Vanderbilt Shoots Way Past Alabama

Russell Lakey made two three-point baskets down the stretch and Matt Freije scored 19 points Saturday night as Vanderbilt upset No. 4 Alabama, 70-69, at Nashville.

The Commodores, who improved to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference, came into the game 0-3 against ranked opponents this season. They beat their first top-five opponent since a 75-71 victory over then-No. 4 UCLA on Nov. 22, 1995 in the Maui Invitational.

The Crimson Tide (11-2, 1-1) hasn’t beaten the Commodores in Memorial Gym since 1990.

Alabama trailed by seven points with 3:05 left, but Mo Williams made a three-pointer and Kennedy Winston converted a three-point play to cut it to 63-61 with 50 seconds left.

Lakey, who came in shooting 22% from beyond the arc, made a three-pointer with 20 seconds left.

No. 3 Connecticut 83, Miami 80 -- Ben Gordon had 26 points and eight rebounds and the Huskies (10-1, 1-0) held off the Hurricanes (7-6, 0-2) in overtime in a Big East Conference game at Storrs, Conn. Miami’s Darius Rice, who scored 28 points, made an off-balance three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 71-71.

Louisiana State 85, No. 7 Mississippi State 72 -- Jaime Lloreda scored 19 points and Ronald Dupree had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Tigers (11-2, 1-1) over the Bulldogs (10-3, 0-2) in a Southeastern Conference game at Baton Rouge, La. LSU shot nearly 63% from the field, including six of 12 on three-pointers.

No. 8 Texas 70, Iowa State 50 -- Six players scored in double figures as the Longhorns (10-2, 1-0) broke out of a three-game shooting slump to defeat the Cyclones (10-4, 0-2) in a Big 12 Conference game at Austin, Texas. Brian Boddicker and T.J. Ford each scored 11 points as Texas shot better than 40% for the first time in four games.

No. 9 Oklahoma 69, Colorado 54 -- Ebi Ere scored 20 points and Hollis Price had 19 as the Sooners (10-2) won their 31st straight at home in a victory over the Buffaloes (10-4) in the Big 12 Conference opener at Norman, Okla. Colorado, which came in averaging 79.6 points, was held to its lowest point total since a 78-35 loss to Texas in the 2000 conference tournament.

No. 10 Illinois 69, Wisconsin 63 -- Senior Brian Cook scored 24 of his career-high 31 points in the second half and the Illini (12-1, 2-0) held on to defeat the Badgers (10-4, 0-2) in a Big Ten Conference game at Champaign, Ill. Illinois, which scored 33 second-half points, has won nine straight in the conference dating to last season.

No. 11 Florida 66, No. 20 Georgia 63 -- Florida freshman Anthony Roberson made a 25-footer at the buzzer to give the Gators (13-2, 2-0) a wild victory over the Bulldogs (9-4, 1-1) in a Southeastern Conference game at Gainesville, Fla. Georgia’s Jarvis Hayes scored 25 points and had given the Bulldogs a 63-61 lead with 57 seconds left after his sixth three-pointer.

No. 13 Missouri 77, Baylor 69 -- Arthur Johnson scored a career-high 30 points and had 15 rebounds for his third straight double-double to lead the Tigers (10-1) over the Bears (9-3) in the Big 12 Conference opener for both at Columbia, Mo.

No. 14 Kansas 92, Nebraska 59 -- After Coach Roy Williams pulled his starters and yelled at them, Kirk Hinrich ignited the Jayhawks (11-3, 2-0) to a rout of the Cornhuskers (8-6, 0-1) in a Big 12 Conference game at Lawrence, Kan. Hinrich, who had 28 points, scored nine of Kansas’ last 11 points of the first half and Jayhawks started the second half with an 18-2 run.

Ohio State 81, No. 15 Indiana 69 -- Shun Jenkins, whose career best was seven points, scored 22 points, and Brent Darby had 28, including five three-pointers, to lead the Buckeyes (8-5, 1-1) over the Hoosiers (11-3, 1-1) in a Big Ten Conference game at Columbus, Ohio.

No. 16 Creighton 76, Illinois State 57 -- Michael Lindeman scored a career-high 19 points and Kyle Korver had 17 to lead the Bluejays (13-1, 4-0) over the Redbirds (1-11, 0-4) in a Missouri Valley Conference game at Normal, Ill.

No. 18 Kentucky 62, South Carolina 55 -- Erik Daniels matched his career high with 19 points and capped a late first-half spurt with a three-pointer to lead the Wildcats (11-3, 2-0) over the Gamecocks (7-5, 1-1) in a Southeastern Conference game at Lexington, Ky.

No. 19 Louisville 73, Saint Louis 54 -- Reece Gaines scored 23 points, and the Cardinals (10-1, 2-0) overcame another sluggish first half to defeat the Billikens (6-7, 0-2) in a Conference USA game at Louisville, Ky. Louisville missed 10 of its first 11 shots and trailed, 19-6.

No. 21 Maryland 89, Florida State 62 -- Drew Nicholas scored 23 points and the Terrapins (9-3, 2-0) built an 18-0 lead against the Seminoles (9-4, 0-2) as they cruised to an Atlantic Coast Conference victory at College Park, Md. It was Maryland’s 14th consecutive conference victory.

No. 21 Xavier 99, St. Bonaventure 83 -- David West scored 26 points, Romain Sato had 25 and Keith Jackson had 21 and the Musketeers (10-4, 1-1) shot 65.5% in the first half to hold off the Bonnies (6-9, 1-2) in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Cincinnati.

Kansas State 68, No. 23 Texas Tech 44 -- Gilson DeJesus made five three-pointers and scored 19 points and the Wildcats (10-4) upset the Red Raiders (10-2) in the Big 12 Conference opener at Manhattan, Kan.

No. 24 Marquette 96, South Florida 63 -- Dwyane Wade scored 21 points and the Golden Eagles (10-3, 2-1) led by as many as 37 points in a Conference USA victory over the Bulls (7-6, 0-2) at Milwaukee.

Iowa 68, No. 25 Michigan State 64 -- Glen Worley scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the first half and the Hawkeyes (10-3, 2-0) made seven straight free throws in the final minute to defeat the Spartans (9-5, 1-1) in a Big Ten Conference game at Iowa City, Iowa.