Gritty Georgetown gets past Louisville

Georgetown is more concerned with accumulating wins than making statements with 10 freshmen and sophomores on the roster. Sophomore Markel Starks and freshman Otto Porter made sure the Hoyas did both.

Starks scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half and Porter added 14 points and 14 rebounds as No. 12 Georgetown snapped No. 4 Louisville's 20-game home winning streak with a 71-68 victory last night in the Big East opener for both teams.

"It was a very good, big win against a very good team in a difficult place to play," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "We aren't worrying about validation right now."

Still, it was another strong performance from a team picked 10th in the Big East. Georgetown (11-1, 1-0) built an 11-point lead before having to survive a rally to win for the ninth consecutive time.

The Cardinals (12-1, 0-1) held a tenuous lead through most of the first half and early into the second. But Starks, a sophomore, hit all four of his three-point attempts in the second half and went 7-for-8 from the field.

Kyle Kuric finished with 17 points for Louisville.

Georgetown hasn't lost since falling to Kansas on Nov. 21.

At Michigan State, Keith Appling scored a career-high 25 points and sparked a 20-0 second-half run to help the No. 16 Spartans (12-2) hand No. 13 Indiana its first loss of the season, 80-65, in the teams' Big Ten opener. Christian Watford had 26 points for the Hoosiers (12-1).

* At Syracuse, Dion Waiters had 15 points annd Fab Melo had 12 points and 10 blocks, both career highs, as the No. 1 Orange (14-0) routed Seton Hall, 75-49, in the Big East opener for both teams.

* At Kentucky, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 18 points and the No. 3 Wildcats (12-1) beat Lamar, 86-64.

* At South Florida, Jeremy Lamb had 23 points and No. 9 Connecticut (11-1) escaped with a 60-57 win in its Big East opener.

* At Dallas, Pierre Jackson had 14 points as No. 6 Baylor (13-0) edged No. 15 Mississippi State, 54-52. The Bulldogs (12-2) were led by 10 points each from Renardo Sidney and Jalen Steele.

* At Ohio State, William Buford had of 28 points as the No. 2 Buckeyes (13-1) beat Northwestern, 87-54, in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

* At Creighton, Kyle Weems scored 25 of his career-high 31 points in the second half, and Missouri State (8-5) opened defense of its Missouri Valley Conference title with a 77-65 upset of the No. 21 Bluejays. National scoring leader Doug McDermott finished with 19 points for Creighton (10-2).

* At UNLV, Chace Stanback had 29 points and six of his teammates scored in double figures as the No. 19 Runnin' Rebels (14-2) routed Central Arkansas, 124-75.