NO. 13 KENTUCKY 83, TENNESSEE 58
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Malik Monk had 20 points and a career-high eight rebounds, Derek Willis had 16 points and No. 13 Kentucky made 10 of its 11 three-point attempts in the first half to roll past Tennessee 83-58 on Tuesday night.
Seeking to stay atop the SEC, the Wildcats avenged last month's 82-80 road loss to the Volunteers with their best performance in a while. Long-range shooting provided the biggest lift as Kentucky (21-5, 11-2) made 11, its first double-digit effort from behind the arc in a month, as Monk and Willis each made four in the first half alone.
The Wildcats held Tennessee (14-12, 6-7) to 35 percent shooting and led by as many as 28 points in handing the Volunteers their third loss in four games.
De'Aaron Fox had 13 points and six assists and Bam Adebayo grabbed 12 rebounds in Kentucky's third consecutive victory.
Admiral Schofield had 17 points and Jordan Bone 15 for Tennessee, which was outrebounded 33-29.
The Volunteers' recent shooting struggles continued as they lost their 10th consecutive at Rupp Arena. After making 42 percent in their loss to Georgia, they were just 18 of 52 from the field (35 percent) and committed 13 turnovers, including consecutive miscues leading to baskets early in the second half. More than anything, they couldn't push the tempo and were outscored 18-0 in fast break points.
Good ball movement (17 assists) created good perimeter opportunities for the Wildcats, whose 10 first-half threes were nearly as many as they had overall against Auburn last month (11). Their transition game also clicked throughout and they controlled the paint 32-18.
Defensively, Monk had as many boards in the first half (4) as the past four games combined and kept it up in the second half.
All in all, Kentucky took a big step toward trying to return to the Top 10, but needs to follow up at Georgia.
NO. 15 FLORIDA 114, AUBURN 95
AUBURN, Ala. -- Canyon Barry scored a season-high 30 points and No. 15 Florida rode a big second-half surge to a victory over Auburn.
The Gators (21-5, 11-2 SEC) also blew past their previous scoring high of 106 points en route to a seventh consecutive victory. They dominated after going into halftime locked in a 50-50 tie, coming out of the locker room on a 13-3 run and never looking back.
Florida shot 56 percent from the field and made 11 of 19 three-point attempts and 37 of 42 free throws.
Auburn (16-10, 5-8) became the first team to reach its season average in regulation against the Gators, but couldn't slow them down on the other end.
The game was so dominated by offense that 13 players scored in double figures.
Anfernee McLemore led Auburn with 19 points, T.J. Dunans had 13 and Ronnie Johnson 12.
NO. 16 PURDUE 74, RUTGERS 55
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Center Isaac Haas had 24 points and 11 rebounds, power forward Caleb Swanigan added 12 points and 17 rebounds, and No. 16 Purdue pulled away from Rutgers.
Purdue (21-5, 10-3 Big Ten) led only 45-39 with just over 12:30 remaining, but from the 11:15 mark until he left the game with 2:20 to play, Haas scored 16 points, and the Boilermakers pulled away for their fourth consecutive victory.
Nigel Johnson scored 23 points to lead Rutgers (13-14, 2-12), which had no answer for Purdue's big men.
Purdue struggled with turnovers in the first half (8) and led 33-26 through 20 minutes when Johnson was 5 of 6 from the field, including 4 of 4 from three-point range, for 14 points, but the Scarlet Knights missed a chance to pull closer when the rest of their roster was 5 of 22 from the field.
Haas had eight first-half points for Purdue, and Dakota Mathias and Carsen Edwards each added six. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Scarlet Knights 23-10 in the first half.
NO. 25 NOTRE DAME 84, BOSTON COLLEGE 76
BOSTON -- Bonzie Colson scored 20 points, Matt Farrell had 19 and No. 25 Notre Dame overcame a 13-point first-half deficit for a victory over Boston College, sending the Eagles to their 10th consecutive loss.
V.J. Beachem had 16 points and Steve Vasturia added 15 for the Fighting Irish (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast). It is Coach Mike Brey's 13th time winning at least 20 games with Notre Dame.
Ky Bowman led Boston College (9-18, 2-12) with 29 points and Mo Jeffers had 12.
BC had sliced it to 78-76 on Bowman's two free throws with just under a minute to play, but Beachem grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on the ensuing possession. He hit both free throws with 24.1 seconds to play.
SEC
MISSISSIPPI 96, LSU 76
OXFORD, Miss. — Terence Davis scored a career-high 33 points as Mississippi wiped out a nine-point second half deficit to defeat LSU.
Ole Miss (16-10, 7-6 SEC) outscored the Tigers 39-10 in the final 11 minutes to win decisively as Deandre Burnett and Sebastian Saiz had 15 points apiece. Cullen Neal added 10 points as the Rebels hit 18 of 20 free throws (90 percent) to seal it.
LSU (9-16, 1-12) was led by Antonio Blakeney with 29 points, 22 in the first half. Skylar Mays added 19 points, Brandon Sampson had 11 points and Aaron Epps had a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The Tigers led 47-44 at halftime and as much as 11 points, 55-44, in the second half before fading in the final 11 minutes.
GEORGIA 79,
MISSISSIPPI STATE 72
ATHENS, Ga. — Yante Maten scored 24 points in his return to high-scoring form and Georgia pulled away with a 12-3 run late in the game to beat Mississippi State.
A three-pointer by Mississippi State’s Xavian Stapleton with 6:29 remaining tied the game at 54-54. Georgia answered with eight consecutive points, including a dunk and two free throws by Maten, to start the 12-3 run.
J.J. Frazier had 17 points, all in the second half, for Georgia (15-11, 6-7 SEC). The Bulldogs have won two consecutive following three losses in a row to ranked teams.
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Lamar Peters and Mario Kegler each had 14 points for Mississippi State (14-11, 5-8), which has lost three consecutive and five of its past six.
Sports on 02/15/2017