Advertisement

Top-ranked Wildcats fend off Redbirds

 
Jamal Murray of Kentucky shoots against Illinois State. The freshman guard has 16 points to help the top-ranked Wildcats hold off the Redbirds.
Jamal Murray of Kentucky shoots against Illinois State. The freshman guard has 16 points to help the top-ranked Wildcats hold off the Redbirds.
Published Dec. 1, 2015

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Isaiah Briscoe had 18 points, Jamal Murray added 16 and No. 1 Kentucky overcame a sluggish first half to pull away from Illinois State 75-63 on Monday night.

Outhustled on both ends of the court by the athletic Redbirds through 20 minutes while adjusting to playing without injured starting point guard Tyler Ulis (elbow), the Wildcats (7-0) emerged from halftime more physical and used that energy to gain some breathing room.

Outrebounded 20-12 in the first half, Kentucky beat Illinois State (3-5) 27-17 on the boards and held the Redbirds to 29 percent shooting in the second half.

Marcus Lee added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his second double double in five games.

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell scored 22 for the Redbirds, and Roland Griffin and Mikyle McIntosh both had 14 points.

Nearly a week after battling No. 2 Maryland close before losing 77-66, the Redbirds were just as determined against the nation's top-ranked team.

No. 15 Oregon 78, Fresno St. 73: Dillon Brooks had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the host Ducks (6-0) staved off a late rally. Fresno State trailed 70-52 before going on a 16-2 run.

Stetson 81, FIU 75: Divine Myles scored 18, including six in the final 1:20, to help lead the visiting Hatters (3-4) past Florida International. Adrian Diaz led the Panthers (4-3) with 24 points and nine rebounds.

No. 9 North Carolina: After missing six games while recovering from a broken bone in his right hand, senior point guard Marcus Paige is expected to play tonight against No. 2 Maryland.

Illinois: Starting center Mike Thorne Jr. is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his left knee. The Illini announced the fifth-year senior was injured in Saturday's loss to then-No. 4 Iowa State and had surgery Monday.

Poll: There were five newcomers to the Associated Press top 25 rankings and, because there was a tie for 25th last week, six teams dropped out. Syracuse was the highest of the newcomers at 14th. The Orange, which beat ranked teams Connecticut and Texas A&M in winning the Battle 4 Atlantis, is the 14th team to enter the poll at that position or higher since the poll expanded to 25 in 1989-90. The other newcomers: No. 20 West Virginia, No. 23 Providence, No. 24 Louisville and No. 25 Baylor. Kentucky remained No. 1.

Women

No. 1 UConn 79, Chattanooga 31: Moriah Jefferson scored 15 and didn't miss a shot as the visiting Huskies breezed to their 41st consecutive victory. Three-time defending national champion Connecticut has beaten each of its first four opponents by at least 40 points.

Poll: Big East teams Seton Hall (22nd) and DePaul (23rd) entered, as did UCLA at No. 24. UConn remained a unanimous No. 1.

Other sports

Soccer: Saint Leo's Matt Campbell and Maximilian Schulze-Geisthovel were named to the All-South Region Division II men's first team. … For the women, Tampa's Cici Gonzalez was named first-team all-South Region; Nastasia Asgedom and Miranda Gonzalez were named to the second team.