Brewer, Top-Ranked Florida Hold On

Top-ranked Florida got some energy from Corey Brewer when it needed it the most during a tough conference road game. Wisconsin had a much easier time at home in the Big Ten. <br/><br/>The second-ranked

Thursday, January 25th 2007, 6:24 am

By: News On 6

Top-ranked Florida got some energy from Corey Brewer when it needed it the most during a tough conference road game. Wisconsin had a much easier time at home in the Big Ten.

The second-ranked Badgers matched the best start in school history, cruising to a 71-58 victory against Michigan on Wednesday night.

Brian Butch and Alando Tucker scored 16 points apiece to help the Badgers extend the nation's longest winning streak to 16 games.

Wisconsin equaled the best start in school history at 20-1 and improved to 6-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1913-14 team was 12-0.

``We can't stop now, it's only a taste of what we want,'' Tucker said. ``We get that taste right now, but we know we have a chance to go so far, and if we keep working hard we can get there.''

With Mississippi State focusing on Joakim Noah and Taurean Green, Brewer scored 20 points, including five during a game-turning 10-1 run, to help Florida beat the Bulldogs 70-67.

``Sometimes on the road it's not always going to be pretty,'' Florida coach Billy Donovan said. ``I wanted us to go inside and get to the free-throw line, and we ended up taking 30 free throws.

The Gators (18-2, 5-0 Southeastern Conference), who won their 11th straight, hit 23 of 34 foul shots with Brewer hitting 7-of-10. He found his way to the line by using his size advantage over Mississippi State's swift, but small perimeter players.

``I think Corey's energy took our team to a different level,'' Donovan said.

In other games involving ranked teams, it was: No. 4 North Carolina 88, Wake Forest 60; No. 5 Ohio State 59, Northwestern 50; Texas Tech 70, No. 6 Texas A&M 68; No. 8 Kansas 82, Baylor 56; No. 9 Pittsburgh 67, Cincinnati 51; No. 11 Memphis 72, Tulsa 59; No. 15 Marquette 89, Seton Hall 76; No. 17 Arizona 71, Arizona State 47; and Vanderbilt 64, No. 21 LSU 53.

At Madison, Wis., Tucker finished 6-of-9 from the field and scored 13 points in the second half, but only played 18 minutes total.

In one 4-minute stretch of the second half, Butch had five points, two rebounds, a steal and an assist as Wisconsin stretched a seven-point halftime lead to 47-31 with 13:16 left.

``They really extended and overplayed (on defense),'' Butch said. ``You just want to try to put them in some bad positions defensively where even if you didn't have a shot or something, you were able to create a passing lane or another way to get another player the ball.''

Courtney Sims finished with 16 points for the Wolverines (16-5, 4-2), but he also committed seven of Michigan's 19 turnovers.

``We had silly turnovers and that was one of the things we talked about coming in here,'' Wolverines coach Tommy Amaker said. ``When you play on the road, you have to take care of the basketball and we weren't very good at that tonight.''

Lee Humphrey fueled a 17-2 run with all eight of his points to give the Gators a 56-45 lead with 8:50 remaining in the second half. Brewer also was involved in that spurt, starting the run with a free throw and finishing it with one of his three 3-pointers.

``I said before the game I thought we matched up with their guards,'' Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. ``The guy we weren't expecting to make 3s was Brewer.''

Jamont Gordon scored 17 for the Bulldogs (11-7, 2-3), and Barry Stewart added 16.

No. 4 North Carolina 88, Wake Forest 60

Wayne Ellington scored 18 points and fellow freshman Ty Lawson added all 15 of his points in the second half to help visiting North Carolina (18-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) win its third straight.

Kyle Visser had 16 points for Wake Forest (9-10, 1-6), which was outscored 46-23 in the second half and lost its fifth straight.

No. 5 Ohio State 59, Northwestern 50

Freshman Greg Oden had 17 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, and visiting Ohio State (17-3, 5-1 Big Ten) won its fourth straight.

Tim Doyle scored 15 points for Northwestern (11-9, 1-6).

Texas Tech 70, No. 6 Texas A&M 68

Martin Zeno sank a free throw with 24.9 seconds remaining to lift host Texas Tech (15-5, 4-1 Big 12) to its second straight win over a top 10 team.

Acie Law scored 26 points and Dominique Kirk had 12 for the Aggies (16-3, 4-1).

No. 8 Kansas 82, Baylor 56

Brandon Rush scored 18 points and Julian Wright added 16 for the Jayhawks (17-3, 4-1 Big 12).

Curtis Jerrells scored 12 to lead the host Bears (11-8, 1-5).

No. 9 Pittsburgh 67, Cincinnati 51

Clevance Fields made a career-high six 3-pointers, leading a long-range spree that carried visiting Pittsburgh (18-3, 6-1 Big East). The Panthers went 12-of-19 from 3-point range against a smaller team determined to not get beaten inside.

John Williamson scored 15 points for Cincinnati (10-9, 1-4).

No. 11 Memphis 72, Tulsa 59

Joey Dorsey had 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks to help Memphis (16-3, 6-0 Conference USA) get the win. Robert Dozier added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Ray Reese led visiting Tulsa (12-6, 2-3) with 17 points.

No. 15 Marquette 89, Seton Hall 76

Sophomores Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal scored 22 points apiece, and Marquette (18-4, 5-2 Big East) had little trouble with Seton Hall.

Jamar Nutter scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and Eugene Harvey added 14 for Seton Hall (11-8, 3-4).

No. 17 Arizona 71, Arizona State 47

Freshman Chase Budinger had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and host Arizona (14-5, 5-4 Pac-10) snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Wildcats also beat their intrastate rival for the 11th straight time.

Christian Polk scored 11 points for Arizona State (6-14, 0-9), which has dropped 10 straight.

Vanderbilt 64, No. 21 LSU 53

Derrick Byars scored 18 points and Shan Foster added a pair of baskets in the final minutes to give visiting Vanderbilt (14-6, 4-2 SEC) its third straight victory over a ranked team.

Tasmin Mitchell and Garrett Temple fueled an 18-6 LSU run to get the Tigers (13-6, 2-3) as close as 55-49 with 2:56 left.