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Kentucky hangs on with 24 points from Daniels

Erik Daniels scored a career-high 24 and reserve Antwain Barbour hit four 3-pointers to lift No.5 Kentucky past Mississippi 71-61 on Wednesday night.

Daniels hit an assortment of short shots, and Barbour paced Kentucky (14-2, 4-1 SEC) from the outside as the Wildcats held off several comebacks in the second half.

Barbour hit a career-best 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and finished with 12 points, one short of his career high. His final 3-pointer put Kentucky ahead 64-56 with 2:10 left and stymied Mississippi's final rally. The senior had made just one 3-pointer in Kentucky's first 15 games.

Aaron Harper led Mississippi (10-7, 2-4) with 19 points.

NO. 4 LOUISVILLE 64, HOUSTON 48: The host Cardinals didn't miss Rick Pitino in their first game without the ailing coach. With assistant Kevin Willard coaching, the fourth-ranked Cardinals beat the Cougars for their 16th consecutive victory. Pitino said after the game he might return to the team today after receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment that has caused him pain for months. Larry O'Bannon and Nate Daniels scored 17 each to lead Louisville.

NO. 6 UCONN 96, VA. TECH 60: Rashad Anderson hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 26 and Ben Gordon added 22 to lead the visiting Huskies. Connecticut (16-3, 4-1 Big East) has been No. 1 eight weeks this season but came in having lost two of three. The Hokies played without reserves Fabian Davis and Shawn Harris, who were suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.

NO. 7 PITT 68, BOSTON COLLEGE 58: Chris Taft led a midgame 14-0 run and Carl Krauser had five key points down the stretch to help the Panthers (20-1, 6-1 Big East) hold off the Eagles. Pittsburgh ran its Division I-leading home-court winning streak to 38 but needed a game-ending 14-3 run to do so after squandering a 12-point lead.

NO. 8 CINCINNATI 80, E. CAROLINA 57: Tony Bobbitt made a pair of 3-pointers in the span of half a minute to spark the Bearcats. The Pirates, who have not won a road game in Conference USA in three years in the league, took advantage of Cincinnati's slow start to stay within 10 until Bobbitt's 3-pointers gave Cincinnati a 26-13 lead with 8:08 left in the half.

NO. 11 MISSISSIPPI ST. 82, TENNESSEE 60: Lawrence Roberts scored 20 and Timmy Bowers had 18 to lead the host Bulldogs to a fourth straight double-digit victory. The defending SEC West champions (17-1, 6-1) are threatening to run away with the division. The Bulldogs have a 21/2-game lead over Alabama and LSU.

NO. 12 UNC 68, N.C. STATE 66: Raymond Felton scored 14 and Rashad McCants added 13 to lift the Tar Heels. Sean May had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels (13-4, 3-3 ACC) who snapped a four-game losing streak in the series. Marcus Melvin scored 15 for the Wolfpack (11-5, 4-2).

NO. 15 KANSAS 78, KANSAS ST. 70: Keith Langford scored 19 and Aaron Miles matched a season high with 12 assists to lead the Jayhawks. Wayne Simien added 16 points and Miles had 13 - six in the closing minutes - as Kansas (13-3, 5-0 Big 12) withstood a second-half challenge for its 28th straight win over the Wildcats (9-7, 1-4) and 21st in a row in Manhattan.

NO. 17 WISCONSIN 69, OHIO ST. 57: Devin Harris made 5 of 7 3-pointers and scored 29 to help keep the Badgers tied for the top spot in the Big Ten with Indiana. The Badgers (14-3, 5-1) are off to their best start in conference play since the 1962 team won seven of its first eight.

NO. 24 S. CAROLINA 57, VANDERBILT 55: Kerbrell Brown tapped in Josh Gonner's miss with 1.9 seconds left for the Gamecocks' fifth straight win. It was the Commodores' first loss at home this season. South Carolina (18-2, 5-1) remained atop the SEC East after an ugly game that featured 17 lead changes and six ties, the last with 9.2 seconds to go off Matt Freije's putback of Mario Moore's miss.

NO. 25 OKLAHOMA 78, BAYLOR 67: Jason Detrick had 15 points to lead a balanced attack as the visiting Sooners beat the Bears for the 19th straight time.

NOTRE DAME 72, MIAMI 62: Torin Francis had 17 points and eight rebounds and Chris Quinn added 15 points and eight assists to lead the host Irish (10-6, 4-2 Big East) past the Hurricanes (13-7, 3-3).

UCF 75, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 66: Roberto Morentin had 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the host Golden Knights extend their winning streak to 14.

CHARLOTTE 68, SAINT LOUIS 62: Eddie Basden scored a season-high 18, including two free throws over the final 40 seconds for the host 49ers (12-5, 4-2).

TCU 79, SOUTHERN MISS. 67: Marcus Shropshire scored 29 to lead the host Horned Frogs. Corey Santee added 19 points, and Nucleus Smith had 13. TCU led from the outset after outscoring Southern Mississippi 13-2 to start.

LSU 63, GEORGIA 59: Jaime Lloreda scored 12 of his 18 in the second half for the host Tigers (13-4, 3-3), who led 55-45 with 5:54 remaining before the Bulldogs (9-8, 1-5) began to chip into the lead.

COLORADO: Russell "Sox" Walseth, the winningest men's coach (261-245) at the school, died at his home two years after contracting cancer. He was 77. Mr. Walseth also guided the women's team from 1980 to '83 to a 77-21 record.

NOTRE DAME 59, NO. 17 MIAMI 50: Courtney LaVere scored 15 and the visiting Irish had a strong run at the start of the second half to upset the Hurricanes.

NO. 3 TEXAS 82, NO. 25 NEBRASKA 59: Freshman Tiffany Jackson had 22 points and 11 rebounds in her second start for the host Longhorns.

NO. 7 TEXAS TECH 65, TEXAS A&M 56: Cisti Greenwalt matched a season high with 19 points for the host Raiders.

USF: Two players are out for the season. Junior guard Tristen Webb tore an ACL on Friday at Saint Louis, and junior college transfer Rae Rae Sayles, who has played in five of USF's 19 games, will apply for a medical hardship to retain two seasons of eligibility. Also, senior guard Melissa Tape could miss Saturday's game against Houston with a concussion.

- Times staff writer Pete Young contributed to this report.