Russ Smith scored 21 points and Chane Behanan had 20 and No. 4 Louisville ended a four-game losing streak against rival Kentucky with an up-and-down 80-77 victory yesterday in Louisville, Ky.
Louisville (12-1) had to withstand several charges from Kentucky (8-4).
Duke 90, Santa Clara 77
In Durham, N.C., Seth Curry scored 12 of his season-high 31 points during the late 26-5 run that helped No. 1 Duke pull away from pesky Santa Clara. Mason Plumlee added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils (12-0).
Michigan 88, Central Mich. 73
In Ann Arbor, Mich., Trey Burke had 22 points and 10 assists for the No. 2 Wolverines (13-0).
Syracuse 57, Alcorn St. 38
C.J. Fair scored 13 points, Trevor Cooney added 12, all in the second half to key a late surge, for the No. 9 Orange (11-1).
It was the 901st win for coach Jim Boeheim, one behind Bob Knight for second place all-time among Division I men’s coaches.
Ohio St. 87, Chicago St. 44
In Columbus, Ohio, Deshaun Thomas scored 17 points as No. 10 Ohio State (10-2) won its final tune-up before Big Ten play.
Illinois 81, Auburn 79
In Chicago, Tracy Abrams scored a career-high 29 points and No. 12 Illinois (13-1) prevailed .
Florida 78, Air Force 61
In Sunrise, Fla., Kenny Boynton snapped a shooting slump with three 3-pointers in the second half as No. 14 Florida (9-2) pulled away.
North Carolina 79, UNLV 73
In Chapel Hill, N.C., P.J. Hairston scored 15 points to help North Carolina (10-3) beat No. 20 UNLV (11-2).
N.C. St. 84, W. Michigan 68
In Raleigh, N.C., C.J. Leslie scored 19 points and Richard Howell added 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting to lead No. 23 North Carolina State (10-2) to its sixth consecutive win.
Columbia 69, Manhattan 58
In Morningside Heights, Steve Frankoski came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers for Columbia (6-5). Manhattan (3-8), was led by Rhamel Brown’s 25 points and nine rebounds.
Wagner 68, Penn 63 (OT)
In Staten Island, Kenneth Ortiz finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead Wagner (6-5).
Lamar 81, LIU Brooklyn 80
In Beaumont, Texas, E. J. Reed and C.J. Garner missed potential game-winning shots in the final seconds for LIU Brooklyn (5-7).
St. Peter’s 71, CCSU 69
In New Britain, Conn., Patrick Jackson hit the game-winning jumper with 11 seconds left to rally St. Peter’s (6-6).
Georgia 73, Fordham 48
In Atlanta, Georgia Tech scored 17 straight points in the second half. Branden Frazier scored 17 points and Chris Gaston 16 for the Rams (3-10).