TOP 25: Ohio State averts upset

EVANSTON, Ill. - Jared Sullinger hit the second of two free throws with 3.5 seconds left Saturday night and No. 1 Ohio State overcame a furious rally by Northwestern to beat the Wildcats 58-57 - the unbeaten Buckeyes' 22nd straight victory.

Sullinger finished with 21 points and Aaron Craft had 13 points for Ohio State.

Leading by only two at the half, Ohio State (22-0, 9-0 Big Ten) pulled out to a 13-point lead in the second half. But Northwestern, playing without leading scorer John Shurna because of a concussion, came back.

No. 2 Pittsburgh 65, Rutgers 62

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Ashton Gibbs scored 24 points to help No. 2 Pittsburgh avoid a second straight upset.

The Panthers (20-2, 8-1 Big East) scored 12 of their last 15 points from the free throw line and hit only one basket in the final 7:03 - a long 3-pointer by Gibbs with 55 seconds to play - in posting their 10th straight 20-win season.

Gary McGhee added 13 points and Brad Wanamaker had nine, including seven free throws in the final 6:17.

No. 4 San Diego St. 96,

Wyoming 57

SAN DIEGO - Sophomore guard Chase Tapley scored a career-high 24 points and No. 4 San Diego State made a school-record 17 3-pointers to bounce back from a loss at No. 9 BYU.

SDSU (21-1, 6-1 Mountain West) quickly shook off the disappointment of its first loss, a 71-58 defeat at Provo on Wednesday night.

No. 23 Louisville 79,

No. 5 Connecticut 78

STORRS, Conn. - Peyton Siva scored 19 points, including two driving layups in the second overtime for Louisville.

Terrence Jennings added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Preston Knowles and Kyle Kuric each added 15 points for the Cardinals (17-4, 6-2), who have won four of five and took sole possession of second place in the Big East.

Shabazz Napier had 18 of his 23 points for UConn (17-3, 5-3) after halftime and Kemba Walker added 20.

No. 6 Kansas 90, Kansas St. 66

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Thomas Robinson, two days after his mother's funeral, shook off a slow start and had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Kansas.

Markieff Morris had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Jayhawks (20-1, 5-1 Big 12), who celebrated the 150th anniversary of Kansas' statehood with their 181st victory over the outmanned Wildcats (14-8, 2-5) in a series that began in 1907.

No. 7 Texas 71, No. 11 Missouri 58

AUSTIN, Texas - Jordan Hamilton had 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and Texas remained undefeated in the Big 12.

The Longhorns (18-3, 6-0) have won six in a row overall and snapped a three-game losing streak to the Tigers (17-4, 3-3).

Texas had another stellar defensive effort, holding the highest-scoring team in the Big 12 to its lowest point total of the season.

No. 21 Georgetown 69,

No. 8 Villanova 66

PHILADELPHIA - Austin Freeman scored 10 of Georgetown's final 12 points and finished with 30 to lead the Hoyas.

Freeman, the Big East preseason player of the year, took over the offense by himself as the Hoyas (16-5, 5-4) lost most of a nine-point lead with 5 minutes to play.

The Wildcats (17-4, 5-3) cut the lead to one three times in the final 1:15 and each time Freeman found a way to get the lead back to three.

New Mexico 86, No. 9 BYU 77

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Freshman Tony Snell scored a career-high 16 points and had a strong defensive effort in the first half against BYU All-American Jimmer Fredette.

Kendall Williams, another New Mexico freshman, also had 16 points for the Lobos (15-7, 3-4 Mountain West).

Fredette finished with 32 points after a 12-of-26 shooting effort that included 6 of 9 from 3-point range.

Marquette 76, No. 9 Syracuse 70

MILWAUKEE - Jae Crowder scored 13 of his 25 points in the second half to help Marquette hand Syracuse its fourth straight loss.

Kris Joseph led the Orange with 18 points, but it wasn't enough as Syracuse (18-4, 5-4 Big East) lost its fourth in a row for the first time since Jan. 16-29, 2006.

Butler finished with 19 for Marquette (14-8, 5-4).

No. 12 Purdue 73,

No. 16 Minnesota 61

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - JaJuan Johnson scored 24 points to lead Purdue.

Ryne Smith scored all 15 of his points in the second half and Lewis Jackson had 13 points and five assists for the Boilermakers (18-4, 7-2 Big Ten), who remained in second place in the conference.

Trevor Mbakwe had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota (16-5, 5-4), and Blake Hoffarber added 14 points.

Nebraska 57, No. 13 Texas A&M 48

LINCOLN, Neb. - Jorge Brian Diaz scored 16 points and Nebraska held the Aggies (17-3, 4-2) to two field goals over the final 10 minutes.

The Cornhuskers (15-5, 3-3 Big 12) used a 10-1 spurt to turn a 42-39 deficit into a 49-43 lead in the matchup of the league's top two defensive teams.

No. 14 Kentucky 66, Georgia 60

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Doron Lamb scored 19 points, including a pair of crucial baskets to halt a late Georgia rally.

The Wildcats (16-4, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) avenged a loss at Georgia three weeks ago by clamping down on the cold-shooting Bulldogs (14-6, 3-4) down the stretch.

Penn St. 56, No. 17 Wisconsin 52

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Talor Battle scored 20 of his 22 points after halftime and Penn State turned up the defensive pressure in the second half in the upset.

Jeff Brooks had 12 points and Andrew Jones grabbed 14 rebounds to the help the Nittany Lions (12-8, 5-4 Big Ten).

Jon Leuer had 18 points to lead Wisconsin (15-5, 5-3), and Jordan Taylor had 16 before fouling out.

Arkansas 89,

No. 19 Vanderbilt 78

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Rotnei Clarke scored a season-high 36 points and reserve Michael Sanchez had a career-high 20 points as Arkansas handed the Commodores' their first home loss.

Vanderbilt (15-5, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) had won its first 11 at Memorial Gym.

Clemson 62,

No. 22 Florida State 44

CLEMSON, S.C. - Jerai Grant had 14 points, Demontez Stitt added 12 and Clemson knocked off its first ranked opponent under coach Brad Brownell.

The Tigers (15-6, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) ran out to a 22-6 lead and never let the Seminoles get closer than eight the rest of the way.

Florida State (15-6, 5-2) was tied with Duke for first place in the ACC coming in.

Mississippi State 71,

No. 24 Florida 64

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Dee Bost scored 24 points, and Kodi Augustus and Renardo Sidney each added 16 for Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs (11-9, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) have won four of their last five against the Gators. Bost made 8 of 14 shots from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. He also added five assists and three rebounds.

Erving Walker led Florida (16-5, 5-2) with 18 points, making 6 of 17 shots.