Men's basketball: No. 2 Wichita State ..

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Wichita, Kan. • Wichita State will carry its pursuit of perfection into the Missouri Valley tournament.

Cleanthony Early scored 19 points, Ron Baker added 13 and the second-ranked Shockers rolled to a 68-45 victory over Missouri State on Saturday, easily putting away a team that had given them fits this season.

Relying on the same stubborn defense that carried it on last year's improbable March run, Wichita State (31-0, 18-0) became the first team since Saint Joseph's in 2004 to enter its league tournament unbeaten. The Shockers will have a first-round bye in St. Louis next week.

Missouri State (19-11, 9-9) had them in trouble when they met Jan. 11 in Springfield, Mo., but the Bears blew a 19-point second-half lead and ultimately lost 72-69 in overtime.

They never came close to making it a game Saturday, trailing by double-digits in the opening minutes. —

Saturday's scores

• No. 1 Florida 79, LSU 61

• No. 2 Wichita State 68, Missouri State 45

• No. 12 Virginia 76, No. 4 Syracuse 56

• Oklahoma St. 72, No. 5 Kansas 65

• No. 21 Memphis 72, No. 7 Louisville 66

• Xavier 75, No. 9 Creighton 69

• VCU 67, No. 10 Saint Louis 56

• Connecticut 51, No. 11 Cincinnati 45

• No. 13 San Diego State at Fresno State, late

• Kansas St. 80, No. 15 Iowa St. 73

• No. 16 Michigan 66, Minnesota 56

• South Carolina 72, No. 17 Kentucky 67

• Illinois 53, No. 18 Michigan State 46

• No. 19 North Carolina 60, Virginia Tech 56

• No. 23 SMU 70, UCF 55

• Oklahoma 77, No. 24 Texas 65

Men's basketball: No. 2 Wichita State routs Missouri State to stay perfect