Top 25 roundup: Kentucky survives LSU to stay perfect

BATON ROUGE, La. — Freshman forward Karl-Anthony Towns, berated by coach John Calipari for drawing a technical foul by hanging on the rim, made a go-ahead baby hook shot in the lane with 1:29 left to lead top-ranked Kentucky to a 71-69 comeback victory over LSU on Tuesday night at the Maravich Center.

Kentucky (24-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) escaped with the victory after falling behind 66-60 with 7:26 left on the strength of a 21-2 surge by LSU.

Towns, who finished with 12 points, gave Kentucky a 70-69 lead with a strong move in the lane and the short hook shot. Then, after the Tigers committed a turnover, Towns grabbed a rebound on a missed layup by Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison. Wildcats guard Devin Booker was fouled with 14 seconds left, and he made one of two free throws for the final margin.

LSU had a chance to tie the game inside 10 seconds, but guard Jalyn Patterson passed up a near-certain layup to swing the ball into the corner, where guard Keith Hornsby could not get off a clean shot. LSU had one more chance with 6.6 seconds left, but Hornsby missed a 3-point attempt from the left wing.

Forward Willie Cauley-Stein led Kentucky with 15 points, Booker had 14, and Andrew Harrison finished with 13.

Forward Jarell Martin led LSU with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Notre Dame 60, Clemson 58

CLEMSON, S.C. — Senior guard Jerian Grant scored 22 points to lead 10th-ranked Notre Dame to a come-from-behind victory.

Clemson (14-10, 6-6 ACC) led for the majority of the game and held a 56-52 lead with less than four minutes remaining, but the Fighting Irish (22-4, 10-3) outscored the Tigers 8-2 over the final 3:50 to claim the victory in their first-ever foray into Littlejohn Coliseum.

Notre Dame went ahead on a follow shot by guard Demetrius Jackson with 2:24 left, and Grant expanded the margin to 60-56 with a jumper with 47 seconds remaining.

After Rod Hall scored to reduce the deficit to 60-58 with 37 seconds left, the Tigers misfired twice in the final seconds.

Kansas 73, Texas Tech 51

LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas Tech has had some success on its home floor against ranked opponents in recent years, but the eighth-ranked Jayhawks avoided that trap as they distanced themselves from Texas Tech in the second half.

The Jayhawks (20-4, 9-2 Big 12) stretched out a comfortable lead early in the second half as they hit 13 of their first 15 shots after intermission, including 6 of 6 on 3-pointers.

Kansas guard Wayne Selden led the Jayhawks with 16 points, and forward Perry Ellis added 14.

Kansas notched its 20th win of the season, extending its streak to 26 consecutive 20-win seasons.

Wisconsin 65, Nebraska 55

LINCOLN, Neb. — Sam Dekker scored a season-high 21 points, and fifth-ranked Wisconsin held off a Nebraska rally for the victory.

Wisconsin (22-2, 10-1 Big Ten Conference) opened a three-game lead in the Big Ten over four teams tied for second place.

Center Frank Kaminsky, a candidate for Big Ten player of the year, finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for Wisconsin.

Guard Terran Petteway scored 23 points for Nebraska (13-11, 5-7), which trailed by 16 points with 7:25 remaining but cut the deficit to five points, 58-53, with 1:01 left. But the Huskers could get no closer.

Arkansas 101, Auburn 87

AUBURN, Ala. — Forward Bobby Portis scored 22 points and guard Michael Qualls added 19 as No. 24 Arkansas beat Auburn for the eighth consecutive time.

It was the most points Auburn allowed in five seasons at Auburn Arena. Arkansas finished with its highest point total of the season.

The Razorbacks (19-5, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) shot a blistering 53.8 percent from the field, sinking 11 3-pointers while handing the Tigers (11-13, 3-8) their sixth loss in seven games. Five Razorbacks reached double figures.

Senior guard KT Harrell paced Auburn with 21 points.