Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It looked like Virginia Tech had a plan to handle Florida State’s Al Thornton. It did — for a while.

Thornton scored all of his 27 points in the second half as the Seminoles snapped a three-game losing streak with an 82-73 victory Wednesday night, handing the Hokies’ their first Atlantic Coast Conference loss of the season.

Toney Douglas added 22 points for Florida State (13-5, 1-3), which nearly blew an 18-point second-half lead before Thornton took control of the game.

Virginia Tech (13-5, 3-1 ACC), which beat Duke and then-No. 1 North Carolina in an eight-day span, pulled within 52-51 midway through the second half on a jumper by Coleman Collins, but never got the lead.

Zabian Dowdell had 23 points for the Hokies, who moved into the Top 25 this week for the first time since 1996. They had won four straight and nine of 10.

No. 2 Wisconsin 69, Purdue 64

MADISON, Wis. — Michael Flowers scored 15 points to lead No. 2 Wisconsin to its 14th consecutive victory, 69-64 over Purdue on Wednesday night.

The Badgers (18-1, 4-0 Big Ten), who are enjoying the highest ranking in school history, led by 10 points midway through the second half.

No. 7 Ohio St. 73, Northwestern 41

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mike Conley Jr. scored a career-high 17 points and Jamar Butler added 16 as Ohio State beat Northwestern for a 14th straight time.

Greg Oden had five points, six rebounds and five blocked shots for the Buckeyes (15-3, 3-1 Big Ten).

Craig Moore had 11 points for the Wildcats (10-8, 0-5).

Vanderbilt 94, No. 10 Alabama 73

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Shan Foster scored 27 points and Vanderbilt had its best shooting game this season.

The Commodores (12-6, 2-2 SEC) hit a season-high 15 3-pointers in 28 attempts. Alabama (14-3, 1-2) lost its ninth straight in Nashville.

No. 16 LSU 62, Mississippi 55

BATON ROUGE, La. — Tasmin Mitchell and Terry Martin combined for 22 second-half points to lead LSU.

Mitchell scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, while Martin had eight of his 15 after the break for the Tigers (13-4, 2-1 Southeastern Conference).

No. 18 Butler 67, Youngstown St. 39

INDIANAPOLIS — Pete Campbell scored a season-high 17 points for Butler.

The Bulldogs (16-2, 4-1 Horizon League) were 14-of-24 from 3-point range and made seven straight in a 4-minute stretch that broke the game open midway through the first half.

Villanova 102, No. 20 Notre Dame 87

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Freshman Scottie Reynolds scored 27 points, Curtis Sumpter had 21 and Dante Cunningham added 19 to lead Villanova.

Mike Nardi scored 18 points and the Wildcats (12-5, 2-3 Big East) hit 10 3-pointers.

Auburn 83, No. 22 Tennessee 80

AUBURN, Ala. — Quan Prowell made four free throws in the final 22 seconds and Auburn rallied from a 14-point deficit over the final 10 minutes to hand the Volunteers their third consecutive loss.

The Tigers are 12-7, 2-2 in the SEC.