The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Mario Austin didn't have his usual game, but he had just enough. Austin scored 18 points as No. 16 Mississippi State upset No. 5 Oklahoma 54-45 Saturday in the Sugar Bowl Classic.

"Down the stretch, I came up with big baskets for our team," said Austin, who was held below his 26-point average for the first time since Dec. 10 when the NCAA cleared him to play.

Mississippi State (8-1) shot 36 percent from the field (18-of-50) and was just 3-of-13 from 3-point range, but the Bulldogs made 15 of 19 from the free throw line to stay ahead.

Oklahoma (6-2), had won its six games by an average of 23.7 points but shot a dismal 31 percent.

"They're probably one of the best defensive teams we've played against," Oklahoma's Hollis Price said.

OKLAHOMA (6-2)-Bookout 1-3 0-0 2, Brown 0-2 2-2 2, Ere 4-16 0-1 9, White 3-12 0-0 8, Price 6-17 2-2 17, Johnston 0-0 0-0 0, Alexander 1-1 0-0 3, Gilbert 1-2 0-0 2, Szendrei 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 17-54 4-5 45.

MISSISSIPPI ST. (8-1)-Harper 2-5 0-0 5, Ignerski 3-8 4-5 11, Austin 5-12 8-10 18, Bowers 1-8 0-0 3, Zimmerman 3-9 2-3 8, Campbell 2-3 0-0 4, Cowherd 0-1 0-0 0, Frazier 1-2 0-0 2, Vincent 1-2 1-1 3. Totals 18-50 15-19 54.

Halftime-Tied 23-23. 3-Point goals-Oklahoma 7-24 (Price 3-10, White 2-6, Alexander 1-1, Ere 1-7), Mississippi St. 3-13 (Harper 1-2, Ignerski 1-3, Bowers 1-4, Austin 0-1, Frazier 0-1, Zimmerman 0-2).

No. 2 Pittsburgh 65, George Mason 41

PITTSBURGH - Jaron Brown scored 13 points as Pittsburgh matched its best start since the 1987-88 season, the last time it was ranked No. 2. This is the Panthers' best start in coach Ben Howland's four seasons.

GEORGE MASON (5-4)-Larranaga 1-13 1-2 3, Lewis 2-5 0-0 4, Wurtz 0-2 0-0 0, Heinen 2-6 0-0 5, Davis 6-16 2-4 15, Young 4-10 1-1 9, Tynes 0-4 2-2 2, Harris 0-0 2-2 2, Wyatt 0-2 1-6 1. Totals 15-58 9-17 41.

PITTSBURGH (9-0)-Brown 5-7 3-3 13, Zavackas 3-6 0-0 8, Morris 2-4 4-6 8, Page 3-6 1-2 8, Knight 2-7 3-4 7, Troutman 3-3 3-7 9, Demetris 0-3 0-0 0, Krauser 2-9 1-2 6, McCarroll 0-1 0-0 0, Lett 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 23-53 15-24 65.

Halftime-Pittsburgh 36-20. 3-Point goals-George Mason 2-11 (Heinen 1-1, Davis 1-5, Wyatt 0-1, Larranaga 0-2, Young 0-2), Pittsburgh 4-17 (Zavackas 2-4, Page 1-3, Krauser 1-3, Brown 0-1, Demetris 0-1, Knight 0-5).

No. 4 Arizona 95, Davidson 69

TUCSON, Ariz. - Salim Stoudamire scored a season-high 23 points and Arizona ran away from Davidson in the second halfin the first round of the Fiesta Bowl Classic.

Arizona plays Boston University for the tournament championship Monday night.

DAVIDSON (6-2)-Grace 2-8 0-0 5, Lusakueno 3-7 1-4 7, Anderer 6-13 0-0 17, Winters 3-7 2-4 9, Bernard 1-6 0-0 3, McKillop 2-8 0-0 5, Johnson 8-15 5-5 21, Ivory 1-2 0-1 2, Clunie 0-0 0-0 0, Summers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 8-14 69.

