LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — De’Andre Hunter scored 19 of his career-high 26 points after halftime, and No. 3 Virginia rallied from a 12…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — De’Andre Hunter scored 19 of his career-high 26 points after halftime, and No. 3 Virginia rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat No. 18 Louisville 64-52 on Saturday.
The Cavaliers (24-2,12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed early in the second half before regrouping to hold the Cardinals (18-10,9-6) to 6 of 30 from the field (20 percent) and 31 percent shooting overall. Virginia also found its offense, shooting 59 percent and using a 12-1 run over 4:36 for a 55-48 lead it stretched to 12 for its fourth consecutive victory.
Hunter was perfect after the break, making all six shots to finish 9 of 11 from the field. Mamadi Diakite added 14 points, while Jay Huff came off the bench to score 12. The Cavaliers maintained at least a share of the conference lead in the process.
After making 10 of 16 from long range in the first 20 minutes, Louisville managed just 2 of 17 afterward and lost for the fifth time in seven games.
NO. 4 KENTUCKY 80, AUBURN 53
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky coach John Calipari surpassed Joe B. Hall on the school’s career wins list and is second behind Adolph Rupp.
Calipari is 298-68 in 10 seasons with the Wildcats. Hall compiled a 297-100 record in 13 seasons and led the Wildcats to a national championship in 1978.
PJ Washington scored 24 points to lead No. 4 Kentucky. Washington led three players in double figures and helped lead the Wildcats to a regular-season sweep of the Tigers. The Wildcats (23-4,12-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated Auburn 82-80 last month and made things easier the second time around. Tyler Herro followed Washington with 17 points and Ashton Hagans added 14.
Kentucky played without senior forward Reid Travis, who sprained his right ankle in a 66-58 win at Missouri last Tuesday. Travis is expected to miss the next two weeks.
Chuma Okeke led Auburn (18-9,7-7) with 14 points, followed by Jared Harper with 12 and Anfernee McLemore with 10.
No. 13 LSU 82, No. 5 TENNESSEE 80, OT
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Javonte Smart capped a career-best 29-point performance with a crucial rebound and go-ahead free throws in the final seconds for LSU.
Smart, a freshman who grew up near Baton Rouge, began to take over the game with about six minutes left in regulation, scoring 11 straight Tigers points to prevent Tennessee from pulling away.
Skyler Mays added 23 points, including a game-tying 3 with 1:16 left in regulation for LSU (22-5,12-2 Southeastern Conference), which pulled into a tie with Tennessee and Kentucky atop the Southeastern Conference despite playing without its leading scorer, point guard Tremont Waters.
Admiral Schofield had 27 points and Grant Williams 18 for Tennessee (24-3,12-2), which has lost two of three after spending about a month ranked first in the nation.
