Ohio State Escapes, Villanova Drains 'Cuse, Kansas Suffers First Loss to Texas

1 Ohio State 73, 22 Illinois 68
Top Peformer: (OSU) Jared Sullinger 27 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks
Recap: The mighty Buckeyes survived a scare on the road against a tough Illinois(14-6, 4-3 in Big 10) team. Jared Sullinger, the killer freshman had another dominant performance putting up 27 points and taking down 16 boards. Guard Jon Diebler also had 15 points. The Fighting Illini kept close with the Buckeyes the whole game lead by a strong bench(28 points off bench) which was headed by Jereme Richmond who had 18 points. For the Buckeyes they are 20-0, 7-0 in Big Ten with the 5-point win.

7 Villanova 83, 3 Syracuse 72
Top Peformer: (NOVA) Maalik Waynes 21 points, 2 assists, 2 steals
Recap: Syracuse didn't want to play Villanova who has had great success at the Carrier Dome. Perimeter play was the reason why the 'Cats beat the Orange as Maalik Waynes drained 3 threes, Corey Stokes had four and Corey Fisher had three. Looks like Jay Wright's heavy recruiting of guards has finally paid off. Kris Joseph scored 23 but late in the game the Orange weren't looking for him. Now Villanova is 17-2 and 5-1 in the Big East while Syracuse is now 18-2 and 5-2 in the Big East.

11 Texas 74, 2 Kansas 63
Top Performer: (KU) Marcus Morris 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Previously undefeated Kansas was hoping to handle Texas(16-3, 4-0 in Big 12) and continue their dominant win streak at home. It didn't quite go the way they planned. The Longhorns used spread out scoring with J'Covan Brown(23 points), Jordan Hamilton(17) and Tristian Thompson (12). Kansas had a few bright spots with Marcus Morris and Tyrel Reed who had 17 points and 6 boards. But, mostly the 'Horns pushed them down the door. Kansas is now 18-1 and 3-1 in the Big 12.