ARIZONA (6-1)-Walton 2-6 0-0 6, Adams 9-17 0-1 18, Frye 5-10 2-4 12, Stoudamire 6-8 9-10 23, Gardner 2-8 3-5 8, Fox 1-1 2-3 4, Bynum 0-3 0-0 0, Rodgers 4-9 5-6 14, Latimore 2-4 4-6 8, Iguodala 1-3 0-0 2, Ranne 0-0 0-0 0, Torres 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 25-35 95.

Halftime-Arizona 45-39. 3-Point goals-Davidson 9-26 (Anderer 5-10, Winters 1-2, Bernard 1-3, Grace 1-4, McKillop 1-6, Johnson 0-1), Arizona 6-20 (Stoudamire 2-3, Walton 2-5, Rodgers 1-3, Gardner 1-5, Adams 0-1, Bynum 0-1, Iguodala 0-2).

No. 6 Connecticut 93, Central Connecticut 65

HARTFORD, Conn. - Ben Gordon scored 24 points and Emeka Okafor added 17 for the Huskies.

Okafor also had 11 rebounds and accounted for eight blocks.

The Blue Devils (3-4) couldn't slow down the Huskies' break and had no answer for the 6-foot-9 Okafor in the post. Jon Popofski shot 5-for-8 from 3-point range and led Central with 18 points.

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (3-4)-Robinson 2-9 2-4 6, Scott 6-19 2-2 16, Pittman 1-4 0-0 2, Alexander 2-6 0-0 4, Popofski 6-14 1-2 18, Chiera 2-9 0-0 5, Dukes 0-0 0-0 0, Jefferson 0-3 2-2 2, Barrett 1-3 3-4 5, Hargreaves 2-3 2-2 7. Totals 22-70 12-16 65.

CONNECTICUT (8-0)-Hayes 1-2 0-0 2, D.Brown 1-5 0-0 2, Okafor 8-10 1-1 17, Gordon 9-13 3-3 24, T.Brown 2-6 1-5 5, Swaller 0-0 0-0 0, Wise 2-2 0-0 5, J.Brown 2-5 2-4 6, White 2-2 0-0 4, Tooles 1-1 2-2 4, Anderson 2-6 0-0 5, Robertson 8-11 0-0 19, Woodward 0-0 0-0 0, Evanovich 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-63 9-15 93.

Halftime-UConn 47-27. 3-Point goals-CCSU 9-20 (Popofski 5-8, Scott 2-7, Hargreaves 1-1, Chiera 1-4, Jefferson 0-1, Alexander 0-2), UConn 8-14 (Gordon 3-3, Robertson 3-5, Wise 1-1, Anderson 1-2, T.Brown 0-1, D.Brown 0-2).

Memphis 77, No. 7 Illinois 74

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Chris Massie had 13 points and 10 rebounds in his first game of the season as Memphis held off Illinois.

ILLINOIS (8-1)-Cook 6-14 8-8 21, Augustine 3-3 0-2 7, Powell 1-2 0-0 2, Williams 3-6 0-2 8, Brown 6-14 2-2 19, Head 0-3 0-2 0, Ferguson 0-3 5-6 5, Harrington 2-6 0-0 6, Wilson 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 2-7 2-2 6. Totals 23-59 17-24 74.

MEMPHIS (6-2)-Massie 5-7 3-6 13, Grice 5-10 3-4 16, Hunt 3-11 2-2 11, Richmond 4-13 2-5 10, Rice 5-9 2-2 16, Burks 1-4 0-1 2, Carney 1-4 0-0 2, Erwin 1-2 1-2 3, Barron 0-3 4-6 4. Totals 25-63 17-28 77.

Halftime-Illinois 37-31. 3-Point goals-Illinois 11-31 (Brown 5-11, Williams 2-5, Harrington 2-6, Augustine 1-1, Cook 1-3, Powell 0-1, Wilson 0-1, Head 0-3), Memphis 10-23 (Rice 4-6, Grice 3-6, Hunt 3-8, Richmond 0-1, Carney 0-2).

No. 11 Oregon 108,

UC Riverside 67

EUGENE, Ore. - Luke Ridnour had 24 points and Luke Jackson added 20 as Oregon (9-1) beat the overmatched Highlanders for its school record-tying 23rd straight home victory.

Robert Johnson added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Oregon

No. 12 Florida 99, Bethune-Cookman 64

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Matt Walsh hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 29 points to lead Florida (10-2).

