Mississippi Is Ready to Climb Off SEC Mat

Mississippi has traditionally been a doormat for Southeastern Conference basketball opponents, winning at a dismal .346 clip in 62 mostly forgettable seasons.

The Rebels, however, may not be welcomed much around the SEC this season.

Mississippi (9-2) is off to its best start since a rare winning season in 1973-74 after beating No. 22 Arkansas, 91-74, Thursday night in Fayetteville, Ark., in the SEC opener for both teams.

Forward Jason Smith, forward Anthony Boone and guard Keith Carter--all Arkansas natives--combined for 49 points and applied defensive pressure that rattled the Razorbacks.

“When this score runs across the ticker, people will be surprised because it is Ole Miss,” said Carter, who had 16 points.

Smith scored 11 of his 12 points in the first half as Mississippi took a 47-36 halftime lead, while Boone had 10 of his 21 points in the first five minutes of the second half.

Arkansas (6-3) committed 19 turnovers in the first half and missed 15 of 20 shots in the first 10 1/2 minutes of the second.

“It is sweet to beat Arkansas and Kentucky and other SEC teams, but we’ll get jacked up to play anybody,” Mississippi Coach Rob Evans said. “We’re hungry.”

No. 1 Kansas 107, Brown 49--Coach Roy Williams has been de-emphasizing the three-point shot for the Jayhawks (12-0) this season but guard Billy Thomas took liberties against the hapless Bears (1-9), making five of six long-range shots and scoring 21 points in the nonconference game at Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas point guard Jacque Vaughn, in his second game since coming back from a wrist injury suffered in a Sept. 10 pickup game, had 10 points and seven assists.

Ohio State 73, No. 8 Michigan 71--Guard Damon Stringer, one of five sophomore starters for the Buckeyes (6-4), scored 12 of his 21 points in the final five minutes in the Big Ten opener for both teams at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Michigan (9-3) lost for the third time in four games as a three-point shot by guard Brandun Hughes at the buzzer fell short of the rim.

No. 10 Villanova 88, Seton Hall 67--Center Jason Lawson, who took only two shots in the first half, scored 17 of his 19 points in the second as the Wildcats (11-1, 3-0) won their fifth in a row in a Big East game at Villanova, Pa.

The frontline of the 6-foot-11 Lawson, 6-10 Tim Thomas and 6-9 Chuck Kornegay combined for 52 points and 30 rebounds. Lawson scored nine points during a 13-0 run in a four-minute span midway in the second half.

Seton Hall (6-5, 1-2) got a 14-point, 11-assist, five-steal performances from 5-10 freshman point guard Shaheen Holloway.

No. 12 Indiana 77, Michigan State 65--The Hoosiers (14-1) blew all but one point of a 20-point halftime lead before recovering in the Big Ten opener for both teams at Bloomington, Ind.

Michigan State (7-2) went on a 25-6 run to open the second half, with forward Antonio Smith following up three offensive rebounds with baskets.

Seven-foot freshman center Jason Collier put Indiana back in control with seven unanswered points en route to a game-high 25, and the Hoosiers outscored the Spartans, 14-4, the final 3:49.

No. 13 Duke 104, South Carolina State 54--The Blue Devils (10-2) scored more than 100 points for the third consecutive game in a nonconference game at Durham, N.C.

Duke have won their last three games by a total of 162 points, breaking its previous three-game scoring margin of 138 set by the Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley-led team in 1989. Forward Roshown McLeod, a transfer from St. John’s, led four double figure scorers with 20 points.

South Carolina State (1-6) shot 29% in the first half, including seven air balls.

No. 15 Minnesota 65, Wisconsin 48--Guards Bobby Jackson and Eric Harris combined for 36 points and didn’t commit a turnover in the second half as the Golden Gophers (12-1) beat the Badgers (7-3) for the 11th consecutive time at Minneapolis.

Harris made 11 of 12 free throws to spark a 23-6 Minnesota run that ended the game. Wisconsin’s five guards struggled against Jackson and Harris, combining for nine points and 12 turnovers.

Purdue 75, No. 24 Illinois 69--Freshman forward Brian Cardinal’s two free throws with seven seconds left proved decisive for the three-time Big Ten champions Boilermakers (6-5) in the conference opener for both teams at Champaign, Ill.

Cardinal, the son of longtime Illinois trainer Rod Cardinal, also had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Purdue had a 42-35 rebounding advantage and 10 blocked shots.

Illinois (10-3), which moved into the Top 25 this week for the first time this season, had a chance to tie the game with 20 seconds left but leading scorer Kiwane Garris missed a jumper in the lane.

No. 25 Boston College 65, Miami 62--The Eagles (7-2, 2-1) overcame a six-point performance from leading scorer Danya Abrams in a Big East game in Boston. It was the first time the 6-foot-7, 250-pound Abrams had been held to single-digit scoring in 18 games--the last time he had played against Miami (7-4, 1-2).

Two players had career-high scoring totals--Miami forward Tim James with 28 and Boston College guard Duane Woodward with 23. James also had 13 rebounds.

OTHER GAMES

Guard Victor Page made only 11 of 30 shots but the last one was decisive for Georgetown (9-2, 2-1) in a 70-68 Big East victory over West Virginia (7-2, 1-1) at Morgantown, W.Va. Page, the Big East’s third-leading scorer, made an off-balance jumper in the lane as time ran out for the decisive basket and finished with 30 points.. . . Richard Hamilton, a 6-6 freshman who took over the big guard spot vacated by 1995-96 Big East player of the year Ray Allen, scored a career-high 19 points for Connecticut (9-2, 2-1) in a 66-57 victory over Rutgers (5-3, 1-2) at Piscataway, N.J. Connecticut has a six-game winning streak while the loss was the first in six home games for Rutgers. . . . Forward Pat Garrity scored 25 points as Notre Dame (7-3, 1-1) posted its first Big East victory at South Bend, Ind., in four tries over Syracuse (8-5, 0-3), a 69-52 decision. . . . Point guard Andre Woolridge had 28 points and eight assists as Iowa (10-3) was a 72-55 home-court winner over Northwestern (5-7) in the Big Ten opener for both teams. The 28th time in the last 29 games the Wildcats had lost at Iowa City.

College Basketball Notes

New Mexico State Coach Neil McCarthy was reprimanded by the school and Big West Conference for publicly criticizing game officials in the Aggies’ loss at Texas El Paso on Dec. 4. After the game, McCarthy accused officials of being biased toward UTEP.