Badgers rout Penn St., maintain Big Ten lead

Unranked Marshall beat No. 9 West Virginia on a night filled with upsets.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MADISON, Wis. -- Alando Tucker scored 17 points and No. 23 Wisconsin snapped a two-game losing streak with a 72-43 victory over Penn State on Wednesday night.
Despite the recent defeats -- and losing two of their top reserves to academic suspension in the past week -- Wisconsin (15-4, 5-1) remains atop the Big Ten standings.
Wisconsin shot 13-for-34 from 3-point range to recover from a poor shooting performance in Saturday's home loss to North Dakota State.
The Badgers shook off their shooting gremlins early, making more 3-pointers in the first 8:15 of the game than they did in 40 minutes on Saturday. Ray Nixon's 3-pointer with 11:45 remaining in the first half gave the Badgers a 21-5 lead.
The Badgers were 8-of-16 from 3-point range in the first half, including Tucker's shot at the buzzer that made it 40-18.
Tucker, Wisconsin's leading scorer, was playing without his protective face mask for first time since sustaining a nasal injury in a Nov. 29 loss at Wake Forest.
Geary Claxton had 17 points for the Nittany Lions (10-7, 2-4), who couldn't shoot themselves back into the game, and their occasional fullcourt press failed to rattle the Badgers.
Wisconsin announced that reserve forwards Greg Stiemsma and Marcus Landry are academically ineligible for the rest of the season.
Marshall 58, No. 9 West Virginia 52
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Mark Patton had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Marshall beat West Virginia, ending the nation's longest winning streak at 12 games. It marked the fourth straight meeting between the state's only Division I schools to be decided by six points or less. Joe Miles added 13 points and Tre Whitted had 11 for Marshall (8-9). Kevin Pittsnogle led West Virginia (14-4) with 20 points, while Mike Gansey was held to 10 -- 10 below his average.
No. 1 Connecticut 66, St. John's 50
STORRS, Conn. -- Rudy Gay had 20 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals and Connecticut survived its first test as the top-ranked team. The typically physical Big East game got ugly at times. There were two technical fouls and two players -- UConn's Jeff Adrien and St. John's Aaron Spears -- were ejected for fighting in the second half. Both will miss the next game in compliance with NCAA rules.
South Carolina 68, No. 5 Florida 62
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Tarence Kinsey had 19 points and South Carolina ended a nine-game losing streak to Florida. The Gators (17-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) failed to extend the best start in school history with their 80-76 loss to Tennessee last Saturday. Taurean Green led the Gators with 17 points.
Michigan 72,No. 11 Michigan St. 67
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Daniel Horton scored 23 points and Michigan held on to beat its rival for the second time in 14 meetings. The Wolverines (14-3, 4-2 Big Ten) led by seven points with 2:37 left. The Spartans (15-5, 3-3) pulled within two, but Michigan State's Paul Davis had a shot blocked and missed a 3-pointer in the final minute. Maurice Ager, who led the Spartans with 18 points, missed a 3-pointer with two seconds left and Dion Harris sealed the victory with two free throws.
No. 14 George Washington 94,Duquesne 78
PITTSBURGH -- Pops Mensah-Bonsu took advantage of Duquesne's depleted frontcourt to score a career-high 29 points for George Washington (15-1, 5-0), the only unbeaten team in the Atlantic 10. Duquesne led 21-15 in the first half and trailed by only one point, at 65-64, before the Colonials outscored them 29-14 the rest of the way.
Seton Hall 83, No. 15 N.C. State 65
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Donald Copeland had 22 points, Kelly Whitney added 17 and Seton Hall handed North Carolina State its first home loss of the season. Jamar Nutter and Paul Gause each finished with 12 points for the Pirates (11-6).
No. 18 Maryland 86, Georgia Tech 74
ATLANTA -- Nik Caner-Medley scored a career-high 33 points and Maryland shook off the loss of leading scorer Chris McCray. Earlier in the week, McCray was suspended from the team for academic reasons, ending his college career. He was not only Maryland's top scorer (15.2 points) but its defensive catalyst.
No. 19 Tennessee 88,Mississippi St. 65
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- C.J. Watson scored 19 points and Andre Patterson added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Tennessee (13-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference). Tennessee never trailed, shot 52 percent and led by as many as 25 points in beating outmanned Mississippi State (11-8, 1-5) for the second straight time.
No. 24 Oklahoma 82, Baylor 52
WACO, Texas -- Michael Neal and Terrell Everett did most of the scoring in the first half for Oklahoma which beat Baylor for the 23rd straight time. Neal and Everett combined for 23 points in the first half, including all 11 for the Sooners (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) in the 21/2-minute spurt that put them ahead to stay.
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