No. 13 Marquette 105, Grambling State 74

MILWAUKEE - Robert Jackson scored a season-high 26 points and Dwyane Wade had 23 as Marquette (8-1) won for the 23rd straight time at home.

No. 15 Michigan State 76

Jacksonville State 52

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Chris Hill led four players in double figures with 14 points as the Spartans (8-2) cruised.

No. 19 Kansas 80, California 67

OAKLAND, Calif. - Wayne Simien led a balanced attack with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, in the first game of the Pete Newell Challenge.

Nick Collison had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks (7-3), who won their fourth straight.

Iowa 67, No. 20 Tulsa 63

TULSA, Okla. - Chauncey Leslie's reverse layup with 52 seconds left gave Iowa its first lead, and the Hawkeyes overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to beat Tulsa.

No. 22 North Carolina 63, St. John's 59

NEW YORK - Rashad McCants scored 21 points for North Carolina (8-3), including the clinching free throws with 5.6 seconds to play, in the consolation game of the Holiday Festival.

No. 25 Wake Forest 104, North Carolina A&T 64

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Vytas Danelius scored 18 points and Josh Howard added 17 to lead Wake Forest (7-0). Freshmen Justin Gray and Eric Williams each added 13 points for the Demon Deacons.

How the Top 25 Fared

1. Alabama (8-0) did not play. Next: at Utah, Monday.

2. Pittsburgh (9-0) beat George Mason 65-41. Next: at Georgia, Tuesday.

3. Duke (6-0) did not play. Next: vs. Dayton, Sunday.

4. Arizona (6-1) beat Davidson 95-69. Next: vs. Boston University or Florida State, Monday.

5. Oklahoma (6-2) lost to No. 16 Mississippi State 54-45. Next: vs. North Carolina-Asheville, Monday.

6. Connecticut (8-0) beat Central Connecticut State 93-65. Next: vs. St. Bonaventure, Thursday.

7. Illinois (8-1) lost to Memphis 77-74. Next: vs. Coppin State, Monday.

8. Notre Dame (10-1) did not play. Next: vs. Vanderbilt, Monday.

9. Texas (7-2) did not play. Next: vs. Louisiana Tech, Monday.

10. Indiana (8-2) lost to Temple 71-64. Next: at Ball State, Tuesday.

11. Oregon (9-1) beat UC Riverside 108-67. Next: vs. No. 4 Arizona, Thursday.

12. Florida (10-2) beat Bethune-Cookman 99-64. Next: vs. Florida A&M, Monday.

13. Marquette (8-1) beat Grambling State 105-74. Next: at East Carolina, Monday.

14. Kentucky (6-3) lost to Louisville 81-63. Next: vs. Tennessee State, Monday.

15. Michigan State (8-2) beat Jacksonville State 76-52. Next: vs. Toledo, Monday.

16. Mississippi State (8-1) beat No. 5 Oklahoma 54-45. Next: at South Alabama, Monday.

17. Missouri (6-1) did not play. Next: vs. Evansville, Monday.

18. Creighton (9-0) did not play. Next: vs. Southeast Missouri State, Sunday.

19. Kansas (7-3) beat California 80-67. Next: vs. North Carolina-Asheville, Thursday.

20. Tulsa (7-2) lost to Iowa 67-63. Next: at Fresno State, Wednesday.

21. Xavier (8-2) beat Eastern Kentucky 84-60. Next: vs. No. 18 Creighton, Tuesday.

22. North Carolina (8-3) beat St. John's 63-59. Next: at Miami, Saturday.

23. Maryland (5-3) did not play. Next: vs. Georgia Tech, Sunday.

24. LSU (8-1) beat Tulane 74-62. Next: vs. New Orleans, Monday.

25. Wake Forest (7-0) beat North Carolina A&T 104-64. Next: vs. Bethune-Cookman, Monday.

Scores

EAST

American U. 76, Elon 51

Connecticut 93, Cent. Connecticut St. 65

