No 4. Louisville escapes upset
<p>Louisville's Kyle Kuric, right, shoots over the defense of Charleston's Matt Sundberg during the second half of their NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 in Louisville, Ky. Louisville defeated Charleston 69-62.(AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)</p>
Louisville coach Rick Pitino said Kyle Kuric's move to the middle of the College of Charleston's zone late in the game was the critical move in the fourth-ranked Cardinals' 69-62 victory Tuesday night at Louisville, Ky. He credited his son and assistant coach, Richard Pitino, with the idea.
"I give big credit to my son because he made the move that I thought won the game," Pitino said. "He said, put Kyle in there, he'll make the shot or something good will happen. And he got in there and really bothered them."
The move paid off as Kuric hit a go-ahead jumper in the paint with 3:12 to play, giving Louisville a 60-59 lead. It was the start of an 8-0 run over a 70-second span that helped the Cardinals (11-0) remain unbeaten.
"Coach told me to flash to the middle and whoever's open, throw it to them or make a play," Kuric said. "We are not use to having an open post like that."
Kuric finished with 17 points and Gorgui Dieng added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Cardinals.
Antwaine Wiggins had 23 points and seven rebounds for Charleston (9-2), which tied a season-high with 12 3-pointers.
No. 1 Syracuse 80, Bucknell 61: At Syracuse, N.Y., Kris Joseph had 17 points, Scoop Jardine added 14 and Syracuse cruised past Bucknell (7-5).
The Orange (12-0), who retained the No. 1 ranking for the second straight week after an 88-72 road win over North Carolina State on Saturday, won their 30th straight nonconference home game.
No. 2 Ohio State 70, Lamar 50: At Columbus, Ohio, Jared Sullinger bounced back from his latest injury to score 18 points and grab 11 rebounds, leading Ohio State (11-1) past Lamar (8-4).
The Buckeyes had played three of their last four games without Sullinger healthy. The All-America missed two games with back spasms - including Ohio State's only loss, a 78-67 setback at No. 13 Kansas on Dec. 10 - and all but 6 minutes of Saturday's 74-66 win at South Carolina with an ankle injury.
No. 3 Kentucky 82, Samford 50: At Lexington, Ky., Doron Lamb scored 26 points and Darius Miller added 17 to lead Kentucky in a rout over Samford (3-7) to extend the Wildcats' home winning streak to 41 games.
Kentucky (10-1) played without Terrence Jones, who missed the first game in his collegiate career after dislocating the pinky on his left, shooting hand on Saturday.
No. 15 Pittsburgh 71, St. Francis (Pa.) 47: At Pittsburgh, J.J. Moore scored 15 points, Dante Taylor added 14 points and eight rebounds, and Pittsburgh crushed St. Francis (Pa.).
The Panthers (11-1) won their ninth straight by holding the Red Flash (3-8) to 35-percent shooting and outrebounding St. Francis 42-21.