Ranked or not, UK?s clash with Indiana proves classic: Wildcats win by five
By the time Kentucky finished its border battle with Indiana, Bobby Perry had collected 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 stitches.
?He had a triple-double,? Wildcats coach Tubby Smith joked about his forward, who had to leave late in the game with a gash above his eyebrow.
Although the Wildcats and Hoosiers came into the game unranked, don?t tell the players this game ? the 50th overall between the programs ? has lost its luster. Kentucky survived the physical ? and, in Perry?s case, bloody ? defensive struggle with a 59-54 victory.
?I think the weight has definitely been taken off our shoulders,? Kentucky center Randolph Morris, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds, said. ?It feels good to win a close game against a very solid team and one of our rivals. It was definitely a statement for us to pull out a close one under pressure.?
With the Wildcats (6-3) ahead 47-41, Roderick Wilmont nailed consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game. Before that, the teams were a combined 3-for-29 from beyond the arc.
Morris quickly answered with his signature turnaround jumper at the 6-minute mark and converted the three-point play after drawing a foul from D.J. White.
?Randolph is developing that mentality ? ?Get it to me, and I?ll put it in,?? Smith said.
White, who finished with 23 points, hit a layup two minutes later that pulled the Hoosiers (5-3) within two, but jumpers by Joe Crawford and Perry put Kentucky up 57-52.
With less than two minutes to go, Joey Shaw of the Hoosiers stole an inbounds pass and scored to make it a one-possession game. But Indiana?s Lance Stemler missed a closely guarded 3-pointer, and Jodie Meeks made two free throws with six seconds left to clinch the win.
No. 7 Duke 69, George Mason 53
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) ? DeMarcus Nelson and Jon Scheyer took care of the scoring while the entire Duke team took care of the basketball. The result was one of the Blue Devils? best offensive showing in weeks.
Nelson scored 24 points while Scheyer had 18, both career highs, to lead No. 7 Duke past George Mason 69-53 on Saturday, extending the nation?s longest home nonconference winning streak to 48 games.
Josh McRoberts added seven points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists for the Blue Devils (9-1), who led the entire way.
No. 16 Memphis 82, Mississippi 70
MEMPHIS (AP) ? Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 points and Jeremy Hunt added 16 to lead No. 16 Memphis to an 82-70 victory over Mississippi on Saturday.
The Tigers, coming off a poor shooting performance in a 76-58 loss at Tennessee on Wednesday, regrouped to shoot 47 percent. Memphis shot 28.6 percent against the Volunteers.
Antonio Anderson had 14 points for Memphis (7-2), while Joey Dorsey grabbed 10 rebounds.
No. 12 Kansas 68, Toledo 58
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Brandon Rush broke out of his shooting slump with a hot first half and No. 12 Kansas overcame plucky-but-undersized Toledo for a 68-58 victory Saturday in probably its last game in Kemper Arena.
Rush, a preseason All-America who was just 7-for-29 from the field in his three previous games, hit four of his first five 3-point attempts against the Rockets (2-5) and finished with 19 points.