LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Aaron Harrison scored 22 points, Willie Cauley-Stein added 15, and third-ranked Kentucky earned its 500th Rupp Arena win by beating Eastern Michigan 81-63 on Wednesday.
Two days after escaping Cleveland State with a late rally, the Wildcats (6-1) was more methodical in improving to 500-62 lifetime in the 37-year-old home named for legendary coach Adolph Rupp. Leading just 35-32 at halftime, Kentucky steadily built it to double digits with 12:52 left and led by as many as 18 with three minutes remaining.
Kentucky controlled the glass, outrebounding the Eagles 52-33 including 19 offensive and scoring 23 second-chance points.
Julius Randle helped with all 14 points and nine of his 10 rebounds coming after halftime in posting his seventh double-double. Cauley-Stein had eight rebounds, Aaron Harrison seven and James Young six.
Kentucky also held EMU (5-1) to 24-of-66 shooting (36 percent) in dealing the Eagles their first loss.
No. 4 ARIZONA 66, DREXEL 62
NEW YORK (AP) - Nick Johnson scored 20 points and freshman Aaron Gordon had 10 points and 13 rebounds and Arizona rallied from a terrible first half to beat Drexel in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Wildcats used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to wipe out an 18-point first-half deficit and take their first lead of the game, 33-31 on a basket by Brandon Ashley with 16:11 to play.
That was the first of 11 lead changes in a span of 8 1-2 minutes as the Dragons stayed around a lot longer than most thought they would.
The Wildcats (6-0) will face No. 6 Duke on Friday night for the championship at Madison Square Garden.
Chris Fouch led Drexel with 29 points on 11-of-27 shooting and Frantz Massenat added 17.
No. 6 DUKE 74, ALABAMA 64
NEW YORK (AP) - Jabari Parker matched his season-high with 27 points, setting the Duke record for consecutive 20-point games to start a career and the Blue Devils beat Alabama in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Parker, one of the heralded freshmen in college basketball this season, was 9 of 12 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free throw line in matching his point total in the Blue Devils' only loss, 83-54 to No. 2 Kansas and breaking the 20-point mark for the seventh time.
The Blue Devils (6-1), who committed a season-high 19 turnovers will face No. 4 Arizona, which beat Drexel 66-62, in the championship game on Friday at Madison Square Garden. It's a matchup of the program with the most NIT Season Tip-Off titles - Duke with four - against one of three programs tied for second with three.
No. 8 SYRACUSE 74, No. 18 BAYLOR 67
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) - C.J Fair scored 14 of his 24 points in the second half and Syracuse beat Baylor for the Maui Invitational title.
The Orange (7-0) delivered three wins in three days, taking control against Baylor midway through the first half and limiting the Bears' hopes of a comeback. Syracuse improved to 9-0 all-time at Maui.
Baylor had 10-2 run to make it 68-62 with Cory Jefferson dunking an alley-oop pass, but Fair responded immediately with a jumper with just over two minutes left.
Jefferson led Baylor (6-1) with 15 points.
No. 10 WISCONSIN 70, WEST VIRGINIA 63
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) - Sam Dekker scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help Wisconsin beat West Virginia to remain unbeaten and win the Cancun Challenge championship.
With 15 assists, Wisconsin (7-0) played team ball - four players scored in double digits - while West Virginia (5-2) was led by Evon Harris, with a game-high 27 points and a career-high seven 3-pointers, and Juwan Staten, with 18 points.
The Badgers are off to their best start ever under Bo Ryan. Ben Brust scored 16 points, Josh Gasser had 11, Frank Kaminsky had 10, and the Badgers made 16 of 17 free-throw attempts.
The Badgers led 39-31 at halftime, then held off a Mountaineers surge that made it a four-point game with 3:56 to play.
No. 11 GONZAGA 91, ARKANSAS 81
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) - Kevin Pangos scored 32 points and No. 11 Gonzaga easily beat Arkansas in the Maui Invitational.
Pangos made seven of eight 3-point attempts, including four during a 3-minute stretch in the second half that led the Bulldogs to an 18-point lead.
He did more than just shoot 3s - He had four assists and three rebounds, plus several layups in traffic in moments the game was still close.
Gonzaga (6-1) never trailed and responded each time the Razorbacks tried to string together baskets.
Sam Dower Jr. scored 19 points. Gary Bell Jr. had 13.
Gonzaga bounced back for two wins and fifth place in the early-season tournament after losing in the first round to Dayton.
Bobby Portis had 18 points for Arkansas (4-2).