NEW YORK — NCAA College men’s top 25 basketball scores from the games that took place on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, Feb. 14. There were wins for Kentucky, Duke, Virginia and Gonzaga on the busy day of action.
(4) Duke 80, Syracuse 72
No. 4 Duke recovered from a patchy start to outscore Syracuse 44-33 in the second half on their way to an 80-72 victory at Carrier Dome in New York.
Jahlil Okafor, who was 10-of-15 from the field, battled his way past the constant double-team work against him to grab double-double figures of 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead the way for the Blue Devils (22-3), who were recording their fifth win in a row and eighth in the last nine games.
Senior guard Quinn Cook added 17 points, five assists and two steals, with Justise Winslow finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds and Tyus Jones ending with 11 points, six assists and six boards for Duke, which shot 47.4 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from three-pointers.
Michael Gbinije paced Syracuse (16-9) with a game-high 27 points. He also grabbed six rebounds and four assists in the defeat for the Orange.
Tyler Roberson had 19 points and 10 boards and senior Rakeem Christmas finished with 11 points, six rebounds, five blocks and five assists for Syracuse, which dropped two of its last three and four of the last six outings.
The Orange led 39-36 at halftime.
(1) Kentucky 77, South Carolina 43
No.1 Kentucky remains unbeaten in the 2014-15 season with a dominating 77-43 victory over South Carolina at home and improved to 25-0, which matches their best start in school history.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 43-18 lead at the half and never looked back, as the Gamecocks suffered their worst defeat in 15-years.
Sharing the spotlight on the day for Kentucky were Willie Cauley-Stein, who scored 14 points and seven rebounds and Aaron Harrison, who added 11 points. Dakari Johnson collected 10 points and 13 boards off the bench in the victory for the Wildcats, who shot 50.0-percent from the field on 27-of-54 shooting.
Sindarius Thornwell scored a game-high 20 points to lead South Carolina, which was held to just 23.6 percent shooting from the field.
Michigan St 59, (23) Ohio State 56
Denzel Valentine knocked down a three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left and Michigan State defeated No. 23 Ohio State 59-56 at Breslin Center on Saturday.
Valentine, who was 5-of-9 from behind the arc, finished with 17 points to lead the way for the Spartans, who collected 15 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and four assists from Branden Dawson.
Shannon Scott led the way for the Buckeyes with 15 points, while D’Angelo Russell, Jae’Sean Tate and Sam Thompson all chipped in with 10 points.
Pittsburgh 89, (12) North Carolina 76
Another upset on Saturday saw No. 12 North Carolina falling 89-76 to Pittsburgh.
Jeter Sheldon paced the Panthers with 22 points, as all five starters on the victory team scored in double-figures.
Cameron Wright grabbed 15 points and 10 assists, Michael Young added 13 points, James Robinson finished with 12 points and eight assists, with Jamel Artis ending with 11 points for Pittsburgh.
Brice Johnson scored 19 points and Kennedy Meeks had 15 in the win for the Tar Heels.
Full Top 25 NCAA Men’s Basketball ESPN Scores
(1) Kentucky 77, South Carolina 43
(2) Virginia 61, Wake Forest 60
(3) Gonzaga 56, Pepperdine 48
(4) Duke 80, Syracuse 72
(6) Villanova 68, (18) Butler 65
(8) Kansas 74, (16) Baylor 64
NC State 74, (9) Louisville 65
Pittsburgh 89, (12) North Carolina 76
(14) Iowa State 79, (21) West Virginia 59
(15) Wichita St 68, Illinois St 62
Kansas St 59, (17) Oklahoma 56
(19) Maryland 76, Penn State 73
(20) Virginia Commonwealth 79, George Washington 66
TCU 70, (21) Oklahoma St 55
Michigan St 59, (23) Ohio State 56
(24) Arkansas 71, Ole Miss 70
(25) SMU 73, Connecticut 55
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NEW YORK — Follow live college basketball top 25 on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN App on Saturday, February 14.
No.1 Kentucky put their undefeated season on the line on Saturday against South Carolina at Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats (24-0) have been dominant on the season thus far and they will also take an 11-0 undefeated Southeastern Conference record into the contest as well.
Kentucky is not among the front-runners offensively, as it’s shooting 46.1 percent from the field for 66th in the rankings and averaging 73.5 points per game to be listed at 49th.
But who needs a powerhouse offense when their defense is doing such a great job.
The top ranked team in the country is only allowing 52.2 points per game, which is second overall this season, and although they haven’t looked themselves in the last two outings, it is difficult to look past John Calipari’s men in this one.
A very confident defending champion targets a 25-0 start to term, but even if they fail to beat the Gamecocks (12-11) on Saturday, Calipari doesn’t think that would affect the overall goal for the season.
“This isn’t life or death. It’s not March,” he said. “It was also for the team. I wanted them to understand.
“I keep telling them, ‘What’s the worst (thing that could happen)? I’ll say it this time, if we lose this game, then we’re (24-1) or whatever it is. What’s it matter? Just go play and try to get better.'”
No. 2 Virginia (22-1), which has bounced back impressively from losing to Duke last month with three successive wins, will take on a Wake Forest (12-13) side looking for their fourth win in five games.
Also on Saturday, Pepperdine will play at No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 4 Duke will travel to face Syracuse, while No. 8 Kansas (20-4) entertains No. 16 Baylor (18-6) in a Big 12 league contest.
Top 25 Games Fixtures, Times and TV Channels
on Feb. 14
12:00 PM (12) North Carolina at Pittsburgh ESPN 3
12:00 PM (23) Ohio State at Michigan State ESPN
1:00 PM (16) Baylor at (8) Kansas CBS
2:00 PM South Carolina at (1) Kentucky ESPN
2:00 PM (20) Virginia Commonwealth at George Washington ESPN2
2:30 PM Wake Forest at (2) Virginia ESPN 3
4:00 PM NC State at (9) Louisville ESPN2
4:00 PM (21) West Virginia at (14) Iowa State ESPN 2
6:00 PM (21) Oklahoma St at TCU
6:00 PM (15) Wichita St at Illinois St ESPN 2
6:00 PM (4) Duke at Syracuse ESPN
6:00 PM (6) Villanova at (18) Butler CBS Sports Network
8:00 PM (17) Oklahoma at Kansas St ESPN 2
8:00 PM Pepperdine at (3) Gonzaga ESPN 3
8:30 PM (19) Maryland at Penn State Big Ten Network
9:00 PM (24) Arkansas at Ole Miss SEC Network
9:00 PM Connecticut at (25) SMU ESPN
