No. 2 Spartans top No. 1 Kentucky
11/13/2013CHICAGO — With Keith Appling, Gary Harris, and Adreian Payne all scoring in double figures for No. 2 Michigan State, Keith Dawson came up with the biggest basket, tipping in a miss with less than six seconds left to give the Spartans a 78-74 victory over top-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night.
James Young missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Spartans erupted in delight.
It was the earliest meeting of 1 vs. 2, and the first since 2008, and the matchup did not disappoint for many who see it as a sneak preview of the Final Four. Julius Randle had 23 of his 27 points in the second half, as the Wildcats (2-1) erased a 13-point deficit. But they couldn’t overcome their troubles at the free throw line, going a dismal 20 of 36.
No. 3 LOUISVILLE 97, HOFSTRA 69
LOUISVILLE — Russ Smith scored 21 of his game-high 30 points in the first half and No. 3 Louisville (2-0) made 12 3-pointers to set the tone for a rout of Hofstra.
No. 8 OKLAHOMA ST. 93, UTAH VALLEY 40
STILLWATER, Okla. — Phil Forte scored 19 points to lead six double-figure scorers and No. 8 Oklahoma State (2-0) cruised past Utah Valley.
No. 9 SYRACUSE 89, FORDHAM 74
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — C.J. Fair scored a career-high 26 points, Jerami Grant added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 9 Syracuse beat Fordham.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Treveon Graham scored 22 points, including a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to play, and No. 14 VCU beat No. 25 Virginia.
The Rams (2-0) trailed for almost all of the final 10 minutes until Graham's steal and baseline jumper gave them a 56-55 lead with 1:18 left.
No. 17 MARQUETTE 114, GRAMBLING ST. 71
MILWAUKEE — Chris Otule scored 17 points and Steve Taylor added 16 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 17 Marquette roll over Grambling State.
No. 23 BAYLOR 66,
S. CAROLINA 64
WACO, Texas — Brady Heslip scored 18 points with five 3-pointers and No. 23 Baylor held over South Carolina, without making a field goal in the final seven minutes and having to wait out a lengthy review after the final buzzer before officials determined there wasn't yet another foul in the game.
South Carolina (1-1) was desperately trying to get a tying basket, and the ball was still being batted around when the buzzer sounded at the same time a referee blew a whistle for an apparent foul.