Sylvester Is Spot On for Ohio State

There's something about big games and last-minute shots that seem to bring out the best in Matt Sylvester.

It was the Ohio State swingman who made the three-point basket that dashed No. 1 Illinois' unbeaten season last March.

Having made only 31% of his shots from the field this season, Sylvester made another big three-pointer with 5.5 seconds left Saturday to cap a furious comeback and keep the 21st-ranked Buckeyes undefeated with a 78-76 victory over Louisiana State at Columbus, Ohio.

"I don't know what I was thinking -- my mind was pretty much blank, hoping that I'd make the shot," Sylvester said. "But when I let that one go, I felt pretty good about it."

Ohio State (10-0) trailed by 15 points with just over 5 1/2 minutes left and was down by 10 with 2 1/2 minutes to go before making every big play -- and scoring the final 12 points -- down the stretch.

"What a game!" Ohio State Coach Thad Matta said. "I'm still a little bit numb."

Terence Dials led the Buckeyes with 24 points, Sylvester and Ron Lewis each had 14 and Je'Kel Foster had 12.

"We never gave up," Lewis said. "The whole thing, the whole time we were saying we couldn't give up, that we had to stay together. We knew we could get a victory if we put our minds to it."

LSU (7-4), rattled near the end with a lineup dominated by freshmen, was led by Glen Davis' 25 points. Darrel Mitchell had 16, Tyrus Thomas had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots and Tasmin Mitchell had 12 points.

"It's not Christmas, it's New Year's," LSU Coach John Brady said. "But maybe we gave them a game."

No. 1 Duke 102, North Carolina Greensboro 69 -- J.J. Redick scored 35 points -- the third time in four games he has had at least 30 -- to lead the Blue Devils (12-0) over the Spartans (7-6) at Greensboro, N.C.

Shelden Williams posted his third straight double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and had a career-high six steals and a block.

No. 3 Villanova 75, Temple 53 -- Allan Ray scored 20 points, Mike Nardi had 17 and Kyle Lowry 15 to help the Wildcats (9-0) power past the Owls (6-4) at Philadelphia.

Villanova opened the season with nine straight wins for the first time since 1961-62 when the Wildcats won their first 12.

No. 8 Gonzaga 102, St. Joseph's 94 -- J.P. Batista scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 15 rebounds at Spokane, Wash., in a win over the Hawks (5-4) as the Bulldogs (10-3) won their 30th consecutive home game, the longest streak in the nation.