Tucson, AZ – Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Aaron Harrison scored a season-high 26 points and No. 1 Kentucky needed overtime to take down Ole Miss, 89-86, in the SEC opener. Kentucky asserted itself as the most dangerous team in the nation during non- conference play, beating perennial powers Kansas, Texas, North Carolina and UCLA by a combined 97 points before edging in-state rival Louisville, 58-50, on Dec. 27. But the Wildcats (14-0, 1-0 SEC) had a nine-day layoff since that win over the Cardinals and the rust showed as Ole Miss, which lost at home to Charleston Southern earlier this season, took the top- ranked Wildcats to the wire. Harrison made five 3-pointers and 9-of-10 from the foul line while his brother Andrew posted 12 points and five assists. Willie Cauley-Stein provided his usual stellar defense, racking up four blocks and three steals on top of a game-high 12 rebounds. Stefan Moody paced Ole Miss (9-5, 0-1) with 25 points, but missed most of overtime with a leg cramp. Jarvis Summers scored 23 points and Ladarius White added 15.
Final Score: (8) Villanova 90, (24) St. John's 72
New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Darrun Hilliard scored 21 points and No. 8 Villanova downed No. 24 St. John's, 90-72, at a lively Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The Big East Top-25 clash had a March feel with fans of both schools providing plenty of energy in the back-and-forth battle. The Wildcats (14-1, 2-1 Big East) silenced the Red Storm supporters down the stretch, however, and recovered nicely from their first loss of the season. Daniel Ochefu led a dominant frontcourt effort that owned a commanding 40-21 rebounding advantage. Ochefu finished with 13 points and 12 boards, while Dylan Ennis added 15 and nine for the victors. D'Angelo Harrison led St. John's (11-4, 0-3) with 25 points, while Phil Greene IV netted 14 in the club's third straight loss. The Red Storm went 11-1 in non-conference play before falling to Seton Hall, Butler and now Villanova over the past week.
Final Score: (17) Iowa State 63, Oklahoma State 61
Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Dustin Hogue finished with 17 points and eight rebounds and No. 17 Iowa State used two key blocks in the waning seconds to hold off Oklahoma State for a 63-61 win in its Big 12 opener. Hogue shot 7- for-9 from the floor, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, Georges Niang and Matt Thomas each scored 10 points and Monte Morris contributed eight points and six assists for the Cyclones (11-2, 1-0 Big 12), who bounced back from a 64-60 loss to South Carolina on Saturday. Phil Forte paced the Cowboys (11-3, 1-1) with 21 points and Le'Bryan Nash supplied 19 points, six boards and six assists in the loss.
Final Score: (22) Ohio State 74, Minnesota 72 (OT)
Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Marc Loving's floater in the final seconds of overtime gave No. 22 Ohio State a 74-72 win over Minnesota on Tuesday. D'Angelo Russell scored 25 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. Loving added 13 points for the Buckeyes (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten), who ended Minnesota's 14-game home win streak. With time winding down in overtime, Loving came off a curl on the left side of the court, caught a feed from Sam Thompson and got a one-handed push shot to fall. Minnesota had a timeout left but opted not to use it, instead rushing the ball up the court. Thompson deflected a pass, knocking the ball towards midcourt, and the clock hit zero before Minnesota's desperation heave. Maurice Walker tallied 18 points and nine rebounds and DeAndre Mathieu scored 17 for Minnesota (11-5, 0-3).
Final Score: (23) Arkansas 79, Georgia 75
Athens, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Bobby Portis had a game-high 21 points as No. 23 Arkansas opened SEC play with a close 79-75 victory over Georgia on Tuesday. Michael Qualls finished with 17 points and seven rebounds and Alandise Harris supplied 15 points, three boards and three steals for the Razorbacks (12-2, 1-0 SEC), who won their sixth straight game. Nemanja Djurisic had 16 points and seven rebounds and Marcus Thornton and Juwan Parker each netted 11 as the Bulldogs' (9-4, 0-1) six-game winning streak came to an end.
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