Big East play got underway Monday night with a premier match-up in Pittsburgh, as the #6 Panthers handed Connecticut its first loss of the season, 78-63, despite 31 points from the nation's scoring leader, Kemba Walker.Out in Kentucky, the Louisville Cardinals were getting in a final pre-conference tune-up, thrashing Morgan State, 104-74, with Preston Knowles going for a career-high 31 points and junior guard Kyle Kuric scoring 25 on 9-for-13 shooting, hitting 7 of 10 three-point shots.
Knowles canned 9-of-14 shots from the field, including 6 of 9 from three-point range as the Cardinals topped the century mark for the third time this season and upped their record to an impressive 11-1. Louisville scorched the nets on a 59% shooting night, nailing 37 of 63 shots and were even more incredible from beyond the arc, knocking down 17 of 23 treys, a 74% performance.
Notable: Will Buford scored 23 points to lead #2 Ohio State to a 100-40 victory over hopelessly-outgunned Tennessee-Martin, extending the Buckeyes' winning streak to 13 straight. The 13-0 mark is the 4th-best start in Ohio State's 112 years of basketball history. Ohio State opens Big Ten play at Indiana on New Year's Eve.
