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La Salle’s Yves Mekongo, right, and Kansas’ Tyrel Reed, left, battle for a rebound during the second half of an NCAA basketball game Saturday. No. 1 Kansas won 90-65 to improve to 9-0.
AP photo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Freshman Xavier Henry scored a season-high 31 points, Markieff Morris had a double-double and No. 1 Kansas beat La Salle 90-65 on Saturday at the Sprint Center.
Kansas (9-0) used defense to overcome early rebounding problems, turning a tight game into a rout by holding its eighth opponent under 40 percent shooting this season.
Morris had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Cole Aldrich added 19 points for the Jayhawks, who were playing about 45 miles from campus.
Jerrell Williams had 21 points and Rodney Green added 19 for La Salle (6-3), which fell to 0-7 all-time against No. 1 teams.
No. 2 Texas 87, Texas St. 54
AUSTIN, Texas — Damion James got his 40th career double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds to lead Texas.
Avery Bradley added 15 points in a win that could be costly for the Longhorns (8-0).
Freshman J’Covan Brown, who has started four games at guard for Texas this season, had to be helped off the court about 6 minutes into the second half and was favoring his left leg after a fall near the basket. Trainers wrapped the ankle and he left the court on crutches a few minutes later.
No. 4 Kentucky 90, Indiana 73
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Eric Bledsoe scored 23 points and Patrick Patterson had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead Kentucky.
John Calipari matched Adolph Rupp’s record start for a first-year Kentucky coach by improving to 10-0, and the Wildcats moved within two wins of becoming the first Division I men’s basketball program with 2,000 victories.
Freshman Maurice Creek had a season-high 31 points for the Hoosiers (4-5), who have lost seven of eight in this series.
No. 22 Butler 74, No. 13 Ohio St. 66
INDIANAPOLIS — Gordon Hayward scored 24 points, and Butler beat a ranked team for the first time in four tries this season.
Willie Veasley had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (7-3), who had lost to Minnesota, Clemson and Georgetown this season.
William Buford scored 20 points and David Lighty added 17 for the Buckeyes (7-2), who played for the first time without Evan Turner, who was averaging a double-double this season. He fractured his lower back when he hit the court on a dunk attempt on Dec. 5.
No. 15 Georgetown 74, No. 17 Washington 66
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Julian Vaughn scored a career-high 18 points, and Georgetown pulled away in the Wooden Classic.
Greg Monroe had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Hoyas (8-0), who scored 12 straight points after halftime during a 21-2 run. The impressive surge abruptly blew open a previously tight game in the annual doubleheader held to honor John Wooden, UCLA’s famed 99-year-old coach.
Isaiah Thomas scored 15 of his 21 points after halftime for the Huskies (6-2) while leading a late 15-3 run, but Washington couldn’t close a 20-point deficit.
New Mexico 84, No. 16 Texas A&M 81
HOUSTON — Roman Martinez scored 22 points, including two key free throws in the final seconds, to lead New Mexico to a victory over No. 16 Texas A&M at the Toyota Center.
New Mexico is 10-0 for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
Donald Sloan had 29 points for Texas A&M (8-2), which had a four-game winning streak snapped.
The Lobos never trailed and were ahead by 17 points with 10 minutes left but had to fight off a late rally by the Aggies.
Texas A&M cut the lead to 82-81 on a 3-pointer by Khris Middleton with 10 seconds remaining before Martinez made the two free throws to secure the win.
No. 20 Wisconsin 72, Marquette 63
MADISON, Wis. — Jon Leuer scored 24 points to lead No. 20 Wisconsin to a victory over in-state rival Marquette.
It was career victory No. 200 at Wisconsin for Bo Ryan and the second straight big scoring performance by Leuer for the Badgers (7-2), who jumped into the Top 25 after beating Duke last week — only to lose at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Wednesday despite getting a career-high 26 points from Leuer.
Lazar Hayward scored 21 points for Marquette (7-3), which has lost three of its last four games after getting off to a better-than-expected start to what is supposed to be a rebuilding season.
No. 25 Mississippi 83, McNeese St. 67
OXFORD, Miss. — Chris Warren scored 20 points and Eniel Polynice had all 12 points and four steals over the final 10 minutes of the game to rally Mississippi.
The Rebels (8-1) trailed by as many as 15 points early in the second half of their first game since entering the Top 25, but they used defense to blow past the Cowboys (3-5) in the closing minutes.
The Cowboys built their largest lead with a 29-10 run that spanned halftime and featured seven 3-pointers, including four by Diego Kapelan.