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Sringfield, Mo. • Ron Baker made five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points to lead No. 14 Wichita State to victory over Missouri State on Wednesday.
Tekele Cotton and Fred VanVleet also scored 15 apiece for the Shockers (17-2, 7-0 Missouri Valley Conference), who have won 25 consecutive conference games dating to last year. VanVleet had seven assists, and Darius Carter scored 14 points for Wichita State.
Chris Kendrix and Dorrian Williams each had 10 points for Missouri State (8-11, 2-5). The Bears were outrebounded 38-24 and have lost five straight games.
Carter, who had a career-high 25 points in a win over Southern Illinois last week, scored the first eight points of the second half for Wichita State. Baker made consecutive 3s to fuel a 20-8 run as Wichita State built a 67-47 lead.
No. 15 UNC 87, Wake Forest 71 • Kennedy Meeks scored 12 of his 16 points after halftime to help No. 15 North Carolina pull away and beat Wake Forest on Wednesday.
Brice Johnson had 19 points as the other half of a two-headed inside attack that helped the Tar Heels (15-4, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) score 50 points in the paint on the way to their fourth straight league win.
Freshman Justin Jackson added 17 points as the Tar Heels shot 69 percent (18 for 26) after halftime and 60 percent for the game.
No. 20 Northern Iowa 66, Indiana State 60 • Matt Bohannon scored 17 points, Seth Tuttle had 16 and 20th-ranked Northern Iowa held off Indiana State on Wednesday for its sixth straight victory.
Jeremy Morgan had 11 points for the Panthers (17-2, 6-1 Missouri Valley Conference), who blew a 10-point lead before rallying for their 13th consecutive home win.
Indiana State went on an 11-0 run to jump ahead 47-46 with 6:40 left. But Northern Iowa tightened up its defense and did just enough on offense to withstand a late charge by the Sycamores.
Justin Gant and Brenton Scott each had 13 points for Indiana State (9-10, 5-2), which has dropped its last two.
No. 21 Baylor 81, Huston-Tillotson 61 • Rico Gathers set career highs with 25 points and a Big 12-record 28 rebounds, and No. 21 Baylor finally pulled away in the second half for an win over NAIA school Huston-Tillotson on Wednesday.
With their two senior starters both getting a night off, the Bears (14-4) trailed by as many as nine points early. They led 37-36 at halftime only after Taurean Prince's buzzer-beating 3-pointer that was part of a 10-2 run.
Baylor opened the second half with a 13-3 run in which Gathers and Prince scored all the points. —
Wednesday's games
• No. 12 Utah 86,
Washington State 64
• No. 14 Wichita State 76, Missouri State 53
• No. 15 North Carolina 87, Wake Forest 71
• No. 20 Northern Iowa 66, Indiana State 60
• No. 21 Baylor 81,
Huston-Tillotson 61