COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Anthony Davis had 22 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks, and No. 1 Kentucky wiped away the memories of the last time the top-ranked Wildcats came to South Carolina with an 86-52 victory Saturday night.
Kentucky (23-1) has won 15 straight and moved to 9-0 in the Southeastern Conference for the first time in seven years. And it will stay atop the rankings, unlike in 2010 when the No. 1 Wildcats were stunned 68-62 by the Gamecocks.
This time, Davis and Terrence Jones made sure there wouldn't be a similar flop. The two combined for 34 points in the first half as Kentucky took a 52-25 lead at the break and eventually increased the margin to 41 points.
Damien Leonard scored a career-high 19 points for South Carolina (9-13, 1-7).
Davis made his first nine shots, finishing 9 of 10, and added two steals.
NO. 2 SYRACUSE 95, ST. JOHN'S 70
NEW YORK (AP) - Syracuse's Fab Melo scored a career-high 14 points in his return after a three-game absence and Jim Boeheim tied Dean Smith for third place on the victory list with win No. 879.
Syracuse (23-1, 10-1 Big East) rallied behind the return of the 7-foot Melo, taking a 41-27 halftime lead and blowing it open by starting the second half on a 16-3 run in front of a sellout crowd of 19,979 at Madison Square Garden, most of whom were wearing orange.
Melo missed the last three games as he resolved an academic issue. He had been allowed to practice with the team and he looked ready from the start of his first game back, once again a force in the middle on the back line of the 2-3 zone.
After tying Smith, the longtime coach at North Carolina, Boeheim trails only fellow Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzewski (919) and Bob Knight (902) on the career wins list.
D'Angelo Harrison had 23 points for the Red Storm (10-13, 4-7).
NO. 3 OHIO STATE 58, NO. 19 WISCONSIN 52
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Jared Sullinger scored 24 points and William Buford hit a critical 3-pointer down the stretch, leading Ohio State to the victory.
Deshaun Thomas scored 16 points and Buford added 11 for the Buckeyes (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten), who held onto their lead in the conference standings. Sullinger also had 10 rebounds.
Ryan Evans scored 14 points for the Badgers (18-6, 7-4), who were 5 for 27 from 3-point range.
Ohio State ended a nine-game losing streak to Wisconsin in Madison - and avoided a repeat of last year's comeback by the Badgers.
NO. 4 MISSOURI 74, NO. 8 KANSAS 71
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Marcus Denmon hit three 3-pointers in the final 2:05, the last for the go-ahead points, and Missouri held on for the big win.
Denmon scored 29 points, ending a long-range shooting slump with a career-best six 3-pointers in nine attempts.
The go-ahead 3 came with 56 seconds to go for a one-point lead. Michael Dixon added a pair of free throws with 9.8 seconds left after an offensive foul on Tyshawn Taylor, and Kansas' Elijah Johnson missed badly on a tying attempt at the buzzer.
Missouri (21-2, 8-2 Big 12) beat Kansas for only the second time in the last 12 meetings, and the Tigers' impending departure for the Southeastern Conference added spice to the final conference meeting in Columbia.
Thomas Robinson had 25 points and 13 rebounds for Kansas (18-5, 8-2).
NO. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 83, MARYLAND 74
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Tyler Zeller scored 22 points, John Henson had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and North Carolina rallied for the win.
The Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got all they could handle from the upstart Terrapins, who didn't lead over the final nine minutes but never let North Carolina get comfortable down the stretch.
UNC star Harrison Barnes, who sprained his left ankle Tuesday against Wake Forest, scored 18 points on 5-for-15 shooting. He started slowly but was instrumental after Zeller picked up his fourth foul with 11:44 to go.
Kendall Marshall contributed 16 assists, helping North Carolina to its fifth straight win and 14th in 15 games.
Terrell Stoglin scored 20 for Maryland (13-9, 3-5).
NO. 6 BAYLOR 64, OKLAHOMA STATE 60
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Perry Jones III had 16 points and 11 rebounds in Baylor's tight win, and Quincy Acy provided the go-ahead basket and a key offensive rebound down the stretch.
