BIG TEN Ohio State pulls away from Seton Hall

No. 18 Kentucky handed No. 6 Indiana its first loss of the season.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS -- Sean Connolly scored eight points in a 21-6 first-half run and then made several key plays as Ohio State pulled away in the second half to beat Seton Hall 71-54 Saturday night.
Connolly finished with 22 points as the Buckeyes improved to 4-3. Their previous losses have come to three of the top four teams in the most recent rankings: Alabama, Duke and Pittsburgh.
Connolly's output was his most ever since transferring to Ohio State. His career best was 24 points as a freshman at Providence.
Andre Barrett had 18 points for Seton Hall (3-3), which has lost three of four meetings with the Buckeyes.
Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien was hit with a technical foul at the 12:32 mark of the first half while protesting an offensive foul against Zach Willliams -- and the Buckeyes promptly pulled away.
They scored 21 of the next 27 points to turn a 13-11 advantage into a 34-16 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the half. Connolly scored eight points -- hitting both of his 3-point attempts -- and Matt Sylvester came off the bench to add six points in the flurry.
Connolly opened the second half with a 3-pointer and after the Pirates scored back-to-back baskets, Williams scored inside, Connolly hit two free throws, stole a pass and then assisted on another Williams layup as the Buckeyes streaked to a 43-26 lead by the 15:42 mark.
Velimir Radinovich, filling in for the injured Terence Dials, scored 13 points. Williams also had 13 rebounds and leading-scorer Brent Darby added 12 -- 6 under his season average.
Kelly Whitney had 12 points for Seton Hall, which lost its second in a row.
Ohio State's fourth-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, Dials missed the game due toback spasms.
Dials, from Boardman High, is averaging 7 points and 5.8 rebounds a game for the Buckeyes.
Dials participated in the Buckeyes' shootaround on Saturday morning but complained of back pain when he left the floor. He is listed as day-to-day by Ohio State's medical staff.
No. 18 Kentucky 70,No. 6 Indiana 64
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Kentucky made five free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining after Indiana coach Mike Davis was ejected for running on the court to protest a non-call on a possible game-winning layup by freshman Bracey Wright.
The Wildcats (6-2) took a 65-64 lead on a layup by Marquis Estill with 12.8 seconds remaining.
The Hoosiers (8-1) didn't call a timeout in the closing seconds and the ball ended up in the hands of Wright, Indiana's leading scorer.
He drove to the basket, but missed a layup off the side of the backboard.
Kentucky rebounded, but Davis exploded off the bench and ran to confront referee Bert Smith near the free throw line. He slapped his forehead and screamed that Wright was hit in the face by Kentucky center Jules Camara.
Television replays showed that Indiana's Jeff Newton, not Camara, inadvertently grazed Wright.
Keith Bogans led Kentucky with 17 points.
Newton scored 24 points -- one off a career high -- and Wright added 18 for Indiana.
No. 12 Illinois 85, No. 11 Missouri 70
ST. LOUIS -- Freshman Dee Brown had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds as Illinois, often dominating play, beat in the annual Braggin' Rights game.
The Illini (8-0) beat Missouri (6-1) with three freshmen in the starting lineup.
No. 15 Michigan St. 65,South Florida 56
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Chris Hill and Alan Anderson each scored 12 points as Michigan State won its 35th consecutive game over a non-conference opponent.
Will McDonald and Brian Swift led South Florida (5-3) with 15 points apiece.
Wisconsin 81, Texas Southern 58
MADISON, Wis. -- Kirk Penney scored 23 points, and Alando Tucker had 22 points, including five 3-pointers, for Wisconsin (7-2).
Wisconsin was up by as many as 26 points during in the second half and outscored Texas Southern 24-14 in the paint. Wisconsin scored 22 of its points off of Texas Southern's 19 turnovers.
Michigan 70, Vanderbilt 66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- LaVell Blanchard scored 19 points and Daniel Horton added 17 as Michigan defeated Vanderbilt 70-66 on Saturday.
The victory was the third straight for the Wolverines, who started the season 0-6.