Times Change for Connecticut, Pittsburgh

No wild comeback. No buzzer-beater. No jumping on the table and gesturing at the fans.

Connecticut’s 81-58 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday at Hartford, Conn., didn’t have any of the things that marked the teams’ last meeting except it was another win for the top-ranked Huskies.

Albert Mouring had a career-high 18 points and Khlaid El-Amin had 17 for Connecticut, 15-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big East.

In seven games since a 70-69 victory at Pittsburgh on Dec. 12, Connecticut has won six by at least 23 points, with the closest being by 13.

“It was no revenge factor. There’s no animosity between the teams,” said El-Amin, who jumped on the scorer’s table and gestured at the Pittsburgh fans after his game-winning shot at the buzzer capped a frantic finish in which Connecticut scored five points in eight seconds. “We just went out and took care of business. We had the better team.”

Connecticut took a 40-23 halftime lead as Pittsburgh (9-7, 1-5) made only 10 of 34 shots and had all of its front-court starters in foul trouble. The Panthers cut the deficit to 42-27 before El-Amid scored the game’s next seven points, and the Huskies went on to lead by as many as 29 points. Three of the previous four games between the teams had been decided by three points or less.

Connecticut’s Richard Hamilton, last season’s Big East player of the year, had a season-low five points. He had scored at least 29 points in each of his last three games.

No. 2 Duke 98, Florida State 73--Center Elton Brand made nine of his first 11 shots and finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds for the the Blue Devils (17-1, 6-0) in the ACC game at Durham, N.C.

It was Duke’s 12th consecutive victory and 32nd in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where Florida State (9-7, 3-2) has never won in nine games. The Seminoles’ Ron Hale, the ACC’s leading scorer at 22.8 points a game, had only six points.

No. 3 Cincinnati 72, Oklahoma 59--The Bearcats (16-1) bounced back from Thursday’s loss at North Carolina Charlotte as five players--led by Pete Mickeal at 17 points--scored in double figures in the nonconference game at Cincinnati.

Just as it did against UNC Charlotte, Cincinnati came out flat and fell behind 6-0, with Oklahoma (13-4) scoring three times close to the basket. Coach Bob Huggins--who criticized his team for showing little emotion at Charlotte--got results by replacing two starters and screaming at his players as the Bearcats went on a 9-0 run and were never headed.

No. 6 Kentucky 63, Mississippi 57--Scott Padgett scored all 13 of his points in the second half at Oxford, Miss., as the Wildcats (15-4, 4-1)--coming off a one-point home loss to Tennessee--beat the Rebels (12-6, 2-3) for the first time in three regular-season Southeastern Conference games.

Kentucky made made all six of its free throws in the final 53 seconds.

Mississippi had more turnovers (21) than field goals (17) in losing consecutive home games for the first time in three seasons.

No. 9 North Carolina 59, North Carolina State 56-- Brendan Haywood, not starting for the first time this season because of a poor two days of practice, had 16 points and three blocked shots late in the ACC game at Raleigh, N.C., for the Tar Heels (15-4, 3-2).

Adam Harrington made five three-point shots in the second half to bring North Carolina State (11-6, 2-4) back from a seven-point halftime deficit, but missed a shot from beyond the arc that could have given the Wolfpack the lead with eight seconds left.

No. 11 St. John’s 88, Rutgers 78--The Red Storm (15-3, 6-1) overcame 62% shooting by the Scarlet Knights (10-6, 3-4) in the Big East game at Madison Square Garden.

Lavor Postell scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half for St. John’s, which won its 14th home game in a row. Rutgers’ Jeff Greer had 23 points.

No. 19 Minnesota 75, No. 12 Iowa 70--Quincy Lewis had 29 points at Minneapolis as the Golden Gophers (11-3, 2-2) ended the Big Ten-leading Hawkeyes’ winning streak at 11.

Dean Oliver scored 13 of his 24 points for Iowa (13-2, 4-1) in 17-6 run that cut a deficit from 15 to four with 1:44 left. But Lewis, who has scored in double figures 19 consecutive games, made a baseline jumper and Minnesota was successful on six of eight free throws in the final minute.

No. 23 Indiana 87, No. 13 Purdue 76--Five players scored in double figures for the Hoosiers (16-5, 3-3) as they won their first Big Ten game at West Lafayette, Ind., since 1993.

Luke Recker had a game-high 24 points for Indiana, which had lost its previous three road games. Purdue (14-4, 2-2) took its only lead on the game’s first basket and was three for 18 on three-point shots.

No. 14 Michigan State 51, Illinois 49--Cory Bradford’s shot from half-court at the buzzer bounced off the rim, allowing the Spartans (14-4, 3-1) to escape with the Big Ten victory at Champaign, Ill.

Illinois (8-9, 0-5) held Michigan State to 35% shooting--well below its conference-leading 49%. The Spartans’ Mateen Cleaves, last season’s Big Ten player of the year, had only seven points.

Massachusetts 64, No. 15 Kansas 60--Charlton Clarke made two free throws with eight seconds left for the Minutemen (7-8) in a nonconference game at Amherst, Mass.

Kansas (12-4) didn’t score in the final 2:10 and was outrebounded, 46-33. Massachusetts got 20 points from Monty Mack and 12 rebounds from Mike Babul.

No. 17 Wisconsin 57, Northwestern 49--The Badgers (16-3, 4-2) opened the second half with a 16-1 run, then needed Sean Mason’s four free throws in the final 30 minutes to preserve their Big Ten victory over the Wildcats (9-5, 2-3) at Evanston, Ill.

Northwestern cut a 15-point deficit to three at 49-46 with 2:21 left but could get no closer. Evan Eschmeyer, who had the first triple-double at Indiana’s Assembly Hall Wednesday, had 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Michigan 84, No. 21 Ohio State 74--Josh Asselin, a 6-foot-11 sophomore giving the Wolverines (9-9, 3-2) an inside presence that was lacking early in the season, had 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots against the Buckeyes (13-5, 3-2) at Ann Arbor, Mich.

It was the fourth victory over a ranked team at home for Michigan, which got a combined 40 points and 10-of-17 three-point shooting from guards Robbie Reid and Louis Bullock.

No. 24 Arkansas 82, Georgia 79--Pat Bradley broke out of a shooting slump with 26 points for the Razorbacks (13-4, 3-2) in the SEC game at Fayetteville, Ark. Bradley made eight of 14 shots, including four of eight on three-point attempts. He was nine-of-39 shooting in his previous four games, missing all 12 of his three-point attempts.

D.A. Layne led Georgia (12-5, 3-2) with 29 points, making seven of 11 three-point shots.

OTHER GAMES

B.J. Bunton made his second game-winning shot in as many games, with his three-point basket with 0.7 seconds left in overtime giving UC Santa Barbara (5-9, 3-1) a 66-65 Big West victory over Utah State (8-7, 1-3) at Logan, Utah.