MATTHEW Murrell scored a season-high 24 points and No. 25 Ole Miss made nine 3-pointers as part of an explosive 54-point first half on the way to a 98-84 win over No. 14 Kentucky on Tuesday in Oxford, Mississippi.
In the first 20 minutes, the Rebels (17-6, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) hit 60.6 percent from the field and went 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from long range. Dre Davis added 17 points for Ole Miss, while Malik Dia had 16.
Otega Oweh scored 24 points and Jaxson Robinson had 18 as Kentucky (15-7, 4-5) lost for the fourth time in five outings. Amari Williams logged 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, just the fourth triple-double in program history.
The Wildcats were without starting guard Lamont Butler (shoulder) for the third straight game.
In other games, it was Auburn 98, Oklahoma 70; Houston 72, Oklahoma State 63 Florida 86, Vanderbilt 75; Purdue 90, Iowa 81; UCLA 63, Michigan State 61; St. John’s 70, Marquette 64; Texas Tech 73, Baylor 59; Arizona 85, BYU 74; and Wisconsin 76, Indiana 64.
Auburn 98, Oklahoma 70
Johni Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara each scored 15 points as the Tigers ran their winning streak to 14 games with a home rout of the Sooners.
Broome also stuffed the stat sheet with six assists, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Denver Jones and Chaney Johnson each rang up 13 points for Auburn (21-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference).
Dayton Forsythe led Oklahoma (16-6, 3-6) with 13 points. The Sooners shot just 33.3 percent from the floor while the Tigers were hitting 52.5 percent.
Houston 72, Oklahoma State 63
L.J. Cryer and Milos Uzan combined for 35 points while J’Wan Roberts chipped in a double-double as the Cougars fended off the Cowboys in Houston.
Cryer sank two free throws with 21 seconds to play and finished with a game-high 18 points. Uzan added 17 points and five assists for the Cougars (18-4, 10-1 Big 12), who rebounded from a loss to Texas Tech that snapped their 33-game home-court winning streak. Roberts paired 14 points with 10 rebounds while Terrance Arceneaux added 10 points, five rebounds and six assists.