Drexel 78, Philadelphia 61

Fairfield 91, Fordham 83

La Salle 73, Cornell 59

Marist 66, Holy Cross 63

Mass.-Lowell 79, Teikyo-Post 73

Massachusetts 81, Marshall 58

Navy 89, E. Michigan 81

Old Dominion 84, George Washington 76

Penn St. 74, St. Francis, Pa. 55

Pittsburgh 65, George Mason 41

Providence 80, Northeastern 61

Rutgers 54, Delaware St. 41

St. Bonaventure 94, Toledo 68

St. Peter's 77, Hofstra 64

Syracuse 109, Albany, N.Y. 79

Temple 71, Indiana 64

William Paterson 62, York, N.Y. 59

SOUTH

Charleston Southern 80, Georgia St. 75

Clemson 78, Liberty 65

Colorado 76, Charlotte 74

Embry-Riddle 104, Neumann 80

Florida 99, Bethune-Cookman 64

Florida Southern 68, Mass.-Dartmouth 63

Georgia 89, Wis.-Milwaukee 69

Hanover 86, Hobart 62

Hartford 59, Md.-Eastern Shore 58

High Point 79, Campbell 76

Ind.-Pur.-Indpls. 98, Morehead St. 89, OT

LSU 74, Tulane 62

La.-Lafayette 88, Loyola of Chicago 77

Louisville 81, Kentucky 63

McNeese St. 74, SW Texas 64

Memphis 77, Illinois 74

Mississippi 71, Ark.-Pine Bluff 38

Mississippi St. 54, Oklahoma 45

N.C. Central 63, Catawba 61

South Alabama 74, Samford 51

Tampa 59, Wayne, Mich. 54

Virginia 79, Georgetown 75

Wake Forest 104, N. Carolina A&T 64

MIDWEST

Akron 84, Hampton 79

Bowling Green 80, Cleveland St. 72

Cardinal Stritch 91, Mount Mercy 77

Cincinnati 66, Miami (Ohio) 54

DePaul 52, Seton Hall 41

Earlham 82, Franklin 76

Geneva 89, Malone 79

Goshen 85, Adrian 80

Ill.-Chicago 77, N. Illinois 45

Kent St. 86, Boston College 83, OT

Lake Superior St. 92, St. Mary's, Mich. 48

Lakeland 75, Wis.-La Crosse 68

Manchester 82, Oberlin 45

Marquette 105, Grambling St. 74

Michigan St. 76, Jacksonville St. 52

Niagara 66, Youngstown St. 58

Ohio Northern 78, Muskingum 49

Ohio St. 94, Tennessee St. 73

Purdue 87, Valparaiso 55

Saint Louis 71, S. Illinois 60

Southwest St., Minn. 82, Minn.-Duluth 78

St. Joseph's, Ind. 77, Mercyhurst 63

Texas Tech 99, Minnesota 89, OT

Xavier 84, E. Kentucky 60

SOUTHWEST

Arkansas 75, Centenary 51

Iowa 67, Tulsa 63

North Texas 82, Texas A&M Commerce 74

Oklahoma Baptist 99, Hillsdale Baptist 29

Sam Houston St. 61, Lamar 47

Texas-Arlington 71, Texas-San Antonio 59

FAR WEST

Kansas 80, California 67

Michigan 81, UCLA 76

N. Colorado 96, Hope 62

Oregon 108, UC Riverside 67

Oregon St. 59, Coppin St. 53

SMU 64, Gardner-Webb 63

Stanford 81, Gonzaga 71

Washington 89, CS Northridge 80

Wyoming 74, Detroit 60

TOURNAMENT

ASU/azcentral.com Hoops Classic

Third Place

Bucknell 67, UC Santa Barbara 60

Assumption College Tournament

First Round

Assumption 85, Daemen 50

Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic

First Round

Arizona 95, Davidson 69

Boston U. 84, Florida St. 69

CSI Tournament of Heroes

First Round

Bethany,W.Va. 68, Elmira 67

Kings Point 68, Staten Island 45

Cable Car Classic

Third Place

Texas A&M 65, MVSU 56

Comfort Suites Holiday Classic

First Round

Bryant 80, Molloy 55

FIU Holiday Classic

Third Place

St. Francis, NY 69, Radford 63

Findlay Holiday Classic

Championship

Findlay 92, Point Park 60

Flint Hills Resources Islander Class

Championship

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 80, Oakland, Mich. 72

Third Place

Texas Southern 94, Morgan St. 83

Foot Locker/MSG Holiday Festival

Championship

Manhattan 68, Iona 63

Third Place

North Carolina 63, St. John's 59

Gossner Foods Classic

