Oklahoma Outdoes No. 12 Connecticut

With the help of a new arrival, Oklahoma turned its biggest loss from a year ago into a possible springboard for this season.

Junior college transfer Taj Gray had 23 points and 10 rebounds and the No. 25-ranked Sooners held off No. 12 Connecticut, 77-65, on Monday night at Norman, Okla.

The Sooners were ranked No. 6 last season when they lost, 86-59, to then-No. 1 Connecticut. They fell into a tailspin that ended with the Sooners out of the rankings and missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade. They rejoined the top 25 earlier Monday for the first time since then.

Lawrence McKenzie scored 18 points, Kevin Bookout had 11 and Terrell Everett and Drew Lavender each had 10 for the Sooners (12-2), who beat the defending national champions for the third time in four seasons.

Bookout tipped in a miss by Gray to cap a string of three straight baskets and give the Sooners a 72-61 lead with 3:04 to play. The Huskies dropped to 9-3.

No. 7 Syracuse 70, Notre Dame 61 -- Gerry McNamara had 22 points at South Bend, Ind., for the Orange, helping Jim Boeheim to become the first coach with 300 Big East Conference wins.

The Irish led, 57-51, when Josh Pace scored six points in a 14-0 run by Syracuse (16-1, 3-0), which repeatedly scored inside. Notre Dame (10-3, 2-1) was 0 for 7 from the field during the run with one turnover.