SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Fab Melo had a career-high 12 points and a school-record 10 blocks and No. 1 Syracuse beat Seton Hall 75-49 on Wednesday night in the Big East opener for both teams.
Syracuse (14-0, 1-0) gained control with a staunch defensive performance in building a 34-15 halftime lead.
Melo, who had his first career double-double, pulled in seven rebounds.
Dion Waiters had 15 points and Brandon Triche added 11 for Syracuse, which won easily despite a subpar performance from leading scorer Kris Joseph, who missed all six of his shots and did not score. He did have four steals and four assists.
Jordan Theodore had 14 points for Seton Hall (11-2, 0-1), which had an eight-game winning streak snapped. Herb Pope, fourth in the nation in scoring at 20.3 points per game, had only four points and nine rebounds.
NO. 2 OHIO ST. 87, NORTHWESTERN 54
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - William Buford had career-highs of 28 points and five 3-pointers for Ohio State.
Jared Sullinger added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Buckeyes (13-1, 1-0), who dominated the boards 49-30.
Deshaun Thomas had 16 points for Ohio State, which broke the game open with a 13-0 first-half run fueled by 3-pointers. Jordan Sibert added 12 points, all on 3s.
The conference's top two scorers, Northwestern's John Shurna and Drew Crawford, had miserable games. They were held to 11 and 13 points, respectively, on a combined 9-for-30 shooting.
The loss was the 31st straight for the Wildcats (10-3, 0-1) in Columbus, dating to 1977.
NO. 3 KENTUCKY 86, LAMAR 64
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 18 points for Kentucky.
Kentucky (12-1) opened the game on an 11-2 run and maintained its first-half lead because of its free throw shooting. The Wildcats were 14 of 17 from the foul line in the first half and finished 27 of 33 overall.
Sophomore Terrence Jones of Kentucky returned after missing two games with a dislocated pinky on his left hand. He came off the bench and finished with nine points and six rebounds in 27 minutes.
Mike James had 29 points for Lamar (8-5).
NO. 12 GEORGETOWN 71, No. 4 LOUISVILLE 68
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Markel Starks scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half and Georgetown snapped Louisville's 20-game home winning streak.
Louisville (12-1, 0-1) held a tenuous lead through most of the first half and early into the second.
But Starks, a sophomore, hit all four of his 3-point attempts in the second half and went 7 for 8 from the field as Georgetown (11-1, 1-0) built an 11-point lead before having to survive a rally to win for the ninth consecutive time.
Georgetown freshman Otto Porter had 14 points and 14 rebounds, including two key ones late that helped fend off the Cardinals.
Kyle Kuric finished with 17 points and Peyton Siva had 15 for Louisville.
NO. 6 BAYLOR 54, NO. 15 MISSISSIPPI ST. 52
DALLAS (AP) - Pierre Jackson drove for a layup with 28 seconds left and Baylor remained undefeated.
The Bears (13-0) are off to the best start in school history.
Jackson had a game-high 14 points, the last when he drove around Dee Bost and made up for a series of mistakes only a couple of minutes earlier when Baylor still trailed.
Mississippi State (12-2), which had its 11-game winning streak snapped, had one more chance after that. But Rodney Hood lost control of the ball going up for a shot when Quincy Acy knocked it away. Jackson then swatted the ball to the other end of the court as time ran out.
The Bulldogs didn't score again after Acy was called for goaltending on a shot by Arnett Moultrie, making it 52-50 with 3:20 left.
With just under 3 minutes left, Jackson missed the front end of a 1-and-1. He then had a steal but missed the breakaway layup. He also missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
NO. 9 CONNECTICUT 60, SOUTH FLORIDA 57
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Jeremy Lamb scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half for Connecticut in its Big East opener without suspended coach Jim Calhoun.
Lamb led a game-ending surge with a jumper and three free throws over the final 1:46 to help the Huskies (11-1, 1-0) close out their sixth consecutive victory.
Toarlyn Fitzpatrick had 14 points and 12 rebounds for USF (7-7, 0-1), which hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Calhoun did not make the trip to Tampa, remaining behind as he began serving a three-game suspension by the NCAA for failing to create an atmosphere of compliance within the program.
Assistant coach George Blaney, a former head coach at Holy Cross and Seton Hall, is leading the defending national champions during the ban.
Lamb made 8 of 11 shots from the field and six of eight free throws.
NO. 16 MICHIGAN ST. 80, NO. 13 INDIANA 65
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Keith Appling scored a career-high 25 points and sparked a 20-0 second-half run as Michigan State handed Indiana its first loss of the season.
Appling, who had 18 points in the second half, added seven assists for the Spartans (12-2, 1-0 Big Ten), winners of 12 straight.
Derrick Nix had 14 points and Brandon Wood and Draymond Green added 13 each for the Spartans, who shot 54.7 percent from the field and had a 17-5 edge at the free throw line.
Christian Watford had 26 points for the Hoosiers (12-1, 0-1), who overcame an 18-point first-half deficit with a 25-2 run, only to see Michigan State dig out of a 54-45 hole.
Cody Zeller and Jordan Hulls, key cogs in Indiana's best start since 1976, each managed just four points as the Hoosiers shot 42.2 percent and were outrun in transition.
NO. 19 UNLV 124, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 75
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Chace Stanback was 9 of 11 from 3-point range and scored 29 points to lead UNLV.
Stanback hit his first six shots from beyond the arc for the Rebels (14-2), who had seven players score in double figure.
Mike Moser had 18 points and nine rebounds for UNLV, while Reggie Smith had 13 points in 11 minutes, Quintrell Thomas had 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting, Carlos Lopez had 13 points, Anthony Marshall had 10 points and 10 assists and Justin Hawkins added 10 points.
LaQuentin Miles had 21 points for Central Arkansas (5-7), while Mark Rutledge added 13 and Jarvis Garner had 11.
MISSOURI ST. 77, No. 21 CREIGHTON 65
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Kyle Weems scored 25 of his career-high 31 points in the second half and Anthony Downing scored a career-high 26 as Missouri State opened defense of its Missouri Valley Conference title.
Downing's 23-footer as the shot clock ran out with 1:11 left gave the Bears (8-5, 1-0) a six-point lead.
Jarmar Gulley had 12 points for the Bears.
National scoring leader Doug McDermott finished with 19 points for Creighton (10-2, 0-1) but he only made one free throw after his 3-pointer with 10:39 left gave the Bluejays a short-lived 51-50 lead. McDermott had his streak of 20-point games end at 10.
Antoine Young added 13 points and Josh Jones had 11 for Creighton.
Missouri State won for the first time in six road games against ranked teams
Preseason MVC favorite Creighton lost at home as a ranked team for the first time in 19 games since 1975.