The Cowboys (11-12, 4-6 Big 12) rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a 57-56 lead on Keiton Page's wide-open 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:42 to play.
After a timeout, Acy answered at the other end with a layup set up by Pierre Jackson's drive. Acy also grabbed the rebound when Brady Heslip missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 6.8 seconds left, allowing Anthony Jones to hit two foul shots to close it out for Baylor (21-2, 8-2).
Brian Williams scored a career-high 23 points for Oklahoma State, which was bidding to win back-to-back home games against top-10 opponents.
NO. 10 MURRAY STATE 65, TENNESSEE-MARTIN 58
MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) - Isaiah Canaan, Latreze Mushatt and Jewuan Long each scored 11 points and Murray State remained the lone undefeated men's team in Division I.
The Racers (23-0, 11-0 Ohio Valley Conference) brought plenty of fans to cheer the school's longest winning streak. A sold-out crowd of 4,700 packed the Elam Center with fans lining the upper walkway.
Tennessee Martin (3-22, 0-12) lost its 13th straight.
Murray State improved to 40-3 against the Skyhawks and 18-3 in Martin.
Dane Smith led the Skyhawks with 24 points and Myles Taylor added 14.
WYOMING 68, NO. 11 UNLV 66
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Leonard Washington and Francisco Cruz scored 16 points apiece and Wyoming throttled UNLV's high-scoring offense.
Luke Martinez added 15 points - all on 3-pointers - and Adam Waddell scored 14 for Wyoming (18-5, 4-3 Mountain West). The win snapped a four-game losing streak against UNLV (21-4, 5-2) and was Wyoming's first victory against a Top 25 team since beating New Mexico in 1996.
UNLV had two chances after Martinez missed a long 3-point attempt for Wyoming with 22 seconds left, but the Rebels missed both attempts - one a two-pointer to tie it, the other a 3 for the win - snapping their five-game winning streak.
Quintrell Thomas led UNLV with 15 points.
NO. 12 FLORIDA 73, NO. 25 VANDERBILT 65
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Kenny Boynton scored 18 points and Bradley Beal added 16, lifting Florida to its seventh consecutive victory.
Boynton and Beal came up huge in the second half. Beal scored 14 points after halftime. Boynton drained a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining after the Commodores made it a four-point game and then sank two free throws with 25.9 seconds left to seal Florida's 19th consecutive victory at home.
The Gators (19-4, 7-1 Southeastern Conference), returning to the court about 36 hours after their last win, made 11 of 24 shots from behind the arc.
Vanderbilt (16-7, 5-3) committed 17 turnovers, most of them against double teams that followed made baskets. Jeffery Taylor led the Commodores with 25 points.
NORTHERN IOWA 65, NO. 13 CREIGHTON 62
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) - Northern Iowa's Anthony James made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to snap Creighton's 11-game winning streak.
James scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Seth Tuttle added 13 points for the Panthers, who handed visiting Creighton its first loss since late December.
James buried a huge 3 from the corner with 23 seconds left to put Northern Iowa (16-9, 6-7 Missouri Valley) ahead 61-56. Creighton's Antoine Young hit a 3 with 4.6 seconds left to tie it at 62. But James dribbled the length of the court and pulled up for the game-winner at the buzzer, sending Panthers streaming onto their home court.
Young scored 23 points for Creighton (21-3, 11-2).
NO. 14 GEORGETOWN 75, SOUTH FLORIDA 45
WASHINGTON (AP) - Henry Sims scored 13 points and nine rebounds, and Georgetown held South Florida without a point for nearly 11 minutes in the first half.
Otto Porter added 12 points, and Jason Clark had 11 for the Hoyas (18-4, 8-3 Big East), who led 18-5 late in the first half and spent much of the second half with a 20-point cushion.
Augustus Gilchrist scored 15 points to lead the Bulls (13-10, 6-4), who shot 26 percent in the first half and 31 percent for the game. They also committed 17 turnovers.
