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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 10, 2008

No. 1 Memphis stays undefeated

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Memphis' Derrick Rose, center, is fouled by UCF's Jermaine Taylor, right, as Mike O'Donnell closes in in the first half.

MARK WEBER | Associated Press

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Robert Dozier stood in the middle of Memphis' locker room yesterday wearing a wrinkled white T-shirt and an NBA hat twisted to the side. His grim look was matched by his apology for an incident that ended up in a police report.

So maybe the Tigers aren't perfect, even if their record is.

Dozier returned for Memphis after serving a one-game suspension, scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds to help the top-ranked Tigers remain the nation's only undefeated team with an 85-64 win over Central Florida.

A former girlfriend of Dozier filed a complaint with police last Sunday, saying he hit her in the face after they got out of their cars and argued at an intersection.

"You just can't do that," Dozier said. "Especially being in the situation we're in. A lot of people have their eyes on us."

No charges have been filed, but the incident is one of the few stains on what's been a stellar season.

"We are a family. We're not throwing kids under the bus. We're doing what we can to help them change," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "But we're a performance family. You must perform. If you go in and you don't perform, we're going to play somebody else. But we still love you. I'll still have you at my house having dinner. But you have to perform."

The Tigers did, again.

Joey Dorsey had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Derrick Rose led the Tigers (23-0, 9-0) with 15 points, extending the country's longest active home winning streak to 46 and continuing their Conference USA supremacy.

Willie Kemp, Dozier and Rose hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Tigers scored 16 straight points over a six-minute run early in the second half, taking a 65-42 lead that was never challenged. Memphis had nine players score from beyond the arc.

"We're raising the stakes as we go forward," Calipari said. "Central Florida's a good team, but when we make 3s we become a tough team to beat."

Mike O'Donnell led Central Florida (12-11, 5-4) with 15 points, and Jermaine Taylor added 13 points and five rebounds.

NO. 2 DUKE 90, BOSTON COLLEGE 80

DURHAM, N.C. — Kyle Singler scored 24 points, DeMarcus Nelson added 23, and the Blue Devils (21-1, 9-0 ACC), which once trailed by eight in the first half, used a 17-2 second-half run to take control and beat the Eagles (12-10, 3-6) to extend their winning streak to 11 games.

Tyrese Rice, the league's second-leading scorer, scored 18 of his 28 points in the first half for the Eagles, who lost their sixth straight and fell to 0-4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

NO. 4 KANSAS 100, BAYLOR 90

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Darrell Arthur scored 23 points, Russell Robinson had 22 and the Jayhawks (23-1, 8-1 Big 12), who went 0 for 9 from behind the arc and failed to hit a 3-pointer for the first time since 1999 — a span of 271 games — rallied to beat the Bears (17-5, 5-3) for their 21st straight victory at Allen Fieldhouse.

After LaceDarius Dunn completed a rare four-point play to tie it at 50-all with 13:13 left, Kansas went on a 17-6 run for a 67-56 lead with 7:54 remaining and Baylor got no closer than eight points the rest of the way.

LOUISVILLE 59, NO. 6 GEORGETOWN 51

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — David Padgett scored 18 points, Jerry Smith added 16, including back-to-back 3-pointers to start an 11-0 run that gave the Cardinals (18-6, 8-3 Big East) a 44-37 lead with 9:24 to play and the Hoyas (19-3, 9-2) got no closer than three points thereafter.

The Cardinals held the Hoyas — who led 31-23 at halftime — to just 35 percent shooting in the second half, keeping them without a field goal for a decisive eight-minute stretch in which the Cardinals took command.

NO. 7 TENNESSEE 47, LSU 45

BATON ROUGE, La. — JaJuan Smith's steal and layup with 11 seconds left lifted the Volunteers (21-2, 8-1 SEC) over the Tigers (8-14, 1-7) in their first game since the firing of coach John Brady.

Tennessee had lost all of a 12-point second-half advantage when Chris Johnson converted a three-point play with 1:15 left. LSU squandered a chance to take the lead moments later, and Smith made his steal from Marcus Thornton and drove almost three-quarters of the court for the go-ahead layup. The basket represented his only points of the game.

NO. 24 PURDUE 72, NO. 8 WISCONSIN 67

MADISON, Wis. — Freshman Robbie Hummel scored 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting and the Boilermakers (19-5, 10-1 Big Ten) upset the Badgers (19-4, 9-2) to extend their winning streak to nine and take a one-game lead in the conference standings.

The Badgers, trailing by as many as 15 in the second half, closed to 68-65 with 1:22 to play on two free throws by Jason Bohannon. Wisconsin fouled JaJuan Johnson and he made one of two free throws before stripping Trevon Hughes of the ball, which squirted to Purdue's Keaton Grant, who dunked it to make it 71-65 with 57 seconds left.

NO. 9 STANFORD 71, OREGON STATE 56

STANFORD, Calif. — Lawrence Hill scored 14 points and a 15-0 run to end the first half with a 35-22 lead helped the Cardinal (20-3, 9-2 Pac-10) reach the 20-win plateau for the first time under fourth-year coach Trent Johnson with a victory over the Beavers (6-17, 0-11).