Third Place

Arkansas St. 71, UMKC 56

Hillsdale Christmas Classic

Consolation Bracket

N. Kentucky 85, Ferris St. 65

Land of Magic Classic

First Round

Hamilton 82, Messiah 61

LeMoyne Holiday Tournament

First Round

Brockport 65, C.W. Post 64

LeMoyne 84, Roberts Wesleyan 81

Lobo Invitational

First Round

Pepperdine 116, Ark.-Little Rock 110, 2OT

MSU Holiday Tournament

Championship

Montclair St. 75, Baruch 66

Third Place

Susquehanna 74, E. Connecticut 60

Oneida Bingo & Casino Classic

Championship

Wis.-Green Bay 88, Delaware 82

Third Place

Austin Peay 77, E. Washington 69

Otterbein "O'' Club Classic

Championship

Otterbein 76, Mount St. Joseph 67

Third Place

Grove City 86, Cazenovia 68

Poinsettia Holiday Classic

First Round

Dartmouth 86, Stetson 74

Furman 75, New Hampshire 52

Sierra Providence SunClassic

Third Place

Air Force 63, UTEP 45

Spider Invitational

First Round

Norfolk St. 70, VMI 69

Richmond 86, Harvard 59

USF Shootout

First Round

ETSU 71, Belmont 61

South Florida 92, Long Island U. 52

SEE CINERGY IMPLOSION
Animation from Enquirer photos
Video from WCPO
Galleries: Implosion | Crowd | Aerial shots | Views from Kentucky

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Implosion called 'perfect event'
Partiers impressed by implosion
Fifty-five years that shaped Cincinnati's riverfront

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Bills 27, Bengals 9
Game might be LeBeau's last
Mooshagian to interview for college job
Isolation Booth: TKO Vs. Bledsoe
Keys to the game
Bengals-Bills by the numbers
The Edge
Life as a Rookie

AROUND THE NFL
This week's NFL picks, power rankings
If winning is only stat that matters, give McNair MVP
Giants 10, Eagles 7
Raiders 24, Chiefs 0
Home not so sweet for Browns
Colts in, but are they ready?
The playoff picture remains unclear

UC BEARCATS
UC 66, Miami 54
Fouls hurt RedHawks
UC-Miami Notebook: Hicks comes back
DAUGHERTY: What if UC had beaten OSU?

WOMEN'S CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT
UC women beat Xavier with defense
Ex-Bearcats, Pirtle say hello

XAVIER
No. 21 Xavier 84, Eastern Kentucky 60

OTHER COLLEGE BASKETBALL NEWS
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Stone's redemption - UK's nightmare
Ohio State 94, Tennessee State 73
Temple 71, No. 10 Indiana 64
Saturday's Top 25 roundup
NKU men top Ferris St. to reach perfect 10

FIESTA BOWL
Buckeyes wary Miami has speed to burn
Close wins got Miami, OSU to Tempe
Buckeyes' home away from home is isolated in desert
Five questions with John Gonsior

OTHER COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
Brooks hired as UK football coach
Alamo goes to Badgers in OT
Lundy powers Virginia to win
Bowls at a glance

PREP SPORTS
Ohio boys: No. 1 Bacon loses first game
Ky. boys: Dixie gives Draud 100th win
Ohio girls: No. 2 Mercy runs away from Notre Dame
Ky. girls: Campbell wins Ryle challenge with 73-46 win
Hockey: Powell too much for Moeller
Preps schedules, results

BASEBALL
Reds Q&A
Prospects aren't improving for Orioles
It's goodbye to an era
Final countdown on Cinergy Field
Riverfront timeline

PRO HOOPS
NBA: Riley, ref ignore each other
Local players in the NBA

HOCKEY
Kariya plays despite death of father
Ducks go down; Cyclones roll

TRISTATE SPOTLIGHT
Area players' bowl (games) runneth over
Enquirer's Page Two power rankings

PLAN YOUR DAY
Sports on TV, radio this weekend