The 11 a.m. tipoff between the Big East's two stingiest defenses was expected to be low-scoring, but South Florida put on an incredible display of offensive ineptitude when they committed turnovers on nine straight possessions during a 14-0 Georgetown run.
NOTRE DAME 76, NO. 15 MARQUETTE 59
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Freshman Pat Connaughton had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Notre Dame made 11 3-pointers in the victory.
Connaughton shot 5 for 8 from long range, helping the Irish (15-8, 7-3 Big East) earn their fourth consecutive win. Notre Dame has defeated five ranked opponents this season.
Eric Atkins chipped in 18 points and Jerian Grant had 12 in a strong performance by the Irish backcourt.
Marquette (19-5, 8-3) had won seven straight Big East games. Darius Johnson-Odom scored 10 points for the Golden Eagles in the first half, but was held to just two points the rest of the game.
No. 17 SAN DIEGO ST. 83, TCU 73
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Jamaal Franklin had 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead San Diego State over TCU and giving the Aztecs their seventh straight 20-win season.
James Rahon added 16, Chase Tapley 14 and DeShawn Stephens 13 for the Aztecs (20-3, 6-1 Mountain West). SDSU has seven 20-win seasons overall in 13 seasons under coach Steve Fisher, including last year's school-record 34-3 performance.
With No. 11 UNLV losing at Wyoming, the Aztecs regained sole possession of the conference lead.
Kyan Anderson had 22 points and J.R. Cadot 15 for TCU (13-9, 3-4), which lost its seventh straight to SDSU.
NO. 21 FLORIDA STATE 58, NO. 16 VIRGINIA 55
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Reserve Okaro White scored 13 points, Xavier Gibson added 10 points and Florida State earned its seventh straight Atlantic Coast Conference victory.
Virginia (17-4, 4-3) trailed by 13 in the second half but couldn't complete the comeback. Virginia's four losses this season have come by a total of 10 points.
Mike Scott and Joe Harris led the Cavaliers with 16 points apiece. Scott also had a game-high 11 rebounds.
It's the first time Florida State (16-6, 7-1) has won seven straight games in ACC play since joining the league in 1991-92.
NO. 20 INDIANA 78, PURDUE 61
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Victor Oladipo scored a career-high 23 points to help Indiana break a five-game losing streak against its in-state rival.
Cody Zeller had 16 points and eight rebounds and freshman Remy Abell scored a season-best 13 points for the Hoosiers (18-6, 6-6 Big Ten). Verdell Jones III, one of Indiana's primary ballhandlers, missed the game with a shoulder injury.
The Hoosiers had lost five of their previous seven games, but claimed just their fourth road win of the season.
Robbie Hummel had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Purdue. D.J. Byrd scored 15 points and Kelsey Barlow added 12 for the Boilermakers (15-8, 5-5).
NO. 22 MISSISSIPPI STATE 91, AUBURN 88
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Arnett Moultrie scored 21 points and Renardo Sidney added 17 to lead Mississippi State to the win.
Dee Bost hit three consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half, turning Mississippi State's 44-43 deficit into a 52-44 lead. The Bulldogs (18-5, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) never trailed again, shooting 60.4 percent (29 of 48), including 63.2 percent (12 of 19) from 3-point range.
Bost finished with 15 points and seven assists. Jalen Steele added 13 points while Rodney Hood scored 11.
Auburn (13-10, 3-6) was led by reserve Varez Ward, who scored a season-high 24 points. Kenny Gabriel added 22 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 24 GONZAGA 72, PEPPERDINE 60
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - Kevin Pangos and Robert Sacre each scored 15 points, helping Gonzaga beat Pepperdine.
The Bulldogs' 15-point lead shrunk to two points midway through the second half before they held on to win their 22nd straight in the series. Guy Landry Edi scored 13 points and Elias Harris added nine for Gonzaga (18-4, 8-2 West Coast Conference), which broke out of a 3-point shooting slump to go 7 of 16 from beyond the arc.
Corbin Moore had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Joshua Lowry added 11 points for Pepperdine (8-15, 2-10), which lost for the 10th time in 11 games.