North Carolina Tar Heels roll over Kentucky
Published 11:13 pm Tuesday, November 18, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Deon Thompson scored a career-high 20 points to help top-ranked North Carolina beat Kentucky 77-58 on Tuesday night despite playing yet again without national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough.
Wayne Ellington had 16 points for the Tar Heels (2-0), who led by double figures barely four minutes into the game and never looked back in a matchup of the winningest programs in men’s college basketball.
Patrick Patterson had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (0-2), who finished with 28 turnovers in their second straight mistake-prone performance.
North Carolina didn’t really need Hansbrough, who has missed almost three weeks of practice with a shin injury. Thompson provided the frontline scoring punch that’s missing with Hansbrough’s absence. Thompson was 10-of-16 from the field and had nine rebounds.
Other games
No. 7 Texas 76, Tulane 51: Damion James scored 16 points to lead Texas. Dexter Pittman, a 6-foot-10, 300-pound junior forward, muscled over the Green Wave for 10 points and six rebounds in his second career start for the Longhorns (2-0), who had five players score in double figures. A.J. Abrams, who had 21 points in the season-opener, had 15 against Tulane, hitting three 3-pointers.
No. 11 Purdue 78, Loyola 46: Purdue coach Matt Painter can’t wait to get back to Madison Square Garden. Painter attended a tournament there as a middle school student and recalls being in awe. Now, he’ll go back with his team after the Boilermakers reached the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals. Purdue’s win gave it a second trip to New York City in four tries. Now, Painter will be able to share a bit of history with his team, which will face Boston College on Nov. 26.
No. 12 Oklahoma 82, No. 21 Davidson 78: Blake Griffin scored 25 points and pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds, freshman Willie Warren added 20 points and Oklahoma overcame the highest scoring game of Stephen Curry’s career. Curry scored 44 points on 12-for-29 shooting and was 6-for-15 from 3-point range. The Sooners advanced to the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off next week in New York.
No. 14 Tennessee 91, Tennessee-Martin 64: Reserve forward Brian Williams scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Tennessee. It was the Volunteers’ 34th consecutive home victory, breaking the school record set from 1966-68.
No. 15 Arizona State 59, San Diego State 52: James Harden scored 18 points for Arizona State. After trailing most of the game, the Sun Devils (2-0) made three straight 3-pointers to go ahead for good. Rihards Kuksiks’ long shot tied it at 44 with 6:04 to play before Harden hit a 3 to give ASU just its second lead, 47-44. Kuksiks hit another shot from behind the arc for a 50-44 lead. ASU outscored San Diego State 18-8 over the last 6:27, including five free throws down the stretch by Derek Glasser.
No. 19 USC 73, New Mexico State 60: Taj Gibson tied his career high with 22 points and had a career-best 10 rebounds as Southern California achieved its first 2-0 start in eight years. Dwight Lewis added 16 points and Daniel Hackett, who fouled out with 2:38 remaining, had 10 for the Trojans, who won their season opener for the first time in four years last weekend.
No. 24 Kansas 85, Florida Gulf Coast 45: Sherron Collins had a career-high 25 points for Kansas, which raised its 2008 national championship banner. The Jayhawks (2-0) celebrated last season’s national title during a pregame ceremony that unveiled the school’s fifth national championship banner among the other four at the north end of Allen Fieldhouse.
No. 25 Wisconsin 88, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 58: Reserve Jon Leuer scored 19 points to lead Wisconsin. Marcus Landry added 15 points for the Badgers (2-0). Barry Wellington led Edwardsville (1-3) with 15 points.
