The Road Still Leads to Nowhere for LSU

Ranked and on the road is a bad combination for Louisiana State. Playing in Starkville, Miss., just seems to make matters worse for the Tigers.

Derrick Zimmerman made a tiebreaking three-point shot with 24 seconds left and Mississippi State overcame a 12-point deficit in the final 5 1/2 minutes to beat No. 22 LSU, 68-66, Wednesday night.

LSU, coming off an 86-60 victory over Arizona at home Saturday that got the Tigers back into the top 25, lost its 16th consecutive Southeastern Conference road game. LSU (16-4, 3-4) has lost seven in a row at Starkville.

“Coming off a great win and to have a disappointing loss is tough for us,” LSU Coach John Brady said. “But until this basketball program can prove that it can win on the road and win in hostile environments and have the composure necessary, we’re not where we need to be.”

Tang Hamilton had 13 of his 17 points in the second half for the Bulldogs (12-8, 3-4).

Torris Bright led LSU with 17 points.

half.

No. 5 Ohio State 51, Wisconsin 48--Michael Redd scored 14 points and the Buckeyes (15-3, 6-1) weathered 37% shooting and two three-point misses in the final seconds to hold off the Badgers (11-10, 3-6) in a Big Ten victory at Columbus, Ohio.

No. 7 Connecticut 74, Villanova 60--Albert Mouring tied his career high with 22 points as the Huskies (16-4, 5-3) stopped the Wildcats (11-8, 2-5) in a Big East game at Philadelphia.

No. 10 Auburn 77, Alabama 63--Chris Porter scored 22 points and the Tigers (18-3, 6-2) held the Crimson Tide (10-9, 3-4) scoreless for a four-minute stretch of the second half in an SEC game at Auburn, Ala.

No. 11 Indiana 87, Penn State 77--Larry Richardson came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points, including 10 during a 16-2 run that carried the Hoosiers (16-3, 6-2) past the Nittany Lions (12-7, 4-4) in a Big Ten game at Bloomington, Ind.

The victory was Bob Knight’s 759th, tying him with Ed Diddle of Western Kentucky for fifth among Division I coaches.

No. 12 Florida 86, South Carolina 82--Teddy Dupay had 20 points, including a go-ahead four-point play, as the Gators (16-4, 5-2) held off the Gamecocks (9-12, 1-7) for an SEC victory at Columbia, S.C.

No. 13 Oklahoma State 63, Texas Tech 59--The Cowboys (17-2, 6-1) made seven of eight free throws in the final minute to beat the Red Raiders (9-9, 0-7) in a Big 12 game at Lubbock, Texas.

No. 20 Iowa State 85, Kansas State 67--Marcus Fizer scored 28 points to lead the Cyclones (19-3, 7-1) to a Big 12 victory over the Wildcats (8-11, 1-7) at Ames, Iowa.

No. 24 Vanderbilt 67, Georgia 58--Dan Langhi scored 26 points and the Volunteers (14-4, 5-3) overcame 23 turnovers to beat the Bulldogs (9-12, 2-6) in an SEC game at Athens, Ga.

No. 25 Maryland 91, Virginia 79--Terence Morris had 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Terrapins (15-6, 4-4) ended the Cavaliers’ five-game winning streak with an Atlantic Coast Conference victory at College Park, Md. Virginia fell to 15-6, 5-3.

WOMEN

No. 4 Tennessee 72, No. 1 Connecticut 71--Semeka Randall made a jump shot with four seconds left at Storrs, Conn., to help the Lady Vols (17-3) hand the Huskies (19-1) their first loss.

Tennessee avenged its 74-67 loss to Connecticut in Knoxville on Jan. 8.

Tamika Catchings led Tennessee with 19 points.

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Tracy Gahan’s free throw with two seconds left lifted No. 8 Iowa State (16-3, 7-1) to a 77-76 Big 12 victory over Nebraska (11-8, 5-3) at Lincoln, Neb. . . . Cal Bouchard scored 19 points and No. 18 Boston College (18-4, 7-1) recorded a 66-55 Big East victory over Miami (8-11, 2-6) at Coral Gables, Fla. . . . Phylesha Whaley scored 20 points at Norman, Okla., and No. 22 Oklahoma (18-3, 8-0) won its ninth in a row, 87-59, over Baylor (5-13, 0-8).