A.J. Ratliff's scariest moment came after the game was over.
Ratliff scored 18 of his season-high 20 points in the second half and Indiana held off No. 2 Wisconsin 71-66 on Wednesday night in Bloomington, Ind., ending the Badgers' 17-game winning streak. But before Ratliff and the rest of his teammates could get off the court, several thousand delirious fans stormed out of the stands and onto the floor in celebration.
"I'm claustrophobic anyway," said Ratliff, who was quickly mobbed by the Indiana fans. "I was just trying to get to the locker room. It was funny, but it was kind of scary at the same time."
Ratliff was even scarier for the Badgers during the game. He had a pair of 3-pointers during a 13-1 run and another 3-pointer that gave the Hoosiers (16-5, 6-2 Big Ten) a 53-43 lead with under 10 minutes remaining.
A rebound basket by Alando Tucker, who led Wisconsin (21-2, 7-1) with 23 points, and two 3-pointers by Kammron Taylor helped the Badgers tie the game at 59. But Ratliff scored six of Indiana's next eight points, including two free throws with a minute to go for a 70-66 lead, and the Badgers never recovered.
Ratliff, a junior guard who has been the Hoosiers' top scorer off the bench in the past three games and in five of the past six, hit 6-of-7 shots, including four 3-pointers, in the second half.
NO. 1 FLORIDA 74, NO. 24 VANDERBILT 64: At Gainesville, Fla., Lee Humphrey made three consecutive 3-pointers to key Florida's rally from a double-digit deficit and the top-ranked Gators beat Vanderbilt. Humphrey, one of the best outside shooters in the country, added another 3-pointer that gave Florida a 70-59 lead with 2:56 remaining and essentially sealed the team's 13th straight victory. The Gators (20-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half.
NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA 105, MIAMI 64: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Tyler Hansbrough scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead North Carolina past Miami. Wayne Ellington scored 14 points for the Tar Heels (20-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who had no trouble winning their fifth straight game. North Carolina shot 56 percent — including 61 percent after halftime — and hit 12 of 24 3-pointers to cruise to another league win by a double-digit margin.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 78, PURDUE 60: At West Lafayette, Ind., Mike Conley scored 18 points and Jamar Butler added 16 to help Ohio State beat Purdue and win their sixth straight game. Daequan Cook had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Greg Oden added nine points and six rebounds for the Buckeyes.
NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 73, IOWA STATE 49: At College Station, Texas, Joseph Jones scored 21 points and Texas A&M's defense did the rest in the Aggies' win over Iowa State. The win is Texas A&M's 20th straight at home and Iowa State's fifth consecutive loss.
NO. 11 MEMPHIS 87, CENTRAL FLORIDA 65: At Orlando, Fla., Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 23 points and Joey Dorsey had 22 points and nine rebounds to help Memphis rout Central Florida. Memphis (18-3, 8-0 Conference USA) led from the tip in its 10th straight win and by more than 20 most of the second half.
NO. 13 BUTLER 71, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 58: At Youngstown, Ohio, Mike Green scored a season-high 23 points, Pete Campbell added 20 and Butler won its seventh straight, beating Youngstown State. The Bulldogs, playing their fourth game in seven days, dominated the Penguins with their 3-point shooting in the first half, then attacked the rim in the second half with the same result.
NO. 15 NEVADA 79, LOUISIANA TECH 71: At Ruston, La., Nick Fazekas and Marcellus Kemp each scored 20 points to help Nevada beat Louisiana Tech. Fazekas helped Nevada (20-2, 8-1 Western Athletic Conference) fuel a 12-6 run to start the second half and extend a 31-27 halftime lead to 43-33.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 70, NO. 16 VIRGINIA TECH 59: At Blacksburg, Va., Gavin Grant scored all 16 of his points in the second half and Ben McCauley scored 20, leading North Carolina State over Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack (12-8, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) knocked the surprising Hokies out of first place in the conference by taking it to them from the start. The loss was the first in 11 home games for Virginia Tech (16-6, 6-2). Zabian Dowdell led the Hokies with 16 points.
NO. 19 ALABAMA 73, LSU 70: At Baton Rouge, La., Jermareo Davidson scored a career-high 31 points to help Alabama beat LSU. After Davidson's free throws put Alabama (16-5, 3-4 SEC) ahead 69-68 inside the final minute, Garrett Temple's pass was intercepted by Alonzo Gee, who was fouled driving to the hoop on a fast break and hit both free throws. Chris Johnson's follow-up dunk with about 10 seconds left pulled the Tigers to 71-70, but LSU failed to foul Alabama before the clock ran out.
NO. 22 TEXAS 76, TEXAS TECH 64: At Lubbock, Texas, Kevin Durant scored 37 points and grabbed a season-high 23 rebounds to lead Texas over Texas Tech. Texas steadily pulled away from the Red Raiders, in part by pounding the ball inside for 30 points. The Longhorns went up 72-58 with 3:37 remaining and Tech couldn't mount a comeback.
GONZAGA 90, NO. 23 STANFORD 86 2OT: At Stanford, Calif., Jeremy Pargo scored 11 of his 23 points in the second overtime and also had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, lifting Gonzaga to the thrilling. Derek Raivio added six of his 21 points during the second OT after missing a tough shot at the end of the first extra period to win it.