While Oregon State lost its 13th straight game, the Cardinal have never been better in Johnson's tenure on The Farm. With his predecessor Mike Montgomery sitting courtside announcing the game, the Cardinal won their seventh straight conference game for the first time since Montgomery's final season at Stanford in 2003-04, and moved within a half game of No. 5 UCLA for first place in the Pac-10.

NO. 10 BUTLER 62, WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY 57

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A.J. Graves scored 16 points, including six straight free throws over the final 1:27, and Mike Green scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to help to the Bulldogs (21-2, 10-2 Horizon League) fight off the Phoenix (13-10, 7-6) for their fifth straight victory.

Butler built a 49-39 lead midway through the second half but had to withstand one final charge by the Phoenix. Green Bay went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 49-47 with 4:18 left, but it was the closest they would get.

NO. 11 MICHIGAN STATE 70, NORTHWESTERN 55

EAST LANSING, Mich. — After not attempting a shot for the first 12:35, Drew Neitzel, who finished with 21 points, hit five straight attempts, including three 3-pointers, to help turn a four-point deficit into a 35-29 halftime lead as the Spartans (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten) beat the Wildcats (7-14, 0-10) for their 18 straight win at Breslin Center.

NO. 12 TEXAS 71, IOWA STATE 65

AMES, Iowa — A.J. Abrams scored 25 points, D.J. Augustin added 17 and the Longhorns (19-4, 6-2 Big 12) rallied from a 13-point deficit in regulation to force overtime at 62-all, then held the Cyclones (13-11, 3-6) to just three points in the extra period to win for the sixth time in seven games.

NO. 15 DRAKE 73, EVANSVILLE 65

DES MOINES, Iowa — Jonathan Cox scored 10 of his season-high 21 points during a 15-2 second-half run that opened up a 18-point lead as the Bulldogs (22-1, 13-0 Missouri Valley Conference) held off the Purple Aces (7-16, 2-11) for their 21st straight victory.

NO. 22 NOTRE DAME 86, NO. 16 MARQUETTE 83

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Luke Harangody scored 18 points, including four free throws in the final 26 seconds, and the Irish (18-4, 8-2 Big East) survived going the final 6:22 without a field goal to beat the Eagles (16-6, 6-5), when Dominic James, who scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the final 2:15, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.

NO. 18 TEXAS A&M 77, MISSOURI 69

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Donald Sloan scored a career-high 21 points, and the Aggies (20-4, 6-3 Big 12) used a 15-0 run to open the second half and take a 40-30 lead they never lost in beating the Tigers (13-11, 3-6) for their fifth straight victory, but only their second win in seven tries at Missouri.

NO 19. CONNECTICUT 80, GEORGIA TECH 68

STORRS, Conn. — Hasheem Thabeet scored a career-high 24 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked six shots, Jeff Adrien had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and the Huskies (18-5) used a 14-2 run to break from a 60-all tie with 6:51 left and never looked back in cruising past the Yellow Jackets (11-11) for their seventh consecutive win.

NO. 20 KANSAS STATE 82, OKLAHOMA STATE 61

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Michael Beasley had 23 points and 13 rebounds for his school-record 19th double-double of the season, and Jacob Pullen hit four 3-pointers in the first six minutes as the Wildcats (17-5, 7-1 Big 12) built a 16-point lead and were never threatened in beating the Cowboys (11-12, 2-7) for the first time in five years.

NO. 23 VANDERBILT 66, SOUTH CAROLINA 65

COLUMBIA, S.C. — After Devan Downey's driving reverse lay-up with six seconds to go put the Gamecocks (11-11, 3-5) ahead, Jermaine Beal drove the length of the court and hit a short fadeaway jumper with 0.6 seconds left for his only basket of the game, lifting the Commodores (20-4, 5-4 Southeastern Conference).

WAC

NEW MEXICO STATE 99, BOISE STATE 80

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Jonathan Gibson scored a career-high 24 points, freshman Jahmar Young had 18 points and the Aggies (14-12, 8-3 WAC) got 23 points from its bench en route to a 54-37 halftime lead in beating the Broncos (17-6, 8-3).

Tyler Tiedeman scored 23 points to pace Boise State, which lost only its third road games this season.

LOUISIANA TECH 72, IDAHO 64

RUSTON, La. — Jonathan "JC" Clark scored 16 points and the Bulldogs (4-18, 1-9 WAC) made a season high 32-of-41 from the free throw line to beat the Vandals (5-17, 2-9).

Tech led 32-24 at the half, helped in part by 15 of 18 free throw shooting. Idaho went on a 7-0 run, and came within three points early in the second period, but Tech answered with a 7-0 run to go up 43-33 with less than 10 minutes to play. The Bulldogs were in control the rest of the way, shooting 55 percent from the field in the half and hitting 17 free throws to fend off a flurry of Idaho jumpers.

UTAH STATE 78, SAN JOSE STATE 73

LOGAN, Utah — Jaycee Carroll had 26 points and 11 rebounds and the Aggies (18-6, 8-1 WAC) made 28 of 32 free throws to beat the Spartans (10-13, 2-8), who were 10 of 15 from the line.

With the scored tied at 32-all at halftime, the teams traded leads nine times in the first five minutes of the second half. USU then went on a 12-0 run to take a 50-40 lead. San Jose tried to catch the Aggies with 3-point shots, but were only 3 of 11 in the second half, 5 of 17 for the game.