College Basketball Roundup : Louisville Turns Back Western Kentucky, 60-58

Forget the national rankings--Denny Crum is just happy to get back to .500.

Crum’s defending national champion Louisville Cardinals, stunned by three straight early-season losses, regained some stature by beating eighth-ranked Western Kentucky, 60-58, Wednesday night at Bowling Green, Ky.

“I don’t really think we’ve arrived or anything like that,” Crum said. “The fact that we beat them doesn’t mean we’re a Top 10 team.”

Louisville (3-3) had a six-point lead with three minutes left, but the Hilltoppers (6-2) pulled to within 59-58 on a basket by Kannard Johnson with 16 seconds left.

Kevin Walls made 1 of 2 free throws for Louisville with 15 seconds left and Western Kentucky misfired twice before time ran out.

Pervis Ellison led the Cardinals with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Alabama 87, Arkansas 76--Jim Farmer scored 30 points and James Jackson added 20 as the 18th-ranked Crimson Tide beat the No. 20 Razorbacks at Birmingham, Ala.

The Crimson Tide (3-1) built a 42-31 halftime lead on the shooting of Farmer and center Derrick McKey, who had 17 points.

Tim Scott scored 27 points for the Razorbacks (4-1).

Arizona 105, Hawaii Pacific 85--Jud Buechler scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, and the Wildcats defeated the Sea Warriors at Tucson.

The Wildcats (3-2) led, 55-32, at halftime and kept the lead above 20 points most of the second half.

Richard Tillman had 21 points for Hawaii Pacific (3-5).

Wichita State 61, Mississippi State 48--Henry Carr had 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Shockers beat the Bulldogs at Starkville, Miss.

The Shockers (3-3) hit 61% of their shots in handing Mississippi its first defeat in four games. Hubert Henderson scored 15 points for the Bulldogs.

South Carolina 75, Citadel 64--Michael Foster scored 28 points and Terry Dozier added 24, and the Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs at Columbia, S.C.

The Gamecocks (3-2) made nearly 60% of their shots to build a 44-24 halftime lead.

Craig Bardo scored 22 points for the Citadel (4-2).

Wisconsin 81, North Dakota State 76--Mike Heinemann scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half to help the Badgers build a 25-point lead at Madison, Wis.

The Badgers (5-2) led, 13-0, after 4 1/2 minutes.

Joe Regnier scored 19 points for the Bison (3-2).

West Virginia 65, Virginia Tech 48--Wayne Yearwood scored 18 points and Tyrone Shaw added 17 at Morgantown, W.Va., as the Mountaineers beat the Hokies for their fifth victory without a loss.

Tim Anderson scored 14 points for the Hokies ((0-3).

Virginia 83, East Tennessee State 56--Mel Kennedy scored 12 points, John Johnson added 11 and Richard Morgan had 10, and the Cavaliers trounced the Buccaneers at Charlottesville, Va.

The Cavaliers (4-1) scored 10 straight points early in the game to take control. Carniel Manuel scored 10 points for the Buccaneers (2-3).

Florida 89, Central Florida 54--Vernon Maxwell scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half and the Gators scored the first 17 points to run their record to 5-1 by routing the Knights at Gainesville, Fla.