UConn claims ninth straight victory

? Rudy Gay scored 19 points, and No. 1 Connecticut beat No. 22 Indiana, 86-80, Saturday – the Huskies’ ninth straight victory.

Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong each added 16 points for the Huskies (20-1), who are 7-0 this season against ranked teams.

Connecticut’s combination of power and finesse was too much for the Hoosiers (13-6). UConn shot 54.2 percent from the field and had a 45-35 rebounding advantage that was even larger until the final minutes.

Marshall Strickland led Indiana with 18 points, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a second loss this season to a No. 1 team. The Hoosiers, who lost 75-67 to then-No. 1 Duke on Nov. 30, are 1-5 all-time against No. 1 teams in Bloomington.

No. 2 Duke 97, Florida State 96, OT

Durham, N.C. – J.J. Redick had a go-ahead three-pointer and scored eight of his 36 points in overtime for Duke. Shelden Williams added 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils (21-1, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), including two clinching free throws in the final seconds.

No. 3 Memphis 84, Rice 79

Houston – Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21, and Darius Washington Jr. sank two free throws in the final seconds to help Memphis stay unbeaten in Conference USA.

No. 4 Villanova 72, Marquette 67

Villanova, Pa. – Allan Ray scored 28 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:54 left, to help Villanova rally late. Randy Foye added 24 points for the Wildcats (17-2, 8-1 Big East), who are off to their best start in conference history.

No. 5 Gonzaga 85, Santa Clara 71

Spokane, Wash. – Adam Morrison scored 24 to help Gonzaga claim its 34th consecutive home victory -the longest streak in the nation.

Penn State 66, No. 6 Illinois 65

Champaign, Ill. – Rich McBride’s three-pointer came a split-second too late, and Penn State rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit, ending Illinois’ home winning streak at 33 games.

No. 8 Florida 95, Kentucky 80

Gainesville, Fla. – Taurean Green scored a career-high 29, and Florida extended its winning streak over Kentucky to three games.

No. 11 West Va. 66, Cincinnati 57

Morgantown, W.Va. – Mike Gansey scored 14, and West Virginia used a 13-2 second-half run to remain the only unbeaten team in the Big East.

No. 12 Michigan State 77, Northwestern 66

Evanston, Ill. – Shannon Brown scored 22, including his 1,000th, and Maurice Ager added 21 to lead Michigan State.

No. 13 Tennessee 86, Mississippi 72

Knoxville, Tenn. – C.J. Watson scored 18 to lead Tennessee to its fifth straight victory. The Volunteers (16-3, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) opened the game with a 21-4 run, and they put it away with a 10-0 run with five minutes left.

No. 14 UCLA 84, Arizona 73

Los Angeles – Arron Afflalo scored a career-high 27, and UCLA survived a second-half drought to beat Arizona at home for the first time in four years.

No. 15 Boston College 74, Virginia Tech 73

Blacksburg, Va. – Jared Dudley scored 26 and made two free throws with five seconds left, lifting Boston College.

Washington State 77, No. 16 Washington 64

Pullman, Wash. – Aron Baynes scored 13 and had a career-high 12 rebounds as Washington State swept Washington for the first time in 12 years.

No. 20 Ohio State 67, Minnesota 53

Columbus, Ohio – Je’Kel Foster made a career-high seven three-pointers in eight attempts and scored 25 points to lead Ohio State.

No. 23 Iowa 94, No. 21 Michigan 66

Iowa City, Iowa – Adam Haluska scored 18, and Iowa remained undefeated at home.

Alabama 67, No. 24 LSU 62

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Ronald Steele went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line during the final 1:52 and scored 21 for Alabama.

No. 25 Northern Iowa 83, Indiana State 56

Cedar Falls, Iowa – Grant Stout had 17 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots, and Northern Iowa won its first home game as a ranked team.