Vanderbilt Beats Another Ranked Team

For the third consecutive game, Vanderbilt looked like a good team in defeating a ranked opponent. Now the Commodores are starting to feel like a good team.

Even with their leading scorer, Dan Langhi, held to his lowest point total in 22 games, the Commodores found a way to defeat No. 24 Louisiana State, 65-62, Saturday at Nashville.

“That’s the sign of great team,” Langhi said. “I’m not going to be able to go out and score every night. A great team has to have somebody step up.”

Langhi came in averaging 23.4 points per game, the best in the Southeastern Conference. His 12 points against LSU marked his lowest output since scoring nine points at South Carolina last January.

Guard James Strong took over, scoring 22 points on eight-of-13 shooting. His driving basket in the closing minute provided the final margin.

LSU’s Jermaine Williams missed a three-point shot at the buzzer as the Tigers (13-3, 1-3 SEC) dropped their third consecutive SEC game.

It was Vanderbilt’s third victory in 10 days over a ranked team. The Commodores (12-2, 3-1) defeated No. 12 Tennessee, 76-73, last week and defeated then-No. 6 Florida, 87-77, on Jan. 5.

No. 8 Kansas 97, Nebraska 82--Luke Axtell scored 15 points and the Jayhawks remained unbeaten at home with a victory over the Cornhuskers.

Axtell, a 6-foot-10 transfer from Texas, made three three-point baskets and hit a pair of free throws that kept the Jayhawks (14-2, 3-0 Big 12) in charge with a 66-46 lead with 12:43 remaining. It was the first time Axtell had led his new team in scoring.

The Cornhuskers (7-9, 0-3), trying to avert their first 0-3 start in conference play in seven years, trailed by only two points until Kansas went on a 17-2 run at the end of the first half. The Jayhawks then scored the first four points of the second half to open up to a 53-32 lead.

No. 9 Indiana 86, Minnesota 61--A.J. Guyton scored 19 points and Kirk Haston 18 as the Hoosiers overcame 22 points by Joel Przybilla with two big runs for a victory at Bloomington, Ind.

Indiana (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) pulled away with big spurts in each half, the second an 11-4 run that included consecutive three-point baskets by Lewis and one by Guyton.

Minnesota (10-4, 2-2) made its first four shots and five of its first seven, taking a 14-10 lead on a layup by Przybilla, its 7-foot center. But the Golden Gophers went without a basket for more than six minutes as Indiana went on a 14-2 run.

No. 12 Tennessee 98, Mississippi 60--Tony Harris scored 21 points, including six three-point baskets, as the Volunteers defeated the Rebels at Knoxville, Tenn.

Harris made six of his seven three-point shots as the Volunteers, who led by as many as 41 points in the second half, improved to 15-2 overall and 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference.

John Gunn led Ole Miss (12-5, 0-4) with 14 points, and Marcus Hicks added 12.

No. 14 Oklahoma St. 56, Baylor 41--NCAA assist leader Doug Gottlieb had seven more on his 24th birthday and also scored 13 points as the Cowboys won at Waco, Texas.

During a second-half stretch when the Cowboys (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) took only nine shots in about 10 minutes, Gottlieb, who averages 7.6 assists, had three baskets.

After the Bears (9-5, 0-3) got within 35-29 on an inside basket by Ben Echols, Gottlieb hit a key three-point basket. Then after Gottlieb’s steal and layup with 12:08 left, the Cowboys led 42-31 and maintained at least a nine-point lead the rest of the game.

No. 15 Texas 79, No. 16 Oklahoma 66--Gabe Muoneke scored 30 points, including 20 in the second half, as the Longhorns defeated the Sooners at Austin, Texas, in the nation’s only matchup of ranked teams.

Muoneke was 12 of 14 from the field and 6 of 9 from the free-throw line for Texas (11-4, 3-0 Big 12), which took advantage of the physical game by going 28 of 34 from the line.

Oklahoma’s Eduardo Najera, locked in a scoring battle with Muoneke most of the night, led the Sooners (14-2, 2-1) with 28 points.

No. 17 Ohio State 58, Northwestern 44--Scoonie Penn scored 15 points, Brian Brown 14 and Ken Johnson added 12 as the Buckeyes played sluggishly but won at Evanston, Ill.

Ohio State (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten) has won seven of its last eight, while Northwestern (4-11, 0-3) lost its sixth in a row.

The game wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicates. The Buckeyes didn’t score a basket in the last 4:45 while Northwestern finished with a 10-0 run.

Georgia Tech 69, No. 18 Maryland 68--Shaun Fein scored 17 points for the Yellow Jackets, including two critical free throws with 53 seconds remaining, and the Terrapins fell at Atlanta.

Juan Dixon scored a career-high 31 points and blocked a shot by Fein with about 15 seconds left. Maryland got the ball back to Dixon, who drove in the lane but had the ball knocked away by a horde of defenders as the clock ran out.

Maryland (11-5) dropped to 0-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time since 1995-96, which also was the last season the Terrapins lost to Tech (8-7, 1-2).

No. 20 Kentucky 64, South Carolina 48--Jamaal Magloire scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half and the Wildcats recovered from their loss to Auburn with a victory at Columbia, S.C.

The Wildcats (11-5, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) trailed the Tigers by as many as 14 in the first half Tuesday night on the way to a 66-63 loss. They made sure not to repeat that mistake, using a 14-2 run midway through the opening period to grab a 25-14 lead and defeat the Gamecocks for the sixth consecutive time.

South Carolina (9-7, 1-2) had taken undefeated Syracuse to overtime Thursday night before losing 77-74. But the Gamecocks ended with 17 turnovers and just 13 field goals.

St. Bonaventure 57, No. 23 Temple 56--J.R. Bremer’s three-point basket with 2.8 seconds left gave the Bonnies a victory at Olean, N.Y.

St. Bonaventure (12-2, 4-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) didn’t lead in the second half until Bremer made the game-winning basket. Bremer, who missed the first eight games of the season with a broken right foot, was four of five from three-point range in scoring 14 points against the Owls (9-4, 3-1).

St. Bonaventure has its best record at this stage since the 1970 team was 13-1 on the way to advancing to the NCAA tournament Final Four.

Marquette 66, No. 25 Louisville 64--Jon Harris hit a layup with 20.1 seconds left in overtime as the Golden Eagles won at Milwaukee for their second victory over a ranked opponent in four days.

The Cardinals (10-5, 2-2 C-USA) lost this week to UAB and Marquette, two teams expected to finish below them in the conference standings. Louisville still hasn’t won a road game this season, with losses at Virginia Commonwealth and Kentucky in addition to this weekend’s woes.

The Golden Eagles (10-5, 3-1), who have won five of their last six, defeated No. 21 DePaul on Wednesday.