COLLEGE BASkETBALL ROUNDUP Wednesday’s top men’s 25 games

No. 2 Virginia 81, Georgia Tech 51

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.

Ty Jerome scored 19 points, De’Andre Hunter had 18 and No. 2 Virginia took command with a 25-4 first-half run and beat reeling Georgia Tech. Virginia’s lead was 41-22 at halftime and 51-24 after a 10-2 run to start the second half as the Cavaliers (25-2, 13-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their fifth in a row in the series. Kyle Guy added 11 points and three others had eight. Jose Alvarado scored 12 and James Banks III had 11 for the Yellow Jackets (12-17, 4-12).

No. 7 Tennessee 73, Mississippi 71

OXFORD, MISS.

Grant Williams scored 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with four seconds left, to lift No. 7 Tennessee over Mississippi. Tennessee (25-3, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) bounced back from a tough loss to LSU on Saturday with a hard-fought victory over the Rebels. Breein Tyree and Terence Davis led the Rebels (19-9, 9-6) with 16 points each.

No. 8 Houston 99, East Carolina 65

GREENVILLE, N.C.

Corey Davis Jr. matched his career high with 26 points to help eighth-ranked Houston beat East Carolina in a game that included multiple technical fouls against the Pirates and three ejections after halftime. Fabian White Jr. added 16 points for the Cougars (27-1, 14-1 American Athletic Conference), who shot 60 percent. Seth LeDay had 17 points for the Pirates (10-17, 3-12), who trailed 45-31 by the break and never recovered. ECU coach Joe Dooley and sophomore guard Shawn Williams were ejected along with a fan during a stretch that had the home crowd irate with officials — and some throwing trash toward the court.

Villanova 67, No. 10 Marquette 61

VILLANOVA, PA.

Jermaine Samuels scored a career-high 29 points and Villanova snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over No. 10 Marquette. Saddiq Bey hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:31 left to help the Wildcats (21-8, 12-4 Big East) keep their hopes alive for a conference title with a needed win in their final game of the season. Markus Howard, who scored 25 points, reached 1,000 points in his career and proved again why he’s the top Big East player of the year candidate.

No. 11 Texas Tech 84, Oklahoma St. 80, OT

LUBBOCK, TEXAS

Davide Moretti had 20 points, including four free throws in the final 18 seconds of overtime, and No. 11 Texas Tech escaped with a win over Oklahoma State to move into a share of the Big 12 lead. Jarrett Culver had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Raiders (23-5, 11-5). They blew a 14-point lead in the second half. The win put the Red Raiders into a first-place tie with No. 16 Kansas State and a game ahead of the 15th-ranked Jayhawks. Lindy Waters hit four 3-pointers in the final 55 seconds. Waters finished with 26 points and seven 3s. Thomas Dziagwa added 20 points with six 3s for the Cowboys (10-18, 3-12). Owens had 16 points for Tech.

No. 14 Purdue 73, Illinois 56

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND.

Carsen Edwards broke out of a shooting slump to score 23 points, and No. 14 Purdue got its fourth straight victory, beating Illinois. Edwards went 8 of 14 from the field for the Boilermakers (21-7, 14-3 Big Ten), who moved into a tie atop the conference with No. 6 Michigan State. Matt Haarms had 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting, 10 rebounds and five blocks for Purdue. Ayo Dosunu and Andres Feliz led cold-shooting Illinois (10-18, 6-11) with nine points apiece.

Penn State 78, No. 17 Maryland 61

STATE COLLEGE, PA.

Lamar Stevens scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, and Penn State had an easy time with No. 17 Maryland in a win. Myles Dread had 17 points and Myreon Jones added 10 for the Nittany Lions (12-16, 5-12 Big Ten), who led for all but 51 seconds to win their third in a row. Anthony Cowan Jr. led Maryland (21-8, 12-6) with 15 points, and Aaron Wiggins chipped in 11. The Nittany Lions forced eight turnovers in the first half, turned them into 12 points and took the lead for good with a 13-2 run that broke a 3-3 tie less than two minutes in. John Harrar made a layup, drew a foul and hit his free throw to give Penn State a 42-20 lead at halftime.

No. 23 Cincinnati 52, SMU 49

DALLAS

Rashawn Fredericks put No. 23 Cincinnati ahead to stay with his only two field goals and the Bearcats beat SMU. Fredericks finished with six points for the Bearcats (24-4, 13-2 American Athletic Conference), and his consecutive layups midway through the second half made it 36-33. That was part of an 8-0 run, and Cincinnati never trailed again. Jarron Cumberland led Cincinnati with 12 points. Cincinnati has won 12 of its last 13 games. Jahmal McMurray had 27 points for SMU (13-14, 5-10), which has lost seven of eight.

Associated Press