Feb 2, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Kevin Punter (0) brings the ball up court against Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyler Ulis (3) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kevin Punter scored 27 points and Tennessee erased a 21-point deficit to defeat No. 20 Kentucky 84-77 on Tuesday.
The Wildcats (16-6, 6-3 SEC) jumped out to a 34-13 lead with 5:32 left in the first half behind 12 points from Alex Poythress.
The Volunteers (11-11, 4-5) went on a 10-0 run to slash the lead and closed the first half by outscoring Kentucky 29-2 to make it 42-36 at intermission.
Tennessee completed its comeback when it took a 56-54 lead with 14:01 remaining. At that point, Punter had 17 points to lead a 43-20 Volunteers’ run.
“Our guys really deserve all the credit in the world, the way they hung in and hustled,” Tennessee first-year coach Rick Barnes said. “They weren’t playing very well early, but they stayed with it. They really did. There wasn’t one person that played that game that didn’t help us some way, somehow. For us to come back obviously was a terrific win for us.”
The 21-point lead was the largest blown under Wildcats coach John Calipari. Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis scored 21 and 20, respectively, for Kentucky.
DePaul 77, No. 11 Providence 70
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Myke Henry scored a season-high 27 points and Billy Garrett Jr. added 16 as the Blue Demons upset the No. 11 Friars.
DePaul (8-14, 2-8 Big East) snapped a two-game losing streak as it beat a ranked team for the second time this season.
Providence (18-5, 6-4) closed within three points with 2:10 to play and again in the final minute, but the Blue Demons went 7 for 10 from the free-throw line through the last 2:01 to preserve the lead and win for only the second time since beating then-No. 20 George Washington on Dec. 22.
Kris Dunn scored 14 points while reserve Ryan Fazekas had 13 as the Friars (18-5, 6-4) took their second loss in three games. Rodney Bullock had 11 points, while Kyron Cartwright added 10.
No. 14 West Virginia 81, No. 13 Iowa State 76
AMES, Iowa — Jaysean Paige scored 23 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:05 left, and Devin Williams produced 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as the Mountaineers rallied from 15 down to stun the Cyclones.
West Virginia (18-4, 7-2 Big 12) won for the first time in four tries at Hilton Coliseum. Williams made six consecutive free throws in the final two minutes to hand Iowa State (16-6, 5-4) only its seventh loss in 79 home games.
Georges Niang scored 20 and Abdel Nader 19 for the Cyclones, who were outrebounded 43-26. Monte Morris finish with nine points and 10 assists.
No. 1 Oklahoma 95, TCU 72
NORMAN, Okla. — Buddy Hield scored 17 points — one of six players to reach double figures in the easy victory over the Horned Frogs.
Jordan Woodard added 14 points, Isaiah Cousins had 13, Ryan Spangler scored 11 and Khadeem Lattin had 10 for Oklahoma (19-2, 7-2 Big 12). Christian James added a season-high 12 off the bench — all on 3-pointers.
Spangler added 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. Cousins had 10 rebounds and seven assists for his third of double-double the year.
Vlad Brodzianky scored 17 points while Chris Washburn added 15 for TCU (10-12, 1-8).
No. 22 Indiana 80, Michigan 67
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Yogi Ferrell had 17 points and nine assists and the Hoosiers scored 28 consecutive points to blow the game open and defeat the Wolverines.
Robert Johnson added 16 points and six rebounds as Indiana (19-4, 9-1 Big Ten) moved into sole possession of first place, a half-game ahead of Iowa. Freshman OG Anunoby had 11 points and the Hoosiers held a 44-30 rebounding edge while winning for the 14th time in the last 15 games.
Zak Irvin scored 16 points for Michigan (17-6, 7-3). Duncan Robinson added 14 points as the Wolverines had a four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 11-2 at home.
The Wolverines were once again without standout senior guard Caris LeVert (leg) and dropped into a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten with Purdue.
Georgia 69, No. 25 South Carolina 56
ATHENS, Ga. — J.J. Frazier got hot at the right time, scoring 13 points to help the Bulldogs fight off the Gamecocks at Stegeman Coliseum.
Frazier hit two key 3-pointers in the final minutes to put away South Carolina and was one of four Georgia players to reach double figures in scoring.
Yante Maten continued his breakout season with a game-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and four blocks for the Bulldogs (12-8, 5-4 SEC). Kenny Gaines added 17 points, and Charles Mann finished with 11 points to pace Georgia’s balanced attack.
Sindarius Thornwell scored 18 points and Michael Carrera finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks (19-3, 6-3), who shot 31 percent from the field
