Dominique Sutton had 16 points and pressured Washington State’s Klay Thompson into a frustrating night, leading Kansas State to an 86-69 rout of the Cougars on Saturday night in Manhattan, Kan.
Kansas State (7-1) looked sharp coming off its worst game of the season, using a swarming defense to set up easy baskets on offense. Denis Clemente scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to prevent a comeback and Jacob Pullen added 21 for the Wildcats, who scored 39 points off Washington State’s 25 turnovers.
The Cougars (6-2) had no answer for Kansas State’s pressure, fumbling their way to a 20-point hole in the first half. Thompson, the nation’s second-leading scorer, had 22 points, hitting all 11 of his free throws to get there.
Reggie Moore added 16 points for Washington State.
Bouncing with energy from the opening tip, Kansas State overwhelmed Washington State with an in-your-face defense that had the Cougars bumbling the ball away and forcing up shots.
The Wildcats did their best work on Thompson, forcing him into seven turnovers in the first half and a 5-of-15 shooting performance from the floor.
Coming off a loss to Gonzaga on Wednesday, the Cougars opened the game on a turnover-a-minute pace through the first 13 minutes and had 16 that led to 26 points for Kansas State by halftime. Washington State went 71/2 minutes without a field goal on the way to a 6-of-23 shooting half.
At No. 5 Kentucky 68, No. 10 North Carolina 66: Freshman star John Wall shook off a leg injury to finish with 16 points, including the clinching free throws with 4 seconds remaining, and the Wildcats (8-0) beat the Tar Heels (7-2) in a clash between the sport’s two winningest teams.
Patrick Patterson added 19 points and seven rebounds for Kentucky, which snapped a five-game losing streak to the Tar Heels and inched closer to becoming the first program to reach 2,000 victories. The Wildcats have 1,996, while North Carolina has 1,991.
Kentucky is off to its best start since the 1992-93 season, when it started 11-0.
At No. 4 Purdue 101, Buffalo 65: Chris Kramer and E’Twaun Moore each scored 14 points to lead the Boilermakers (7-0) over Buffalo (3-3).
At No. 6 Duke 80, St. John’s 71: Kyle Singler scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half, and the Blue Devils (7-1) bounced back from their first loss by beating the Red Storm (6-1).
At No. 8 Syracuse 101, Maine 55: Freshman guard Brandon Triche had 16 points and Arinze Onuaku added 14 to help the Orangmen (8-0) cruise past the Black Bears (3-4).
At No. 15 Ohio St. 111, E. Michigan 60: Jon Diebler scored 21 points for the Buckeyes (7-1), who lost star Evan Turner to broken bones in his back.
At No. 16 Georgetown 73, American 46: Chris Wright and Henry Sims scored 12 points apiece and Greg Monroe had nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds to lead the Hoyas (6-0) over the Eagles (1-8).
Charlotte 87, at No. 20 Louisville 65: Derrio Green had a career-high 20 points as the 49ers (6-1) handed the Cardinals (5-2) their worst home loss under coach Rick Pitino.
At No. 23 Butler 84, Valparaiso 67: Gordon Hayward scored 18 points, leading five players in double figures, and the Bulldogs (6-2, 1-0 Horizon League) shot 68.8 percent from the field in the second half to beat the Crusaders (3-5, 0-1).
Women’s games
At No. 8 Baylor 77, Louisiana Tech 67: Brittney Griner had 22 points, eight rebounds and six blocks to lead the Bears (7-1) over the Lady Techsters (3-2).
No. 10 Texas A&M 72, Southern Illinois 58: Tanisha Smith scored 20 points, Adaora Elonu added 14 points and five rebounds, and the Aggies (5-0) used a late run in the second half to beat the Salukis (5-0) in the Colliers International Classic in Berkeley, Calif.
At No. 15 Arizona State 62, Pepperdine 52: Danielle Orsillo scored 13 points and sparked a key first-half run that lifted the Sun Devils (6-1) over the Waves (5-4) in the final of the ASU Classic.
At No. 18 Oklahoma 87, Arkansas 86 (OT): Amanda Thompson had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and made a layup on a baseline drive with 9 seconds left in overtime to lift the Sooners (6-2) over the Razorbacks (5-2). At No. 19 Pittsburgh 89, Western Michigan 65: Shayla Scott had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, and No. 19 Pittsburgh (7-0) beat the Broncos (3-4).
At No. 20 California 78, Colorado State 44: Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 15 points, freshman DeNesha Stallworth added 14 points and the Bears (4-2) defeated Colorado State (5-3) in the Colliers International Classic.
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