Three of top four college basketball teams lose

Marquette 74, No. 1 Villanova 72

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Three dribbles. One deep breath.

Marquette’s Katin Reinhardt went through his typical routine before each of his two crucial free throws with 11.6 seconds left of a tie game against No. 1 Villanova.

Reinhardt hit both. The Wildcats missed two chances to tie on a layup and a putback at the buzzer.

The fun was just beginning for Marquette.

The Golden Eagles (14-6, 5-3 Big East) roared back from a 17-point deficit for a season-defining, 74-72 victory over the Wildcats (19-2, 7-2).

It was the second time Marquette beat a No. 1-ranked team. The Golden Eagles beat Kentucky in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.

Their fans partied at the Bradley Center in a court-storming frenzy, celebrating as if coach Al McGuire was still pacing the Marquette sideline.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Reinhardt said. “You dream of these types of moments.”

The senior guard transferred to Marquette following stints with NCAA Tournament squads at UNLV and Southern California. He’s been through these kinds of edge-of-your-seat moments.

Reinhardt finished with 19 points, going 4 of 7 from 3-point territory and 5 of 6 from the foul line. But he was upset about that one missed free throw when he stepped to the line with 11 seconds left.

“Every time I go to the free throw line, I have the same routine. One, two, three — three dribbles I have. Breathe in, breathe out and let it fly,” he recounted.

Marquette beat its second straight Top 10 opponent after having defeated then-No. 7 Creighton 102-94 last week.

Villanova, which had been ranked No. 1 for a total of seven weeks this season, had two chances to tie on the final possession. Jalen Brunson missed a layup and Darryl Reynolds couldn’t convert on an offensive rebound.

“You’ve got to put a whole 40 minutes together. Sometimes you get on the road and a team gets hot,” coach Jay Wright said. “If you don’t finish the 40 minutes, they’ll get you.”

Reinhardt’s 3 from the right wing tied the game at 72 with 1:04 left.

Mikal Bridges had a season-high 20 points for Villanova.

No. 18 West Virginia 85, No. 2 Kansas 69

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Esa Ahmad had hoped to improve his defense entering a matchup with No. 2 Kansas. He ended up with a career scoring night.

Ahmad got plenty of open looks at the basket and broke out of a shooting slump with a career-high 27 points to lead No. 18 West Virginia to an 85-69 victory Tuesday, snapping the Jayhawks’ 18-game winning streak.

No. 1 Villanova also lost Tuesday, 74-72 to Marquette.

“I’ve kind of been passive and just passing the ball around,” Ahmad said. “I took it upon myself. My teammates looked for me and kept me positive. I love those guys for that.”

Ahmad led West Virginia in scoring over the first two months of the season but entered Tuesday’s game with four straight games in single digits.

He scored West Virginia’s first eight points against Kansas and finished 10 of 17 from the field. His previous scoring high was 19 points on two other occasions.

“We didn’t guard him and he got off to a great start,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Of a team that played exceptionally well tonight, I thought he was probably the best player in the game.”

Coach Bob Huggins said Ahmad, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound sophomore, was West Virginia’s “best chance” at beating Kansas.

“Esa had two good days of practice, and he’s our best guy at attacking the rim,” Huggins said. “He’s got size. He’s wider. He’s got those huge hands.”

West Virginia (16-4, 5-3 Big 12) blew a double-digit lead after halftime for the third straight game. Svi Mykhailiuk’s 3-pointer put the Jayhawks ahead 59-58 midway through the second half. But that was their last lead.

Kansas (18-2, 7-1) then went nearly 3 minutes between field goals. Ahmad started and finished a 12-1 run with baskets to put the Mountaineers ahead 70-61 with 4:55 left.

West Virginia limited its turnovers to eight and went 19 of 23 from the line, making nine of their final 10.

“We did both of those things today,” Huggins said. “And when we do, we’re pretty good.”

Nathan Adrian added 11 points and Daxter Miles Jr. and Tarik Phillip each had 10 for West Virginia, which beat Kansas for the fourth straight time in Morgantown.

Josh Jackson matched a season high with 22 points before fouling out for Kansas. Devonte’ Graham added 17 points and Big 12 scoring leader Frank Mason III finished with 15, tying his third-lowest point total of the season.

Tennessee 82, No. 4 Kentucky 80

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Robert Hubbs III scored 25 points Tuesday night and Tennessee upset No. 4 Kentucky 82-80 to snap the Wildcats’ seven-game winning streak.

