Associated Press

Basketball roundup …

SOUTH BEND, Ind.  — Mike Brey knew his team was better shooting at free throws than they had shown of late.

So with six days off between games, Brey had No. 10 Notre Dame focus on foul shots. All that work at the line paid off Tuesday night.

Jerian Grant had 24 points, 10 assists and five steals, and the Irish hit 27 of 28 from the free throw line in an 88-75 win over Wake Forest.

After a 35 percent foul shooting performance in a blowout loss at Duke 10 days ago, free throws were Brey’s focus.

“We should be shooting that thing at a better clip from the line,” said Brey. “It’s a great weapon for us.”

Pat Connaughton added 13 points for the Irish (23-4, 11-3 ACC) despite battling a stomach virus and missing practice for much of the past week.

Devin Thomas, who averaged 20 points and eight rebounds in two Wake Forest wins over the Irish last year, had 26 points and 11 boards for the Demon Deacons (12-15, 4-10 ACC).

Notre Dame, second in the nation in field goal shooting coming in, hit just one of its first 12 attempts after not playing for a week. The Irish took a 43-41 lead into halftime after Grant’s drive and layup with three seconds left.

“That dude makes tough shots,” said Wake Forest coach Danny Manning. “He’s a complete, all-around player.”

That bucket turned out to be the beginning of a 10-0 Irish run. Grant and Steve Vasturia hit consecutive 3-pointers to help the Irish open up a double-digit lead for the first time, less than two minutes into the second half. Vasturia finished with 12 points.

After Thomas scored on consecutive trips down the floor for Wake Forest, the floodgates opened for the Irish. Connaughton’s 3-pointer with 13:04 left was Notre Dame’s seventh consecutive make from deep, and Vasturia’s 3 with 11:43 to go gave the Irish a 19-point lead.

Kentucky 66, Tenn. 48

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.  — Devin Booker had 18 points and seven rebounds as No. 1 Kentucky picked up its defense in the second half and extended the best start in school history Tuesday night with a 66-48 victory over Tennessee.

Kentucky is 26-0 for the first time, though the Wildcats finished the 1953-54 season with a 25-0 mark. It also matches the best start for a team coached by John Calipari, who won his first 26 games at Massachusetts in 1995-96 and was 26-0 at Memphis in 2007-08.

Andrew Harrison scored 14 points and Trey Lyles added 10 for Kentucky (13-0 Southeastern Conference). Kevin Punter scored 14 and Josh Richardson had 10 for Tennessee (14-11, 6-7).

Baylor 54, Tex. Tech 49

  LUBBOCK, Texas  — Taurean Prince scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half, and Baylor held off Texas Tech.

Prince was 9 for 14 from the field, including three 3-pointers. He didn’t score in the second half until 8:32 remained. Lester Medford scored 10 points for the Bears (19-7, 7-6 Big 12).

Royce O’Neale hit a 3 to put the Bears up 48-43 after the Red Raiders pulled within two on a dunk by Keenan Evans.