Floor Burns: 'Cuse Loses, UK Claims Bluegrass, Zags Outlast Illini, 'Nova Nips Marquette

Recapping the day in college hoops so far.

Pittsburgh 82, Syracuse 72. Syracuse got to today without a loss to its name by combining strong play up front with the scoring of Wesley Johnson. Neither of those things could carry the day against Pittsburgh. Johnson had 19 and the Orange held their own on the boards, but Ashton Gibbs and Jermaine Dixon combined for 45 as the Panthers scored 55 in the second half, taking the lead with 18:16 left in the game and never letting 'Cuse do more than tie it up. This more than makes up for the ugly win over New Hampshire earlier this season.

Kentucky 71, Louisville 62. It wasn't pretty, with five technical fouls, including three before any points were scored, and a forearm shiver from DeMarcus Cousins that may have deserved an ejection. And Kentucky failed to capitalize on a horrific stretch to begin the game from Louisville, never leading by more than 13. But even just a few spectacular plays from John Wall, who struggled early and committed five turnovers, were enough to support Cousins' superb performance: His 18 points and 18 rebounds led all scorers and boarders. UK is still undefeated under John Calipari.

Gonzaga 85, Illinois 83. A few days after knocking off this year's off-brand darling -- that would be Northwestern -- in overtime, Illinois lost to a perennial mid-major monster in overtime. The Illini ensured bonus basketball on a Dominique Keller three to tie it at 79, but had no answer for the Zags' balance: Steven Gray put in 20, Robert Sacre and Elias Harris each had 19, and Harris' lay-up with 12 seconds remaining provided the final margin.

Villanova 74, Marquette 72. In a pitched Big East battle -- the largest lead of the game was seven points, the largest margin of the second half just four -- Villanova beat Marquette thanks to 23 from Scottie Reynolds, including the go-ahead jumper with 18 seconds left. Lazar Hayward put up 17 points and pulled down 14 boards in defeat.

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