No. 4 Wisconsin sails to 13th win
No. 12 Connecticut and No. 17 Louisiana State also breezed to victories.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MADISON, Wis. -- Brian Butch had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 4 Wisconsin to a 98-40 victory over Gardner-Webb on Wednesday night.
The Badgers (13-1) also got 13 points from Kammron Taylor, 11 from Alando Tucker and 10 from Jason Bohannon.
Wisconsin scored the game's first seven points, but Gardner-Webb pulled within 9-8 eight minutes into the game. The Badgers then scored the next 15 points as part of a 32-5 run and led 52-19 at halftime.
Before Taylor missed a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left in the half, Wisconsin had scored on 15 straight possessions. The Badgers shot 59 percent in both halves.
Ricky McPhee led the Bulldogs (2-9) with 17 points.
No. 12 Connecticut 84,Coppin St. 41
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Jeff Adrien had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead Connecticut, extending the Huskies' home winning streak to 30 games.
The Huskies (11-0) haven't lost at home since falling to then-No. 2 North Carolina 77-70 on Feb. 13, 2005. Wednesday's win was UConn's last game before the Huskies begin Big East conference play Saturday at West Virginia, their first road trip.
Jim Calhoun's young squad -- three sophomores and two freshmen starters -- breezed through this one, much like they did the first 10 games. They have won by an average of 27 points and played just one opponent from a major conference, an 18-point win over Mississippi on Nov. 19.
UConn will play just two of its next six games at home, with road games against the Mountaineers, No. 17 Louisiana State, St. John's and No. 10 Pittsburgh.
For now, they have enjoyed the comforts of home, both at Gampel Pavilion on campus and the Hartford Civic Center.
Adrien and 7-foot-3 freshman center Hasheem Thabeet anchored UConn's dominant inside game as the Huskies pulled down a season-high 64 rebounds to the Eagles' 33. Thabeet finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and had four of UConn's 14 blocked shots. Freshman reserve center Jonathan Mandeldove made the most of his minutes in the middle, as well. He played just seven minutes near the end of the game and blocked a career-high five shots.
No. 17 LSU 71, Wright St. 45
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Glen Davis matched his season high with 26 points and LSU won a first-round game of the Hispanic College Fund Classic.
Davis, who had never made more than one 3-pointer in a game during his career, hit three 3s and was 10-of-13 from the field overall and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Dameon Mason, a transfer from Marquette, scored a season-best 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers, for the Tigers (8-3). Terry Martin came off the bench and added 14 points, 12 on 3-pointers, for LSU.
DaShaun Wood had 17 points to lead the Raiders (5-6). LSU held Wood to one field goal in the second half.
Leading 36-28 at halftime, LSU outscored Wright State 24-6 in the first nine minutes of the second half with Mason and Davis combining for 14 points. Two 3-pointers by Martin helped the Tigers take a 60-34 lead.
Darnell Lazare sparked the surge that put LSU ahead in the first eight minutes of the game. Trailing by four points, the Tigers went on a 15-5 run. Lazare scored all six of his first-half points during that time as LSU built a 17-11 lead.
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