Kentucky's Barbour finally has another e-Rupp-tion

Baylor took it on the chin from 11th-ranked Texas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The last time Antwain Barbour enjoyed so much success in Rupp Arena, he was in high school.
Now a college senior, Barbour scored a career-high 23 points to lead No. 8 Kentucky past Alabama 66-55 on Tuesday night. He was 10-of-13 from the field and showed flashes of being the impact player many thought he would be coming out of high school.
"It was coming sooner or later," Kentucky forward Chuck Hayes said of Barbour's success. "We see it every day in practice. We know what he can do."
Barbour led Elizabethtown to the Kentucky state title in 2000, scoring 42 points in the semifinals, then, later the same day, 31 in the championship game against Lexington Catholic at Rupp Arena.
After leading Wabash Valley (Ill.) College to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I title in 2001 and earning third-team JUCO All-America honors in 2002, much was expected of Barbour at Kentucky. But success has been slow in coming.
Struggled
Barbour started four games last season but struggled with consistency and confidence after a broken hand sidelined him for more than a month. Those struggles carried into his senior season, as he missed two exhibition games and the season opener when Kentucky coach Tubby Smith suspended him following an offseason traffic stop.
Until he made his first start of the season against No. 25 South Carolina on Saturday, Barbour had played fewer than 10 minutes in six of Kentucky's previous nine games. But when leading scorer Gerald Fitch sprained a ligament in his shooting hand last week, Smith said Barbour was the obvious choice to assume the starting spot.
Barbour scored 10 points and had a game-winning three-point play as Kentucky beat South Carolina 65-64, and he single-handedly kept the Wildcats (17-3, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) afloat early against Alabama (11-9, 3-6).
Barbour scored Kentucky's first 13 points -- he equaled his previous career high in just 111/2 minutes -- and rallied Kentucky from a 13-4 deficit. The first points by a Kentucky player other than Barbour came with 8:09 left in the first half when Erik Daniels hit a 14-foot jumper to tie it at 15.
"I just went out and had a lot of fun," said Barbour, who played a career-high 33 minutes. "My confidence was high, and I just wanted to keep it going."
Barbour had six points in an 11-2 second-half run as Kentucky pulled away from a two-point lead. His layup with 11:49 left put Kentucky up 45-34, and the Crimson Tide got no closer than nine the rest of the way while losing its fifth straight.
Alabama entered leading the SEC in 3-point shooting at 37.9 percent, but the Crimson Tide finished 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) against the Wildcats. Leading scorer Kennedy Winston, who had 68 points in Alabama's previous three games, finished with 12 on 3-of-13 shooting.
No. 11 Texas 84, Baylor 58
Kenny Taylor, the first of Baylor's transfers to return to Waco, scored 18 points on six 3-pointers for the Longhorns (17-3, 8-1 Big 12), who won their fifth straight and 12th of 13.
Taylor was the Bears' third-leading scorer last season but, like leading scorers Lawrence Roberts (Mississippi State) and John Lucas (Oklahoma State), he left after Baylor's turbulent offseason when the NCAA relaxed transfer rules.
Harvey Thomas had 20 points for the Bears (7-15, 2-7), who dropped to 0-13 against Texas in coach Rick Barnes' six seasons.
No. 15 Georgia Tech 88, No. 14 North Carolina 77
B.J. Elder scored 30 points, including five straight 3-pointers in a frantic four-minute span of the second half, to lead the Yellow Jackets (18-5, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a two-game losing streak in the league.
Rashad McCants had 28 of his career-high 31 points in the second half for the visiting Tar Heels (14-7, 4-6).
No. 21 N.C. State 75, Florida St. 59
Engin Atsur had a season-high 20 points for the Wolfpack (15-5, 8-2 ACC), who were 14-for-30 from 3-point range.
Von Wafer had 12 points for the Seminoles (16-8, 4-6), who lost their 21st straight conference road game and 11th in a row to the Wolfpack.