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Chris Youngblood had a season-high 23 points, including two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining, to lead No. 4 Alabama to an 88-84 win over No. 14 Mississippi State on Wednesday night in Starkville, Miss.
Youngblood made a career-best seven 3 pointers while Alabama made 15 of 31 from beyond the arc.
Mark Sears had 17 points for Alabama (18-3, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) and Grant Nelson scored 15.
Josh Hubbard had a career-high 38 points for Mississippi State (16-5, 4-4) and made a season-high six 3s. KeShawn Murphy scored 18 points for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State had an opportunity to take the lead in the closing seconds but Murphy missed a running layup with 13 seconds left.
Alabama missed three straight free throws with 24 seconds left to give Mississippi State an opportunity.
Mississippi State jumped out to an 11-5 lead on a pair of 3-pointers by Hubbard in the opening minutes. However, Alabama started to find its range beyond the arc and the Tide used an 8-0 run to grab a 35-27 lead with 5:33 left in the half.
Alabama led 44-39 at halftime.
MARYLAND 76, NO. 17 WISCONSIN 68: Rodney Rice and Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 16 points apiece, and the host Terrapins (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) won their fourth straight game, over the Badgers (16-5, 6-4). The Terrapins trailed 48-43 in the second half before taking the lead for good with a 14-2 run. Julian Reese scored 14 points for the Terps, and Derik Queen contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds. Maryland has won six of its last seven, with the only defeat an overtime loss at Northwestern. Maryland led 62-58 before Gillespie banked in a 3-pointer, starting a 7-0 run for the Terps that pushed the lead to double digits. Maryland finished 12 of 24 from 3-point range. John Tonje led Wisconsin with 23 points.
NO. 1 AUBURN 87, LSU 74: Johni Broome scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half and had 16 rebounds to help the Tigers (19-1, 7-0 Southeastern) beat host LSU for their 12th straight victory.
Auburn matched the best 20-game start in school history. Kelly Miles added 13 points, Chad-Baker Mazara had 11 and Tahaad Petiford 10.
NO. 6 HOUSTON 63, WEST VIRGINIA 49: L.J. Cryer scored 17 points and the Cougars (17-3, 9-0 Big 12) never trailed in beating the host Mountaineers (13-7 4-5) for their 13th straight win. West Virginia has lost three straight.
NO. 22 TEXAS TECH 71, TCU 57: JT Toppin had 18 points and 14 rebounds, Chance McMillian scored 16 points and the host Red Raiders (16-4, 7-2 Big 12) beat TCU the Horned Frogs (10-10, 3-6) in their first game as a ranked team this season.
NO. 23 MISSISSIPPI 72, TEXAS 68: Davon Barnes made two free throws with 8 seconds left and the Rebels (16-5, 5-3 Southeastern) got two defensive stops in the final 10 seconds to hold off the visiting Longhorns (14-7, 3-5).
NO. 25 CONNECTICUT 72, DEPAUL 61: Solo Ball scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and the host Huskies (15-6, 7-3 Big East) rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat the Blue Demons (10-12, 1-10).
In women’s top-25 games:
NO. 6 CONNECTICUT 84, DEPAUL 58: Kaitlyn Chen scored 17 points to match her season high, Azzi Fudd also had 17 and the Huskies (20-2, 11-0) rolled past the host Blue Demons (11-12, 6-4) for their 10th straight win and 31st in a row in Big East regular-season play.
NO. 14 MARYLAND 82, PENN STATE 73: Sarah Te-Biasu scored 20 points, Kaylene Smikle added 17 and the Terrapins (17-4, 7-3 Big Ten) held off the visiting Nittany Lions’ (10-12, 1-10) late rally.
NO. 24 OKLAHOMA STATE 83, ARIZONA STATE 71: Stailee Heard scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the Cowboys (18-3, 8-2 Big 12) used a strong first quarter to defeat the Sun Devils (8-14, 2-8), host Oklahoma State’s fourth-straight win and ASU’s seventh-straight loss.