Notre Dame surprises Wildcats

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 8 Kentucky and its heralded freshmen weren't ready for the first true road test of the season.

The Wildcats looked comfortable at the start against Notre Dame, jumping to an early six-point lead.

But once the Fighting Irish and their sellout crowd got going, Kentucky faltered and lost 64-50 on Thursday night.

We came out a little shell-shocked and we started playing their game, which is slow down and half court, said Julius Mays, who led the Wildcats (4-2) with 16 points.

I think we're more of an up-tempo team.

Kentucky coach John Calipari said the Wildcats struggled down the stretch.

It was obvious they needed help from me and it was obvious they didn't get it from me, he said.

Calipari said his young team wasn't ready for the atmosphere.

It's tough to coach new teams each year, that's what is hard. That's just part of what we have to deal with. Every team is new, and we are just learning about our team, he said.

Junior guards Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant paced the Irish (7-1).

Atkins led the Fighting Irish with 16 points, Grant had 13 points and six assists and Jack Cooley added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The way our guards were controlling things, I didn't have to do a lot of coaching, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.

Those guys were coaching the team. Eric Atkins running things, calling sets. When you have a veteran backcourt doing that, I just don't want to get in their way too much.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Michael Frazier II scored 17 points, one of six Florida players in double figures, and the seventh-ranked Gators routed Marquette in the SEC-Big East Challenge.

Florida took control midway through the first half, building a double-digit lead thanks to Frazier's hot hand and solid defense, and never let up.

The Gators kept things rolling after the break, opening up a 23-point lead on Will Yeguete's layup.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Redshirt freshman Kyle Dranginis scored a season high 30 points, and five other Gonzaga players scored in double figures as the 12th-ranked Bulldogs coasted to a victory over Lewis-Clark State College.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Morgan Stroman scored 15 points, leading Miami to a victory over No. 6 Penn State.

Suriya McGuire's layup with 14 seconds remaining broke a 65-all tie. Alex Bentley had a chance to tie it but her jumper with 5 seconds left bounced off the rim. Miami's Michelle Woods grabbed the rebound and was fouled.

Woods made both free throws with 2 seconds remaining to secure the win for Miami (5-1).

Stefanie Yderstrom finished with 13 points and Woods scored 11 for the Hurricanes.

Maggie Lucas led the Lions (5-1) with a game-high 20 points.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Skylar Diggins scored 17 of her 25 points in the first half, and No. 5 Notre Dame pulled away late.

Ariel Braker added 10 points and eight rebounds to help the Fighting Irish (5-0) close November undefeated for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

Jessica Green scored 19 points for Central Michigan (2-3).

In the program's first home game against a top-5 team, the Chippewas played like they belonged. The teams exchanged leads nine times in the first half before Notre Dame took a 40-39 lead at the break.

NORMAN, Okla. — Aaryn Ellenberg scored 22 points and No. 12 Oklahoma State, playing without guard Maddie Manning, dominated Northwestern State.

Ellenberg was 5 of 7 from 3-point range and had five rebounds and six steals.