 19 and Riley LaChance had 16 for the Commodores (6-10, 1-3).

No. 25 Creighton 85, Butler 74

OMAHA, Neb. – Marcus Foster scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half, and Martin Krampelj had 14 points and 14 rebounds for his third straight double-double in Creighton’s victory over Butler.

The Bluejays (14-3, 4-1 Big East) won for the ninth time in 10 games and improved to 11-0 at home. The Bulldogs (12-6, 2-3) lost their third straight since upsetting then-No. 1 Villanova on Dec. 30.

Foster was coming off a season-low nine points on 3-of-14 shooting at Georgetown on Saturday. He took on the role of playmaker in the second half, when he had six of his season-high eight assists, including a couple big ones after Butler pulled within six points late.

Butler star Kelan Martin struggled with Khyri Thomas guarding him. After averaging 25.8 points in the Bulldogs’ first four Big East games, Martin was held to two in the first half and 10 for the game. He did have 11 rebounds.