LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Chris Smith matched his personal best with 19 points to go over 1,000 for his career and No. 5 Louisville beat IUPUI 90-60 on Wednesday night for the Cardinals’ 16th consecutive victory at home.
Gorgui Dieng hit all eight of his shots to set a career high with 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds as the Cardinals started 8-0 for the second season in a row.
Louisville’s schedule hasn’t been too difficult with only one road game so far before the Cardinals travel to face No. 1 Kentucky in a Dec. 31 showdown.
In the meantime, they’re continuing to get healthier with the return of forward Rakeem Buckles. He hadn’t played since tearing a ligament in his right knee in February and had a three-point play during a key 15-0 second half run that sealed the victory.
Stephen Thomas led IUPUI (2-8) with 14 points.
NO. 7 DUKE 87, COLORADO STATE 64
In Durham, N.C., freshman Austin Rivers scored 17 points to help Duke to the victory.
Andre Dawkins added 15 first-half points for the Blue Devils (8-1), who were playing their first game since last week’s lopsided loss at Ohio State. Duke had no trouble knocking down shots and finished the game shooting 56 percent, with Dawkins and Mason Plumlee helping the Blue Devils build a 17-point halftime margin.
Greg Smith scored 18 points to lead the Rams (5-4), who had stretches of offensive success.
NO. 8 XAVIER 73, BUTLER 61
In Indianapolis, Tu Holloway scored 14 of his 16 points from the free-throw line and Mark Lyons also had 16 points.
The Musketeers (7-0) kept their perfect record intact by scoring 10 consecutive points in the second half after leading by 18 in the first.
NO. 12 FLORIDA 78, ARIZONA 72
In Gainesville, Fla., Patric Young scored a career-high 25 points and Erving Walker made free throws down the stretch to lead Florida.
Walker finished with 14 points, including seven in the extra frame. He overcame a poor shooting night from the field (3 of 16) and a miserable performance from 3-point range (1 of 9).
NO. 14 WISCONSIN 70, GREEN BAY 42
In Madison, Wis., Jordan Taylor had 15 points and 10 assists to lead the Badgers.
Ryan Evans scored 14 points and Jared Berggren added 13 for the Badgers (7-2), who took control with a 14-1 run in the first half. Evans and Berggren had back-to-back dunks as Wisconsin scored the first eight points of the second half to build a 20-point lead.
DAYTON 74, NO. 16 ALABAMA 62
In Dayton, Ohio, Chris Johnson scored 20 points and Dayton closed with a 17-9 run to knock off Alabama, ruining Crimson Tide head coach Anthony Grant’s homecoming.
Grant starred for the Flyers from 1983-87.
Alabama fell behind 38-27 at halftime with star forward JaMychal Green on the bench most of the first half with two fouls. Green scored the Tide’s first six points and finished with 12 on 6 of 9 shooting.
Dayton (6-3) led 56-40 with 11:52 to play when Alabama increased its defensive pressure to cut its deficit to 57-53 with 7:43 left.
NO. 24 ILLINOIS 48, ST. BONAVENTURE 43
In Champaign, Ill., Brandon Paul scored 12 points in the final four minutes to keep Illinois undefeated with a sloppy comeback win.
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