STORRS, Conn. — Connecticut held Louisville’s 3-point shooters in check for most of their Big East showdown, but that left Peyton Siva free to drive the lane.
The sophomore point guard scored 19 points, including two key layups in the second overtime, and No. 23 Louisville upset No. 5 Connecticut 79-78 on Saturday.
“We don’t have no superstars on this team and that helps us out a lot, because we know anybody can take that last shot,” Siva said. “I got to the lane, I made a couple layups and that was important.”
Terrence Jennings added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Preston Knowles and Kyle Kuric each added 15 points for the Cardinals (17-4, 6-2), who have won four of their last five games to take sole possession of second place in the Big East.
The Cardinals came back from a nine-point second-half deficit. They tied the game in regulation on a Siva layup with 29 seconds left, and sent the game into a second overtime on a Siva dunk.
“You’re going to give up something,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “But the point guard has got to make the right decision, and he made the right decision every time.”
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for UConn, and was its first in 12 home games.
“It was an incredibly disappointing loss, because we had the game won twice — in regulation and then in overtime,” Calhoun said.
Louisville hit just four 3-pointers in regulation, but hit another four in the two OTs.
No. 1 Ohio St. 58, N’western 57
EVANSTON, Ill. — Jared Sullinger hit the second of two free throws with 3.5 seconds left as Ohio State overcame a furious rally by Northwestern for its 22nd straight victory.
Leading by only two at the half, Ohio State (22-0, 9-0 Big Ten) pulled out to a 13-point lead in the second half. But Northwestern, playing without leading scorer John Shurna because of a concussion, came back behind senior guard Michael Thompson, who led the Wildcats with 16 points — 13 in the second half.
No. 2 Pittsburgh 65, Rutgers 62
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The Panthers scored 12 of their last 15 points from the free throw line and hit only one basket in the final 7:03 — a long 3-pointer by Ashton Gibbs with 55 seconds to play — in posting their 10th straight 20-win season.
No. 21 Georgetown 69, No. 8 Villanova 66
PHILADELPHIA — Austin Freeman scored 10 of Georgetown’s final 12 points and finished with 30 to lead the Hoyas.
Freeman, the Big East preseason player of the year, took over the offense by himself as the Hoyas (16-5, 5-4) lost most of a nine-point lead with 5 minutes to play.
Marquette 76, No. 9 Syracuse 70
MILWAUKEE — Jae Crowder scored 13 of his 25 points in the second half to help Marquette hand Syracuse its fourth straight loss.
Kris Joseph led the Orange with 18 points, but it wasn’t enough as Syracuse lost its fourth in a row for the first time since Jan. 16-29, 2006.
No. 12 Purdue 73, No. 16 Minnesota 61
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue struggled with Minnesota’s 2-3 zone defense in the first half, but the Boilermakers made 7-of-11 3-pointers after the break, at times causing Minnesota coach Tubby Smith to switch back to man-to-man.
No. 14 Kentucky 66, Georgia 60
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky never trailed while winning its 29th straight game at Rupp Arena, the nation’s second-longest active home streak.
Penn St. 56, No. 17 Wisconsin 52
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Talor Battle scored 20 of his 22 points after halftime to the help the Nittany Lions overcome a 13-point deficit in the first half to beat the Badgers for the first time since 2003.
Arkansas 89, No. 19 Vanderbilt 78
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rotnei Clarke scored a season-high 36 points as Arkansas handed the Commodores’ their first home loss.
Clemson 62, No. 22 Florida St. 44
CLEMSON, S.C. — The Tigers ran out to a 22-6 lead and never let the Seminoles get closer than eight the rest of the way.
Miss. State 71, No. 24 Florida 64
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Only four Mississippi State players scored, but all of them finished in double figures and the Bulldogs have won four of their last five against the Gators.
