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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Kenneth Lowe scored 13 and held Devin Harris in check to lead Purdue to a 53-51 victory over No. 19 Wisconsin on Wednesday night, giving coach Gene Keady his 500th career win with the Boilermakers.
Wisconsin (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) had a chance to tie with 20 seconds left when Mike Wilkinson went to the free-throw line with Purdue leading 50-48. Wilkinson missed his second free throw and Austin Parkinson followed with two for Purdue (12-4, 2-1).
The Badgers had a chance to win or tie with 4.4 seconds left, but Harris' 3-pointer at the buzzer rattled off the rim.
Keady received the game ball during a postgame ceremony, and the near-sellout crowd chanted, "Keady! Keady!"
"Because of you, that's why I stayed here," Keady told the crowd.
Keady is 538-258, including two seasons at Western Kentucky. Bob Knight is the only other coach to win 500 at a Big Ten school, doing it at Indiana.
The NCAA does not recognize Keady's mark because Purdue had to forfeit 19 wins in 1995-96 after a player was ruled ineligible.
Lowe made all 10 free throws.
Harris entered as the Big Ten's third-leading scorer, averaging 18. Lowe, last year's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, limited his shots, and Harris wound up with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
The Boilermakers took control early in the second half after Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan lost his cool.
Ryan received a technical after he appeared to make a choking gesture at official Dan Crisman. Crisman had just called an offensive foul on Wisconsin's Andreas Helmigk and Ryan disagreed. Crisman had his back turned when Ryan made the gesture, but referee Art McDonald saw it and assessed the technical.
Harris then had to restrain Ryan several times.
Lowe made both free throws to cap an 8-2 run that gave Purdue a 39-28 lead with 12:46 to play.
NO. 1 UCONN 94, GEORGETOWN 70: Emeka Okafor had 27 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks to lead the host Huskies (14-1, 2-0 Big East).
Taliek Brown had 20 points, seven assists and a career-high three blocks for Connecticut, which won its 11th straight. It's the Huskies' longest regular-season streak since they started 19-0 in 1998-99, their national championship season.
The Huskies have won seven straight over the Hoyas (10-3, 1-3), who lost their third in a row. Ashanti Cook led Georgetown with 18 points, and Brandon Bowman and Gerald Riley had 17.
MARYLAND 90, NO. 9 UNC 84: Jamar Smith scored 22 and John Gilchrist 20, and the host Terrapins cranked up their defense in the second half.
After yielding a season-high 49 points in the first half, Maryland (10-3, 1-1 ACC) put the clamps on an offense that topped 100 points in each of its first two conference games.
Sean May scored 18 and Raymond Felton 16 for the Tar Heels (10-3, 1-2), who have lost five straight regular-season games to Maryland.
NO. 10 UC 85, NO. 21 MARQUETTE 73: Tony Bobbitt scored 18 and Nick Williams a season-high 16 for the Bearcats, who handed the Golden Eagles their second loss in 40 home games.
Cincinnati (12-0, 3-0 C-USA), playing a ranked team for the first time this season, scored 24 off Marquette's season-high 23 turnovers.
Travis Diener scored 19 and Steve Novak 17 for Marquette (11-3, 2-1), which had a four-game winning streak snapped. The Golden Eagles' last loss at the Bradley Center was 73-70 to Louisville on Feb. 15, 2003.
OKLA. ST. 77, NO. 11 OU 56: John Lucas scored 22 and Tony Allen 20 to lead the Cowboys to a surprisingly easy victory over the Sooners, who suffered their second straight lopsided road loss.
Oklahoma State (11-2, 1-1 Big 12) never trailed and was firmly in control of this matchup against its in-state rival.
The Cowboys, the conference leader in shooting percentage, shot 56 percent from the field while holding the Sooners to 35 percent, including 4-of-16 from 3-point range. The Sooners (10-2, 0-1) were ranked No. 6 before Sunday's 86-59 loss to UConn.
NO. 14 KANSAS 73, KANSAS ST. 67: Wayne Simien scored 19 and Keith Langford 17, and the host Jayhawks held off the Wildcats' second-half comeback.
Junior guard Michael Lee, who missed nine games with a broken collarbone, hit four clutch free throws and scored a career-high 16 for Kansas (10-2, 2-0 Big 12), which looked rusty after an eight-day layoff but still beat Kansas State (8-4, 0-1) for the 27th straight time.
UT 76, NO. 23 VANDY 66: Brandon Crump and Scooter McFadgon scored 20 each for the host Volunteers.
C.J. Watson had 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for Tennessee (10-2, 2-1 SEC), which claimed the lead midway through the first half and fought off a Commodores (12-2, 1-2) rally in the final minutes.
N. IOWA 82, NO. 24 CREIGHTON 73: Freshman Brooks McKowen made six of the Panthers' 12 3-pointers and scored a season-high 24 as host Northern Iowa knocked the Bluejays from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Northern Iowa (8-5, 3-2 MVC) shot 59.3 percent in building a 10-point halftime lead and increased the margin to 21 midway through the second half, enough to hold off a late Creighton (12-1, 4-1) run.
NU 70, NO. 25 ILLINOIS 60: Davor Duvancic scored a career-high 22 to help the host Wildcats (7-7, 2-1 Big Ten) snap an eight-game losing streak to their in-state rival.
Fans poured onto the court and mobbed Northwestern players as the final seconds expired. It was Northwestern's second win over the Illini (10-4, 1-2) in their past 17 meetings and first since 1994.