Business as Usual for Wisconsin

Dick Bennett is no longer on the sideline, yet his signature defense persists on the court, as pesky as ever.

“I didn’t have time to screw it up,” Brad Soderberg said Saturday after No. 23 Wisconsin routed previously unbeaten Xavier, 61-46, at Madison, Wis., in his first game as Bennett’s replacement.

Soderberg, 38, had pledged the Badgers (3-1) wouldn’t deviate from the disciplined, defense-minded style instilled by Bennett, who retired Thursday after losing his zeal for the game.

And they didn’t, holding the Musketeers (4-1) to 27% shooting and keeping them scoreless for more than eight minutes in the second half.

“I didn’t have time to change anything,” Soderberg said. “The system worked today and our guys just played hard.”

No. 1 Duke 93, No. 17 Temple 68--Eight days after the teams battled to a two-point classic in the Preseason NIT final, the Blue Devils (7-0) made 17 three-point shots and routed the Owls (4-3) at Philadelphia.

Jason Williams had a career-high 30 points and made eight of 10 three-point shots in leading the Blue Devils to the easy victory before a sellout crowd of 19,455 at the First Union Center.

No. 3 Michigan State 97, Illinois Chicago 53--Zach Randolph had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Spartans (5-0) routed the Flames (2-3) at East Lansing, Mich., to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games.

Jason Richardson had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Spartans, who have won 33 consecutive home games.

Kentucky 93, No. 6 North Carolina 76--The Wildcats dug deep into their bench at Chapel Hill, N.C., to end their worst start in 16 years.

Kentucky (2-3) used runs of 18-4 in the middle of each half and outscored North Carolina’s reserves, 38-12, to end their six-game losing streak against the Tar Heels (3-2) in a matchup of college basketball’s two winningest programs.

Reserve Marquis Estill led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while starters Keith Bogans (18) and Tayshaun Prince (15) combined for 33 points. Another key reserve was Cliff Hawkins, who scored 11 points and had five assists in 18 minutes.

The Wildcats turned a 48-47 deficit into a 13-point lead in a span of 5 1/2 minutes as they broke out of their three-point shooting slump. Kentucky had made only 26% of its three-point shots before Saturday, but made seven of 12 in the second half against the Tar Heels.

No. 7 Tennessee 79, West Virginia 78--Terrence Woods made a go-ahead three-point basket with 32 seconds to play and the Volunteers (6-0) rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit against the Mountaineers (4-1) at Morgantown, W.Va.

The Volunteers had missed three consecutive three-point shots in the final 2 1/2 minutes, all of which would have given them the lead, before Woods connected to give them only their third lead of the second half.

No. 8 Seton Hall 63, La Salle 54--Freshman forward Eddie Griffin led the Pirates (4-0) over the Explorers (2-3) at New York.

The 6-foot-9 Griffin, one of the nation’s most highly recruited players, had 20 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks, the first time he didn’t get a double-double in his brief college career.

No. 9 Illinois 76, Kansas State 56--Marcus Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds to help the Illini (5-2) rout the Wildcats (2-2) at Manhattan, Kan.

Illinois, which never trailed, made four consecutive three-point shots to take a 24-8 lead.

No. 10 Florida 83, DePaul 76--Udonis Haslem had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the Gators (2-0) overcame poor shooting by making 11 of 12 free throws in the final 1:24 to hold off the Blue Demons (3-2) at Gainesville, Fla.

Reserve Matt Bonner scored 17 points and Brett Nelson added 16 for Florida, which played without starting point guard Teddy Dupay, who was serving a suspension for violating team rules.

No. 11 Notre Dame 77, Vanderbilt 74--David Graves scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, including a three-point basket with 3:44 to play that gave the Irish (4-0) the lead for good over the Commodores (6-1) at Nashville.

No. 12 Wake Forest 66, South Carolina State 55--Josh Howard and Darius Songaila each scored 14 points to lead the Demon Deacons (6-0) over the Bulldogs (2-4) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

No. 13 Maryland 82, Michigan 51--Lonny Baxter dominated inside with 17 points and five rebounds in only 22 minutes as the Terrapins (2-3) routed the Wolverines (2-3) in the semifinals of the BB&T; Classic at Washington.

Although ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll, Maryland was off to its worst start in 32 years before unleashing its frustrations on the rebuilding Wolverines.

Mississippi 60, No. 14 Oklahoma 55--Freshman Aaron Harper scored 18 points to help the Rebels (5-0) defeat the Sooners (5-1) at Oxford, Miss.

No. 16 Connecticut 97, New Hampshire 70--Albert Mouring scored a career-high 24 points as the Huskies (6-1) routed the Wildcats (1-3) at Storrs, Conn., for their fifth consecutive victory.

George Washington 85, No. 19 St. John’s 75--SirValient Brown scored 32 points to lead the Colonials (5-2) over the Red Storm (3-2) in the semifinals of the BB&T; Classic at Washington.

No. 20 Syracuse 88, Virginia Tech 68--DeShaun Williams and Damone Brown each scored 26 points, both career highs, as the Orangemen (7-0) rolled over the Hokies (2-4) in the Carrier Classic final at Syracuse, N.Y.

Marshall 67, No. 24 Dayton 65--Tamar Slay scored 19 points and the Thundering Herd (3-1) held off a late-game surge by the Flyers (2-3) at Dayton, Ohio.

No. 25 Arkansas 74, Memphis 68--Teddy Gipson dribbled inside to produce two key baskets late in the second half and help the Razorbacks (5-1) hold off the Tigers (2-4) at Fayetteville, Ark.

OTHER GAMES

Arizona State 80, Brigham Young 52--Chad Prewitt scored a career-high 20 points as the Sun Devils (5-1), off to their best start in six years, rolled over the Cougars (2-2) at Tempe, Ariz.

Gonzaga 86, Washington 74--Casey Calvary scored a career-high 29 to lead the Bulldogs (4-1) over the Huskies (3-2) at Spokane, Wash.

Oregon 91, Massachusetts 76--Bryan Bracey had a career-high 24 points as Oregon improved to 5-0 for only the second time in 26 years with the victory over the Minutemen (1-3) at Portland, Ore.

San Diego 82, Oregon State 71--The Toreroes (5-1) shot 60% at San Diego in beating a Pacific 10 team for the first time since 1980.

Oregon State (4-2) had only eight players because of injured and ineligible players.