Tennessee (11-9, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) beat Kentucky (17-3, 7-1) in Knoxville for the second straight season and earned its first victory over a top-five team since an 83-76 triumph over No. 3 Pittsburgh on Dec. 11, 2010.

Kentucky’s defeat capped a night in which three of the nation’s top four teams lost. Marquette beat No. 1 Villanova 74-72 and No. 2 Kansas fell 85-69 at No. 18 West Virginia.

In Kentucky’s last visit to Knoxville, Tennessee erased a 21-point deficit to beat the Wildcats 84-77. No second-half comeback was necessary this time, as Tennessee pulled ahead for good with just over 4 minutes left in the first half.

Admiral Schofield scored 15 points, Grant Williams had 13 and Lamonte Turner added 10 for Tennessee.

Malik Monk scored 25 points, Bam Adebayo had 21 and De’Aaron Fox added 17 for Kentucky.

After trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, Kentucky got within two but couldn’t come all the way back.

Kentucky’s Derek Willis missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer when Tennessee was clinging to a 66-64 lead with 4:17 left. When Tennessee’s lead got down to 68-66 with 3:45 remaining, the Vols answered with a 5-0 run.

And when Kentucky tried to get a stop rather than fouling in the final minute, Williams made a basket that put the Vols ahead 80-75 with 14.2 seconds left.

Turner made two game-clinching free throws with 5.4 seconds left before Isaiah Briscoe made a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to cut the final margin to two.

Fox was back in Kentucky’s starting lineup three nights after the SEC assists leader injured his ankle in an 85-69 victory over South Carolina. The Wildcats played a second straight game without reserve guard Mychal Mulder. School officials said Mulder didn’t make the trip to Knoxville due to an illness.

IN OTHER TOP-25 ACTION

No. 12 VIRGINIA 71, No. 14 NOTRE DAME 54

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — London Perrantes scored 22 points and Virginia pulled away late for its 10th straight win over Notre Dame.

Isaiah Wilkins finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Devon Hall added 11 points and nine boards for the Cavaliers (16-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who improved to 4-1 on the road in league play.

Bonzi Colson led the Irish (17-4, 6-2) with 20 points.

No. 13 LOUISVILLE 106, PITTSBURGH 51

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored a career-high 29 points and Anas Mahmoud added 14 while making all seven of his shots for Louisville.

The Cardinals (17-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) rebounded from a close loss at No. 10 Florida State on Saturday by handing the reeling Panthers the second-worst loss in the program’s 111-year history.

Louisville held Pitt (12-8, 1-6) to 25 percent shooting (13 of 51) and never let the Panthers in the game.

Michael Young led Pitt with 12 points.

The Cardinals outscored Pitt in the paint 52-12, outrebounded the Panthers 48-26 and poured it on long after things had been decided.

The result was Pitt’s worst loss since falling to Westminster College 106-13 in 1905, the year the basketball program started.

No. 15 WISCONSIN 82, PENN STATE 55

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Bronson Koenig scored 20 points and Wisconsin shut down Penn State in the second half.

The Badgers (17-3, 6-1 Big Ten) started to shake off the Nittany Lions (11-10, 3-5) after Ethan Happ came alive.

Happ asserted himself to open the second half, scoring on the Badgers’ first two possessions to spark a 13-2 run that put Wisconsin up 52-38 on Vitto Brown’s 3-pointer.

Brown finished with 16 points, while Happ added 14 and eight rebounds.

Payton Banks and Tony Carr led the Nittany Lions with 12 points apiece.

No. 20 PURDUE 83, MICHIGAN STATE 73

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Caleb Swanigan had 25 points and 17 rebounds for Purdue.

The Boilermakers (17-4, 6-2 Big Ten) have won three straight, helping them have their best eight-game record in the conference since 2010-11.

The Spartans (12-9, 4-4) have lost three straight and four of five, forcing them to turn it around soon to improve their chances of playing in a 20th straight NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State’s Miles Bridges did his part with 33 points, breaking Scott Skiles’ freshman scoring record of 32 set in 1983 against Ohio State.

No. 22 MARYLAND 67, RUTGERS 55

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Melo Trimble fueled a second-half surge that put Maryland in control and the Terrapins remained in first place in the Big Ten.

Trimble scored 17 points and freshman Kevin Huerter had 11 for the Terrapins (18-2, 6-1), who own their best record after 20 games since the 1998-99 season.

Corey Sanders scored 15 points for the Scarlet Knights (12-9, 1-7), who went 10 for 24 at the free throw line in losing for the eighth time in nine games.