Vols upset No. 6 Kentucky as ranked teams have rough night
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — John Fulkerson scored a career-high 27 points, and Yves Pons made several key jumpers down the stretch as Tennessee rallied from a 17-point deficit to upset No. 6 Kentucky 81-73 on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats (24-6, 14-3 Southeastern Conference) appeared in control leading 51-34 early in the second half before the Volunteers (17-13, 9-8) outscored them 29-9 over 10:09 to lead 63-60. Kentucky tied it at 63, but Pons answered with a 3-pointer and Fulkerson added two free throws to stay ahead.
Pons then added consecutive jumpers to make it 72-66 with 1:48 left. Nick Richards’ two free throws cut the lead to four, but Josiah-Jordan James put back his missed jumper to make it a six-point game again with 1:05 left.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Jacob Young came off the bench and scored 17 points and Rutgers bolstered its NCAA Tournament hopes with a victory over Maryland.
Montez Mathis added 15 points and Gio Baker had 11 as the Scarlet Knights (19-11, 10-9 Big Ten) snapped a three-game losing streak. It was their school record 18th home win (18-1) this season.
Jalen Smith had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Maryland (23-7, 13-6), which has dropped three of its last four. Anthony Cowan added 19 points for the Terps, who shot an atrocious 6 of 32 from 3-point range, including 2 of 16 in the first half.
No. 16 MICHIGAN STATE 79, No. 20 PENN STATE 71
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Xavier Tillman Sr. scored 23 points and had 15 rebounds to lead Michigan State over Penn State.
Rocket Watts added 18 points, Cassius Winston had 14 and Aaron Henry scored 12 for the Spartans who erased a 46-31 halftime deficit to win their fourth straight.
Myreon Jones led Penn State (21-9, 11-8) with 16 points while Lamar Stevens had 15 and Mike Watkins had 12.
The Spartans (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten) trailed by as many as 19 with 4:15 left in the first half, but scored the first nine points to start the second.
It sparked a dominant stretch of play in the paint for the Spartans who took their first lead of the game with 14:29 to play when Tillman dunked to make it 51-49.
The Spartans continued to keep Penn State at bay from there and used a 14-6 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 65-55 with 9:41 left. John Harrar made back-to-back layups to pull Penn State within two with 4:56 to play, but the Nittany Lions wouldn’t get any closer.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Eric Hunter Jr., scored a career-high 19 points, and Evan Boudreaux had 14 points and 14 rebounds to help Purdue beat Iowa.
The Boilermakers (16-14, 9-10 Big Ten) swept the two games against the Hawkeyes this season.
Purdue had already handed Iowa its worst loss of the season, a 104-68 defeat on Feb. 5 on a night when the Boilermakers made a season-high 19 3-pointers and shot 63.1% from the field.
This game was won on the inside, with Purdue scoring 30 points in the paint. The Boilermakers also had an 47-33 edge in rebounding, including 21 offensive rebounds.
Purdue led by as many as 21 points in the first half.
Luka Garza led Iowa (20-10, 11-8) with 26 points and 12 rebounds, his 15th double-double of the season. It was the 15th consecutive Big Ten game of 20 or more points for Garza, the longest streak by a player in the conference in 20 years.
