WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — E’Twaun Moore scored a career-high 38 points to lead No. 11 Purdue past No. 2 Ohio State 76-63 on Sunday, capping a week that saw the top four teams in the AP Top 25 lose a game.
Moore tied a career high with seven three-pointers. He surpassed 2,000 points during a flurry of 13 in the final 3:49 of the first half, becoming the fifth player in school history to reach the milestone.
JaJuan Johnson added 13 points and six rebounds for Purdue (22-5, 11-3 Big Ten), which avenged an 87-64 loss at Ohio State on Jan. 25.
Jared Sullinger scored 25 points and Jon Diebler added 11 for the Buckeyes (25-2, 12-2), who have lost two of three after winning their first 24 games.
With losses in the past week by No. 1 Kansas, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Pittsburgh, the Buckeyes entered the game in line to reclaim the No. 1 ranking they dropped after losing at Wisconsin on Feb. 12.
The Buckeyes, who could have all but sealed the championship with a victory, have a one-game lead with four games left to play.
NO. 5 DUKE 79, GEORGIA TECH 57
DURHAM, N.C. - Nolan Smith scored 28 points and No. 5 Duke (25-2, 12-1 ACC) made its case to return to the top of the national rankings by routing Georgia Tech (11-15, 3-9).
Kyle Singler added 15 points and Ryan Kelly had 10 for the Blue Devils. A technical foul on Coach Mike Krzyzewski inspired the overwhelming run that carried Duke to its sixth consecutive victory and 10th victory in a row in conference play.
Duke, the reigning national champion and preseason No. 1, slipped from that perch after a loss in mid-January but could return to the top spot today when the new poll is released. All four teams ahead of the Blue Devils - Kansas, Ohio State, Texas and Pitt - lost in the past week.
Iman Shumpert and Moe Miller each had 13 points, but they couldn’t keep the Yellow Jackets from losing their sixth consecutive ACC game.
NO. 10 WISCONSIN 76, PENN STATE 66
MADISON, Wis. - Keaton Nankivil scored 22 points and tied a career-high by hitting all five of his three-point attempts as Wisconsin (20-6, 10-4 Big Ten) beat Penn State (14-12, 7-8) for its 20th consecutive victory coming off a loss.
Jon Leuer added 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Badgers reached 20 victories for the eighth time in the last nine seasons after having four 20-win seasons in the first 103 years of the program.
The Badgers’ victory, coupled with No. 11 Purdue’s upset of No. 2 Ohio State, puts Wisconsin one game behind the Boilermakers and two behind the Buckeyes in the conference race.
Talor Battle led Penn State with 23 points.
NO. 14 FLORIDA 68, LSU 61
BATON ROUGE, La. - Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton each scored 17 points and No. 14 Florida (21-5, 10-2 SEC) moved back into a tie for the overall Southeastern Conference lead with a victory over LSU (10-17, 2-10).
Their fifth consecutive victory puts the Gators in a tie with Alabama with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Ralston Turner scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half for the Tigers, who have lost 10 consecutive.
NO. 23 TEMPLE 66, SAINT JOSEPH’S 52
PHILADELPHIA - Lavoy Allen had 12 rebounds and became Temple’s (21-5, 11-2 Atlantic 10) career leader in that category in a victory over Saint Joseph’s (7-19, 2-10).
Allen scored 14 points for the Owls and passed John Baum on the school’s career rebounding list. Baum grabbed 1,042 rebounds in only three seasons. Allen, a 6-9 senior forward, helped the Owls win their eighth consecutive game and ninth in a row over their city-rival Hawks.
Sports, Pages 18 on 02/21/2011