College basketball

Men: 'Nova hands KU first defeat

By wire services
Published January 23, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - Undefeated Kansas never stood a chance once Allen Ray, Curtis Sumpter and the rest of the spirited Villanova Wildcats got rolling.

Sumpter scored 25 including five 3-pointers, Ray made four 3s and scored 27 and Villanova led by as many as 32 points in a stunning 83-62 win over No. 2 Kansas on Saturday.

"We had some tough breaks this season, but guys stuck with it everyday," Sumpter said.

The Wildcat fans - who braved the first snowstorm in Philly this year - chanted "Overrated!" early in this one and counted down the final minutes before storming the 76ers' home court in celebration.

It was the Jayhawks' worst loss under second-year coach Bill Self and most lopsided defeat since they lost to Wake Forest by 31 on Dec. 7, 2000.

Kansas made bad decisions and costly turnovers. Self benched his starters for one long stretch in the second half as the game turned into a blowout.

"Villanova exposed us," Self said.

NO. 5 OKLAHOMA ST. 82, BAYLOR 53: The host Cowboys got the blowout they needed to get their Big 12 title defense back on track.

Joey Graham of Brandon scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help OSU rebound from a loss to Texas.

"That game is in the past," Graham said of Oklahoma State's 75-61 loss Monday to the Longhorns. "We just had to focus on this game and play great defense. We just needed to come out and get the victory."

Freshman JamesOn Curry added 14 points, including 10 in the final 2:16, as the Cowboys won the first game at the newly named Eddie Sutton Court and their 25th straight at home. The floor, installed in 1938 at Gallagher-Iba Arena, was named after the Cowboys coach last week. Sutton has 769 victories, good for seventh all-time and two ahead of mentor Henry Iba.

NO. 7 SYRACUSE 72, WEST VA. 64: Hakim Warrick had his usual double double for Syracuse, but the shot he decided not to take sank West Virginia.

The Orange led 65-61 with less than two minutes to play when Warrick pulled down a rebound. Surrounded by Mountaineers, Warrick passed to Gerry McNamara, who hit his fifth 3-pointer of the half.

"We have a lot of veteran guys that can make plays," Jim Boeheim said after the 695th win in his 29 years as Orange coach. "Hak didn't try and force it back up. He found Gerry, and ballgame! It's a smart play, and not many guys make that play."

Warrick had 22 points and 13 rebounds, his 10th double double of the season. The Orange has won 19 of 20 to equal the best start in school history set in 1979-80 and matched in 1999-2000.

NO. 9 BOSTON COLLEGE 79, ST. JOHN'S 73: Jared Dudley scored 19 to lead the visiting Eagles, who remained one of three unbeaten teams in Division I.

The win extended the best start in school history to 16 consecutive wins, three shy of the school's longest overall winning streak set in 1968-69.

With the crowd at Carnesecca Arena held to 2,314 because of a snowstorm blanketing the Northeast, St. John's jumped to an 11-2 lead. Boston College took the lead for good at 28-26 on a 3-pointer by 7-footer Nate Doornekamp with 4:43 left in the first half.

NO. 11 GONZAGA 68, SAN DIEGO 56: Center J.P. Batista scored a career-high 22 for the visiting Bulldogs, who opened the second half with a 16-0 run. The Toreros shot just 10 percent in the second half and 30.6 percent overall. San Diego squandered a 10-point lead in the first half and missed its first 10 shots of the second.

NO. 18 OKLAHOMA 64, NO. 15 TEXAS 60: Kevin Bookout had 18 points, including a wild three-point play in the final two minutes, and 13 rebounds for the host Sooners. Oklahoma, which trailed most of the game, got some breathing room on Bookout's basket in a crowded lane and Drew Lavender's 3-pointer. Bookout was triple-teamed and tossed the ball toward the rim, where it bounced in. His free throw gave OU a 59-55 lead with 1:56 to play.

NO. 19 MICHIGAN ST. 69, MINNESOTA 55: Alan Anderson was 11-for-12 from the free-throw line for the visiting Spartans, who hit 26 of 28 from the stripe. Jeff Hagen, Minnesota's second-leading scorer and emotional leader, made a surprise appearance on a sprained left knee and scored 16.

NO. 23 IOWA 71, PURDUE 57: Greg Brunner and Doug Thomas scored 14 each and the host Hawkeyes built an 18-point halftime lead, rebounding from a crushing overtime loss to No. 1 Illinois last week. Iowa shot 45 percent from the field to hand Purdue its sixth straight defeat.

NO. 24 WISCONSIN 72, MICHIGAN 61: Mike Wilkinson had 28 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the visiting Badgers, who opened the second half with an 11-2 run after leading by five at halftime. Wisconsin next faces No. 1 Illinois on Tuesday, when the Badgers defend their 38-game home winning streak, the longest in Division I.

[Last modified January 23, 2005, 00:15:19]