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HARTFORD, Conn. - The inside-outside combination of Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon led top-ranked Connecticut to its sixth consecutive victory. The Huskies' smothering defense also helped.
Okafor and Gordon each scored 25, and UConn limited Ball State to 35 percent shooting in a 101-62 victory Sunday.
UConn (9-1) has held its past four opponents to an average of 30 percent shooting.
"We always knew we had a lot of offensive weapons, but the thing we worry about most is defense," Gordon said. "We definitely want that to be our identify. We don't want to be just a team with a lot of good offensive players and can't lock people up."
Okafor also had 14 rebounds for his sixth double double of the season and the 34th in his three years with the Huskies. He also had five of UConn's 12 blocks.
The Huskies got the Cardinals off their deliberate offensive style and turned up the tempo. In the end, Ball State was unable to run down the Huskies.
Gordon often finished off the break, thrilling the crowd with flashy dunks.
His roundhouse slam gave UConn a 66-37 lead and brought a deafening ovation.
"They are relentless with how they attack you, and they never give up with where they want to get the basketball," Ball State coach Tim Buckley said.
Denham Brown added 20 for the Huskies. Taliek Brown led UConn with eight assists and has 23 assists and just three turnovers the past three games.
Cameron Echols scored 22 for the Cardinals (3-5), who have lost four straight.
NO. 5 ARIZONA 107, LIBERTY 91: Sophomore Andre Iguodala had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple double, and only the eighth in school history, leading the Wildcats into the championship game of their Fiesta Bowl Classic. Tuesday, Arizona (7-1) meets Louisiana-Lafayette, which defeated Valparaiso 95-71.
NO. 6 STANFORD 100, HARVARD 59: Reserve sophomore forward Matt Haryasz set a career high for the second straight game with 16 points, and the host Cardinal remained unbeaten in nine games. Matt Lottich added 19 points and Rob Little 17 points and nine rebounds for Stanford, which went to its bench early and used a 21-3 spurt to turn the game into a blowout early in the second half. Joe Kirchofer's basket with 13:08 left made it 64-34. Stanford scored 100 for the first time since beating Washington 105-60 during the 2001-02 season. Harvard gave up 100 points for the second game in a row. Kevin Rogus had 22 points for the struggling Crimson (0-11), which has lost 13 in a row dating to last season. It is Harvard's longest losing streak since it dropped 17 in a row from Feb. 15-Dec. 28, 1991.
NO. 9 NORTH CAROLINA 71, N.C.-WILMINGTON 54: Melvin Scott scored 19 and overshadowed teammate Raymond Felton's homecoming, leading the Tar Heels in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Felton, a sophomore star for the Tar Heels (7-1), won two state titles at Latta High, about an hour's drive away. But while Felton struggled to find his range early, Scott hit four 3-pointers against the Seahawks (4-4).
NO. 17 SYRACUSE 81, N.C.-ASHEVILLE 63: Hakim Warrick scored 18, and Billy Edelin had 11 points and a career-high 11 assists for the host Orangemen. It was the seventh consecutive victory for Syracuse (7-1) and the sixth loss in seven games for N.C.-Asheville (2-8). Gerry McNamara hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, Josh Pace had 10 points and seven rebounds and freshman Darryl Watkins had a season-high eight points and four of the Orangemen's 14 blocks. Joseph Barber topped the Bulldogs with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
MISSISSIPPI 79, NICHOLLS STATE 46: Center Tommie Eddie scored the host Rebels' first eight and finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. While Eddie was scoring inside, Aaron Harper was hitting from the outside. Harper was 3-for-5 from 3-point range and finished with 19 points for Ole Miss (6-3).
N.C. STATE 86, VIRGINIA 69: Julius Hodge scored 21, Scooter Sherrill added 19 and the Wolfpack broke out of its 3-point shooting slump against the previously undefeated Cavaliers. N.C. State (6-2, 1-0) handed Virginia (8-1, 0-1) its ninth consecutive loss in ACC openers, including six in a row under Pete Gillen. N.C. State, shooting 31 percent from long range this season, matched a season high with 11 3-pointers from seven players. Virginia came in with an ACC-low 12.5 turnovers a game but had 11 in the first half and a season-high 18 overall. Elton Brown led the Cavaliers with 18 points. NationNOTRE DAME 84, MOREHEAD STATE 69: Chris Thomas scored 23 after missing his first seven shots, and Torin Francis had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the host Irish (6-3).
OHIO STATE 71, DARTMOUTH 58: Tony Stockman came off the bench to score 15 as the host Buckeyes (7-4) started three former walk-ons.
OREGON STATE 71, JACKSON STATE 59: David Lucas had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the host (6-4).
PENN 63, ST. JOHN'S 61 (2OT): Jeff Schiffner hit a jumper from the free-throw line with less than a second to play in the second overtime as the Quakers (4-4) defeated the Red Storm (2-6) to reach the championship game of the Dreyfus Holiday Festival in New York. Tonight, Penn faces Manhattan, which defeated Holy Cross 56-54. Freshman Daryll Hill's pass to Andre Stanley for a layup with 22 seconds left in regulation tied it at 53 for St. John's, which trailed by 10 with with 81/2 minutes left. Schiffner's 3 with 1:32 to go tied it at 58 to force the second OT. The Quakers were 10 of 38 from beyond the arc.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 81, LAFAYETTE 59: Desmon Farmer scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the first half for the host Trojans (5-4).
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 57, ILLINOIS STATE 40: The Salukis (8-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference) recorded their team-best 31st consecutive home victory.
VILLANOVA 84, N.C.-GREENSBORO 63: Randy Foye and Curtis Sumpter each had 23 for the host (8-2).
WEST VIRGINIA 76, IND.-PUR.-FORT WAYNE 63: Drew Schifino had 21 points, his nation's best 47th consecutive game scoring in double figures.