Seton Hall - Syracuse Stays Undefeated - Roundup

Syracuse (14-0, 1-0) gained control with a staunch defensive performance in the opening half in building a 34-15 lead.

Melo, who had his first career double-double, pulled in seven rebounds.

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Dion Waiters had 15 points and Brandon Triche added 11 for Syracuse, which won easily despite a subpar performance from leading scorer Jim Boeheim 's career, putting him within six of fourth-place Adolph Rupp of Kentucky and nine of third-place North Carolina's Dean Smith on the Division I list.

Jordan Theodore had 14 points for Seton Hall (11-2, 0-1), which had an eight-game winning streak snapped. Herb Pope, fourth in the nation in scoring at 20.3 points per game, had only four points and nine rebounds.

Last January, Jeremy Hazell led a long-range Seton Hall barrage with 28 points and the hot-shooting Pirates stunned ninth-ranked Syracuse 90-68. Seton Hall had seven 3s in in building a 13-point halftime lead.

The tables were turned this time.

With Hazell gone, Pope is the focus of the Pirates' attack. He has eight double-doubles, tops in the nation, and had only failed to reach double figures in scoring once, in the Pirates' win at Longwood on Friday night when he finished with eight in 29 minutes.

On Wednesday, the Syracuse defense clamped down on the big guy, who was 2 of 9 shooting and committed six of Seton Hall 's 23 turnovers. The Orange finished with 17 steals.

Syracuse leads the nation with 11.2 steals per game and a turnover margin of 8.6, and the Orange's penchant for creating mistakes was on full display in the first half. Seton Hall committed 15 turnovers and Pope led the way with five, scoring just two points on a driving dunk and missing the other five shots he attempted.

Melo closed the first half with a stunning block of Pope under the basket at the buzzer. It was his eighth block of the half and he did it to Pope again early in the second after scoring two straight baskets. Melo converted a miss by Triche and scored off a nice feed underneath from Joseph to boost the lead to 42-20 with 16:19 left.

A 3-pointer by Scoop Jardine boosted the lead to 50-26 at 13:35.

The Pirates missed their first six shots and Syracuse gained a 6-1 lead when Triche followed his own miss and fed Melo for a dunk.

Consecutive baskets by Waiters, the second a steal and dunk, boosted the lead to 12-3 as the Orange began to steadily pull away. When Theodore hit a 3 from the left wing at 8:05, he had 10 of Seton Hall's 12 points.

Syracuse finished with 15 blocks, five off the school record set Jan. 11, 1992, against Miami.

NO. 2 OHIO ST. 87, NORTHWESTERN 54

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) William Buford had career-highs of 28 points and five 3-pointers for Ohio State.

Jared Sullinger added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Buckeyes (13-1, 1-0), who dominated the boards 49-30.

Deshaun Thomas had 16 points for Ohio State, which broke the game open with a 13-0 first-half run fueled by 3-pointers. Jordan Sibert added 12 points, all on 3s.

The conference's top two scorers, Northwestern's John Shurna and Drew Crawford, had miserable games. They were held to 11 and 13 points, respectively, on a combined 9-for-30 shooting.

The loss was the 31st straight for the Wildcats (10-3, 0-1) in Columbus, dating to 1977.

NO. 3 KENTUCKY 86, LAMAR 64

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 18 points for Kentucky.

Kentucky (12-1) opened the game on an 11-2 run and maintained its first-half lead because of its free throw shooting. The Wildcats were 14 of 17 from the foul line in the first half and finished 27 of 33 overall.

Sophomore Terrence Jones of Kentucky returned after missing two games with a dislocated pinky on his left hand. He came off the bench and finished with nine points and six rebounds in 27 minutes.

Mike James had 29 points for Lamar (8-5).

NO. 9 CONNECTICUT 60, SOUTH FLORIDA 57

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Jeremy Lamb scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half for Connecticut in its Big East opener without suspended coach Jim Calhoun .

Lamb led a game-ending surge with a jumper and three free throws over the final 1:46 to help the Huskies (11-1, 1-0) close out their sixth consecutive victory.

Toarlyn Fitzpatrick had 14 points and 12 rebounds for USF (7-7, 0-1), which hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Calhoun did not make the trip to Tampa, remaining behind as he began serving a three-game suspension by the NCAA for failing to create an atmosphere of compliance within the program.

Assistant coach George Blaney , a former head coach at Holy Cross and Seton Hall, is leading the defending national champions during the ban.

Lamb made 8 of 11 shots from the field and six of eight free throws.

NO. 20 LAS VEGAS (AP) Chace Stanback was 9 of 11 from 3-point range and scored 29 points to lead UNLV.

Stanback hit his first six shots from beyond the arc for the Rebels (14-2), who had seven players score in double figure.

Mike Moser had 18 points and nine rebounds for UNLV, while added 10 points.

LaQuentin Miles had 21 points for Central Arkansas (5-7), while Mark Rutledge added 13 and Jarvis Garner had 11.