Tar Heels win fourth straight over UK
Danny Green scored a career-high 20 points, and No. 1 North Carolina overpowered Kentucky 86-77 in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday for the Tar Heels' fourth straight victory in the annual matchup between college basketball's winningest programs.
The Tar Heels are 7-0 for the first time under coach Roy Williams and for the first time since the 1998-99 squad opened 8-0.
Tyler Hansbrough finished with 14 points -- 10-of-12 from the free throw line -- and a game-high 11 rebounds, his third double-double of the season.
Joe Crawford led Kentucky (4-2) with 21 points. Patrick Patterson, the blue-chip freshman power forward, and Ramel Bradley each had 19.
Georgetown 61, Fairfield 49
No. 5 Georgetown overcame a mediocre game from Roy Hibbert and an injury scare for Jessie Sapp to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2003.
DaJuan Summers finished with 16 points, and Jonathan Wallace added 13. Hibbert had seven points and seven rebounds.
Georgetown's defense was impressive late, holding Fairfield to 5-for-27 shooting in the second half -- 18.5 percent.
The Hoyas lost Sapp, their second-leading scorer, only 23 seconds into the game. He came down hard on the floor when he went after a rebound at the defensive end on Fairfield's first possession. He returned for the second half but only played 6 minutes and missed his only shot.
Duke 79, Davidson 73: Gerald Henderson scored 21 points, and Greg Paulus had two key baskets and a steal in the final 2 minutes for Duke.
Jon Scheyer scored 15 points, and Kyle Singler added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (8-0), who needed big plays from Paulus down the stretch to extend their winning streak over Davidson to 21 straight.
Stephen Curry scored 20 points for Davidson (3-3).
Butler no longer needs its best game or even its 3-point aces to beat up basketball's big boys any more.
They can rely on defense, confidence and a new post presence.
Butler 65, Ohio State 46
Despite an off-night Saturday, the 16th-ranked Bulldogs allowed only 16 second-half points and got a breakout game from freshman Matt Howard to rally past Ohio State 65-46 in Indianapolis. It was the Bulldogs' fourth straight win over a team from the traditional power conferences.
"We've been through it all before, last year and at the Great Alaska Shootout, so we know what it takes," guard Mike Green said. "It's not coming out in awe of these guys."
The Bulldogs (7-0) tested that theory after a dismal first half in which the nation's best 3-point shooting team missed its first 15 3s and only avoided a shutout because of A.J. Graves' buzzer-beater that stood up to replay review at halftime.