Easy Victory for Connecticut

Though the shots weren’t falling as easily for Connecticut as they had the last few games, the Huskies were still able to put another rout in the books.

The second-ranked Huskies (10-0) were coming off a 129-point performance against Morehead State but were held to under 42% shooting for only the second time all season in an 85-52 victory over winless Stony Brook on Wednesday night at Hartford, Conn.

Coach Jim Calhoun said the scrappy Seawolves (0-8) had a lot to do with it and it was no surprise to him.

Stony Brook is coached by Steve Pikiell, Calhoun’s former player and assistant. Pikiell, the only two-time captain under the Hall of Fame coach in his 20 years at Connecticut, helped lead the Huskies to their first Big East title and first NIT championship (1988).

“Steve’s kids played hard. They didn’t play scared. He wanted them to attack intelligently,” Calhoun said. “Their multiple defenses did hurt us. It was a Steve Pikiell-coached team.”

But it was Calhoun’s team that was faster, bigger and deeper, and the Seawolves had no answer for that, especially inside.

Hilton Armstrong had 11 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high eight blocks. He, Ed Nelson and Josh Boone delivered a dominating inside game for the Huskies, who outscored Stony Brook, 44-28, in the paint.

No. 6 Illinois 89, Southeast Missouri State 64 -- Dee Brown scored 16 points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer at halftime at Champaign, Ill., to lead the Illini to their 13th straight victory.

Southeast Missouri (4-7) made a game of it in the first half, trimming Illinois’ 15-point lead to three when Ketschner Guerrier made a jump shot to cap a 19-7 run and bring the Redhawks to within 27-24 with 3:52 to go.

But Jamar Smith’s three-pointer stopped the outburst, and the Illini (13-0) stretched their lead to 38-29 when Brown scored the final five points of the half, the last three on the buzzer-beater.

No. 9 Michigan State 80, Tennessee Tech 63 -- Maurice Ager scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half as the Spartans struggled to win at East Lansing, Mich.

Drew Neitzel had 14 points, Shannon Brown 13 and Paul Davis and Marquise Gray 10 each as Michigan State (11-2) won its 10th in a row, the Spartans’ longest streak since 2001.

Derek Stribling led the Golden Eagles (8-3) with 18 points.

No. 10 Louisville 89, Fairleigh Dickinson 66 -- Taquan Dean scored 19 points, leading four Cardinals in double figures at Louisville, Ky.

Brandon Jenkins had 17 points, and David Padgett had 16 points and seven rebounds as Louisville (10-1) took control midway through the first half.

Andrea Crosariol led Fairleigh Dickinson (5-6) with 21 points.

No. 14 Oklahoma 81, Oral Roberts 73 -- Kevin Bookout had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Sooners at Norman, Okla.

Oklahoma (7-2) extended its home winning streak against nonconference foes to 45 games, the longest in Division I, but received a tougher-than-expected challenge from Oral Roberts (5-6), the preseason pick to win the Mid-Continent Conference.

No. 16 Maryland 68, Delaware St. 54 -- Nik Caner-Medley scored 16 points, and Maryland (9-2) limited Delaware State (2-9) to five baskets in the first half at College Park, Md, while building a 36-13 halftime lead.

It was the 550th win for Maryland Coach Gary Williams.

No. 19 North Carolina State 81, New Hampshire 62 -- Engin Atsur scored all of his 15 points on three-pointers as the Wolfpack (10-1) cruised at Raleigh, N.C.

New Hampshire is 2-10.

No. 21 Ohio State 87, Gardner-Webb 58 -- Terence Dials had his way inside with 23 points for the Buckeyes (9-0) at Columbus, Ohio.

Gardner-Webb is 5-4.

No. 23 North Carolina 89, North Carolina Asheville 47 -- Freshman Danny Green had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced effort for the Tar Heels (7-2) at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Oliver Holmes scored 16 points for the Bulldogs (2-7), who suffered their fourth lopsided loss to an Atlantic Coast Conference team this season.

No. 24 Wisconsin 78, Louisiana Tech 52 -- Brian Butch scored 18 points on eight-for-12 shooting and had 10 rebounds at Madison, Wis.

The Badgers (10-1), coming off a nearly two-week layoff, are off to their best start since 2000-01.

Ray Nixon, who finished with 14 points, made consecutive three-pointers to start the second half and Butch added a three-pointer of his own during Wisconsin’s 11-0 run to push the lead over Louisiana Tech (7-6) to 25 to start the second half.

Oregon State 78, Texas Pan American 54 -- Sasa Cuic had 20 points and six rebounds to lead the Beavers at Corvallis, Ore.

Nick DeWitz added 13 points and tied a school record with six blocked shots for Oregon State (7-4), which opens its Pac-10 schedule against Oregon this weekend.

Colin Lien led Texas Pan American (2-11) with 18 points.

Alabama Birmingham 90, Oklahoma State 71 -- Marvett McDonald scored a career-high 27 points and Wen Mukubu had 16 to lead the Blazers (7-3) at Birmingham, Ala.

Oklahoma State is 8-4.

St. John’s 51, Massachusetts 49 -- Aaron Spears made a layup with 32 seconds left to give St. John’s the lead, then blocked Massachusetts’ final shot and the Red Storm (7-4) beat the Minutemen (5-4) to win the Holiday Festival at New York’s Madison Square Garden for the second consecutive year.