No. 15 Kentucky Zones Out

Most college basketball coaches will admit they don’t like to play a lot of zone defense. Virginia’s Pete Gillen isn’t in that group right now.

Devin Smith made three three-point baskets in the final six minutes -- one more than Kentucky managed in the game against the Cavaliers’ matchup zone -- and Virginia beat the 15th-ranked Wildcats, 75-61, Tuesday in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii.

“We played it once last year against Georgetown for 38, 39 minutes,” Gillen said of the zone defense. “I’m not a zone coach but sometimes you have to put your ego in your pocket. We kept it basic, changed a couple of things.”

Smith, a 6-foot-5 junior college transfer, was two for seven from three-point range in the Cavaliers’ first two games, but he made three of four from beyond the arc in the last six minutes Tuesday.

“Luckily, every time I was open I hit the shot,” he said.

Virginia (3-0) will play in tonight’s championship game against No. 19 Indiana.

The Cavaliers’ matchup zone caused all kinds of problems for Kentucky (1-1), which went two for 22 from three-point range, missing its first 17 attempts.

“We had some good looks, but I think we settled for outside shots,” Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith said. “Virginia did a good job going to the zone and then you miss a couple and get tight and the basket gets smaller.”

Brandon Stockton hit Kentucky’s second three-point basket with 7 minutes 5 seconds remaining to make it 56-53, but after Elton Brown scored down low for Virginia, Smith scored the Cavaliers’ next nine points on long-range shots. His last one made it 67-59 with 1:24 to play, and Virginia closed it out from the free-throw line.

Smith and Billet led Virginia with 15 points each, and Keith Jenifer had 13 points and six assists.

Marquis Estill, Jules Camara and Keith Bogans each had 12 points for Kentucky, which shot 37% from the field. Estill played only 13 minutes, getting his third and fourth fouls in the first two minutes of the second half.

In other Maui Invitational games:

No. 19 Indiana 76, No. 20 Gonzaga 75 -- Indiana (2-0) almost squandered its 17-point lead in the final 3:02 but held on to advance to the championship game. Blake Stepp, who had 11 of his 20 points in a closing 22-6 run for Gonzaga (2-1), made a three-point basket with 8.4 seconds left to bring the Bulldogs to within 75-73. But after A.J. Moye made one of two free throws, Stepp’s final three-point attempt missed and Winston Brooks’ layup at the buzzer made it 76-75. Ronny Turiaf had 24 points for Gonzaga.

Arizona State 101, Chaminade 72 -- Freshman Ike Diogu scored 19 points to lead the Sun Devils (2-1) in a consolation game.

Utah 69, Massachusetts 53 -- Nick Jacobsen scored 14 of his 21 points over the final 11 minutes for the Utes (2-1) in a consolation game.

In other games:

No. 13 Marquette 97, Eastern Illinois 74 -- Dwyane Wade scored 28 points on 13-for-15 shooting to help the Golden Eagles (4-0) win at Milwaukee and extend their home winning streak to 19. Robert Jackson scored 18 of his 22 points after halftime for Marquette.

Wade made all 11 of his shots in the first half, along with his lone free throw, as the Golden Eagles raced to a 54-36 halftime lead over the Panthers (1-3). Wade’s highly anticipated matchup with Henry Domercant, a senior who was second in the nation in scoring a year ago with a 26.4-point average, was a mismatch in the first half, although Domercant finished with 27 points.

No. 21 Cincinnati 80, Florida A&M; 53 -- Field Williams made six of 11 from three-point range to score 22 points and help the Bearcats (2-0) win at Cincinnati. Florida A&M; (0-2) got within eight in the second half before Cincinnati pulled away.