ATLANTA — Seth Curry scored 23 points and No. 9 Duke held off a furious comeback by No. 3 Kentucky, beating the defending national champions 75-68 Tuesday night in the first matchup between the storied programs since 2001.
Duke (2-0) appeared to be in control, even with Mason Plumlee on the bench in foul trouble. The Blue Devils ripped off a 13-3 run, capped by Rasheed Sulaimon’s threepointer that made it 58-44 with 9 1/2 minutes remaining.
But Kentucky (1-1) wasn’t done. The Wildcats outscored Duke 17-6 over the next six minutes and had a chance to tie it.
Julius Mays missed a threepoint attempt with the Blue Devils clinging to a 64-61 lead.
Curry made sure youthful Kentucky didn’t get any closer, schooling freshman guard Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills) on a drive that essentially clinched the victory.
NO. 5 MICHIGAN 77,
CLEVELAND STATE 47
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Tim Hardaway Jr. had 17 points and six rebounds, and Michigan advanced to the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off with a victory over Cleveland State.
It was the third consecutive victory by at least 30 points for the Wolverines (3-0), who shot 51 percent against a Cleveland State (2-1) team coming off an overtime victory the day before.
NO. 14 MISSOURI 91,
ALCORN STATE 54
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Phil Pressey scored 21 points and Laurence Bowers added 14 — all in the second half — to help Missouri rout Alcorn State.
Missouri (2-0) made just nine of its 39 attempts before the break and held a seven-point halftime advantage thanks to Pressey’s deep three-pointer with three seconds left. Bowers hit 3 three-pointers in the second half to help Missouri take command. The Tigers used an 18-3 run after the half to blow the game open.
LeAntwan Luckett scored 14 points and Anthony Nieves added 13 for Alcorn State (1-1).
NO. 21 MICHIGAN ST. 67, NO. 7 KANSAS 64
ATLANTA — Keith Appling scored 19 points and No. 21 Michigan State rebounded from a season-opening loss by upsetting No. 7 Kansas. Freshman Gary Harris added 18 points for the Spartans (1-1), including backto-back baskets that sparked an 8-0 run. Down the stretch, it was all Appling. Elijah Johnson led Kansas (1-1) with 16 points.
NO. 23 CONNECTICUT 67, VERMONT 49
STORRS, Conn. — Shabazz Napier scored 13 points and freshman Omar Calhoun added 12 to lead Connecticut over Vermont. Holy Cross transfer R.J. Evans added 11 points and Tyler Olander had nine points and nine rebounds for UConn (2-0). Luke Apfeld led Vermont (1-1) with nine points.
NO. 24 CINCINNATI 102, MISS. VALLEY ST. 60
CINCINNATI — Sean Kilpatrick scored 20 points and Cheikh Mbodj had four of Cincinnati’s seven blocks to help lead the Bearcats over Mississippi Valley State. The Bearcats (2-0) took control with a 23-4 run in the first half that featured two three-pointers by Cashmere Wright. The point guard had all of his 11 points in the take-control half. Davon Usher and Darryl Marshall scored 13 points apiece for Mississippi Valley State (0-2).
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO ST. 91, SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN 57
SAN DIEGO — Jamaal Franklin scored 19 of his 28 points in the first half and had 12 rebounds as No. 25 San Diego State bounced back from a 13-point loss to No. 8 Syracuse by routing NAIA San Diego Christian. Chase Tapley scored 18 for San Diego State (1-1).
SEC MEN
LSU 73, MCNEESE STATE 48
BATON ROUGE — Shavon Coleman scored 25 points — 23 in the first half — as LSU defeated McNeese State. Coleman was 10 of 15 from the field in the opening 20 minutes. He grabbed 10 rebounds and missed his only field goal attempt of the second half. No one else scored 10 or more for the Tigers (2-0), who never trailed. Kevin Hardy led McNeese State (1-1) with 18 points.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 78, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 58
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Roquez Johnson and Fred Thomas scored a combined 33 points to lead Mississippi State past Florida Atlantic. Mississippi State (1-1) forced 27 turnovers and shot 49.2 percent (30 of 61) from the field to give Rick Ray his first victory as head coach.
SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 1 BAYLOR 85, NO. 6 KENTUCKY 51
WACO, Texas — Brittney Griner scored 27 points with eight rebounds and No. 1 Baylor overwhelmed sixth-ranked Kentucky. Odyssey Sims added 18 points and Destiny Williams had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the defending national champion Lady Bears, who have won 42 games in a row.
Sports, Pages 26 on 11/14/2012