No. 15 St. John’s beats Georgetown for its 7th straight win

WASHINGTON>> Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor had 13 points apiece as No. 15 St. John’s rolled to a 66-41 victory at Georgetown on Tuesday night, extending its winning streak to seven games.

Eight players scored for the Red Storm, on their longest run of consecutive wins in Big East play since 2000. First-place St. John’s (18-3, 9-1) is off to its best start since opening the 1985-86 season 20-2 during the program’s heyday under Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca.

This one was over early, with Rick Pitino’s team jumping ahead by scores of 23-3 and 37-9 and leading by 30 late in the first half. Malik Mack had 13 points for Georgetown (13-8, 4-6), which cut the margin to 15 with 6:33 remaining but could not close the gap any further.

No. 7 MICHIGAN ST. 72, MINNESOTA 51>> Tre Holloman scored all 12 of his points in the first half, Jaden Akins had 10 of his 12 after halftime and No. 7 Michigan State routed Minnesota.

The Spartans (18-2, 9-0 Big Ten) have won 13 straight games for the first time since the 2018-19 season that ended with Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo’s eighth and most recent Final Four appearance.

The Golden Gophers (11-10, 3-7) had won three straight Big Ten games, including against then-No. 15 Oregon and then-No. 20 Michigan.

No. 9 Marquette 78, Butler 69>> Stevie Mitchell scored 10 of his career-high 22 points during a key five-minute stretch in the second half, helping No. 9 Marquette overcome Kam Jones’ foul trouble to beat Butler 78-69 on Tuesday night.

Mitchell finished 9 of 14 from the field and also had five rebounds.

The Golden Eagles (18-3, 9-1 Big East) won their third straight to stay tied with No. 15 St. John’s atop the league standings despite losing Jones, their best player, for nearly 10 minutes after drawing his fourth foul with 13:32 to play. Jones finished with 17 points.

No. 12 KENTUCKY 78, No. 8 TENNESSEE 73>> Koby Brea scored 18 points to lead No. 12 Kentucky to a victory over No. 8 Tennessee.

Jaxson Robinson added 17 points as the Wildcats (15-5, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) snapped a two-game skid. Otega Oweh scored 14 and Amari Williams had 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Igor Milicic led the Volunteers (17-4, 4-4) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Chaz Lanier scored 15 and Zakai Zeigler added 13.

Kentucky overcame injuries to ballhandlers Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa. The Wildcats committed eight turnovers in the first half but just five in the second.

No. 11 Jayhawks91, UCF 87>> Zeke Mayo scored 24 points, including a pair of clinching free throws with 3.1 seconds left, and No. 11 Kansas rallied to beat UCF 91-87 to avoid its first back-to-back losses in Allen Fieldhouse in 36 years.

Hunter Dickinson added 24 points and Flory Bidunga had 10 points and 11 boards for the Jayhawks (15-5, 6-3 Big 12), who were coming off a double-overtime loss to sixth-ranked Houston.

Kansas has not lost consecutive games at the Phog since dropping four straight under Roy Williams in 1989.

No. 21 LOUISVILLE 72, WAKE FOREST 59>> Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 18 points as No. 21 Louisville cruised to a win over Wake Forest.

A 12-0 run midway through the first half gave the Cardinals (16-5, 9-1 ACC) a 26-11 lead with 8:26 left and they led by 29 in the second half.

Reyne Smith added 16 points, and Chucky Hepburn finished with 14 points and eight assists as Louisville extended its winning streak to 10 games.

Hunter Salis, who came in third in the ACC with 18.9 points per game, scored 13 for Wake Forest (15-6, 7-3) before he was ejected with 14:47 remaining after picking up his second technical foul.

— The Associated Press