MIAMI, FL — No. 7 West Virginia, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 12 North Carolina were among the winners in NCAA basketball Top 25 scores on Tuesday night. ESPN Video Highlights and Box Scores Here
No. 7 WEST VIRGINIA 85, IOWA STATE 72
Led by a career-high 23 points to go with 11 rebounds performance from Nathan Adrian, who shot 7-of-10 from the floor, West Virginia beat Iowa State 85-72 to improve to 6-3 in Big 12 conference play.
Esa Ahmad of West Virginia at the free throw line against Kansas
Tarik Phillip added 15 points off the bench and Esa Ahmad scored with 14 points for the Mountaineers (18-4), who shot 48.3 percent from the floor overall and made 10 shots from 3-point range.
Matt Thomas had 19 points and seven rebounds for Iowa State (13-8, 5-4 Big 12), while Deonte Burton ended with 11 points, 10 rebounds, five rebounds and three steals in the win.
Donovan Jackson scored 11 points off the bench for the Cyclones, who were losing two straight.
West Virginia took a 19-9 lead midway through the first half and then fended off Iowa State’s challenge throughout the half to take a 44-40 advantage into the halftime break.
The Mountaineers then outscored the Cyclones 41-32 in the second half to seal their third straight victory.
No. 8 KENTUCKY 90, GEORGIA 81, OT
At the Rupp Arena in Lexington, star freshman Malik Monk scored 31 of his 37 points in second half and overtime to help No. 8 Kentucky beat Georgia 90-81 on Tuesday night and snapped a two-game skid.
It was the third time Monk was scoring 30 or more points this season and he now ties with Jamal Murray for the most 30-point games by a Kentucky freshman in a season, according to ESPN’s Stats and Information.
Isaiah Briscoe finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Bam Adebayo ended with 12 points and five boards for the Wildcats (18-4, 8-1 SEC), who were bouncing back from defeats to Tennessee and Kansas last week.
Kentucky was playing without point guard De’Aaron Fox because of illness.
J.J. Frazier had 23 points, five assists and three steals before fouling out for Georgia.
Yante Maten added 22 points, five rebounds and five assists and Derek Ogbeide had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs (13-9, 4-5), who lost for the third time in four games.
No. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 80, PITTSBURGH 78
Justin Jackson of North Carolina on the floor
At Dean E. Smith Center, the 12th ranked North Carolina held off Pittsburgh 80-78 in a closely-matched Atlantic Coast Conference game on Tuesday night.
Justin Jackson scored 20 points and grabbed six assists, Joel Berry II finished with 19 points and Isaiah Hicks added 18 and eight rebounds for the Tar Heels (20-4, 8-2 ACC).
Kennedy Meeks contributed 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks for North Carolina, which never trailed but also was challenged during the battle by the Panthers.
Meanwhile, Cameron Johnson tied a career high with 24 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers for Pittsburgh, which was losing for the seventh straight time.
Michael Young ended with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Jamel Artis had 17 points and Chris Jones scored 12 for the Panthers (12-10, 1-8).
In other NCAA basketball Top 25 scores on Tuesday night, No. 10 Wisconsin defeated Illinois 57-43, No. 22 Creighton beat No. 16 Butler 76-67 and No. 17 Maryland turned back the challenge of Ohio State 77-71.
NCAA Basketball Top 25 Scores
Tuesday, Jan. 31
No. 7 WEST VIRGINIA 85, IOWA STATE 72
No. 8 KENTUCKY 90, GEORGIA 81, OT
No. 10 WISCONSIN 57, ILLINOIS 43
No. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 80, PITTSBURGH 78
No. 22 CREIGHTON 76, No. 16 BUTLER 67
No. 17 MARYLAND 77, OHIO ST. 71
