Tre Jones, No. 4 Duke open season by edging No. 3 Kansas

NEW YORK (AP) — Tre Jones scored 15 points and Cassius Stanley added 11 of his 13 points in the second half to help No. 4 Duke beat third-ranked Kansas 68-66 in the opener of the Champions Classic on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

While Duke doesn’t have the star-studded freshmen class of last season of Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett, coach Mike Krzyzewski may have a more balanced team, capable of making plays down the stretch when needed.

Trailing 61-60 with 2:29 left, Stanley drove to the basket and made the layup and was fouled. The freshman guard converted the free throw to give the Blue Devils a one-point lead.

Devon Dotson missed a layup on the other end and Jones then hit a jumper that bounced off the rim twice before dropping in with 1:33 left.

Dotson finished with 17 points.

NO. 5 LOUISVILLE 87, MIAMI 74

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Nwora’s 23-point performance included four 3-pointers and a throwdown dunk in Louisville’s season-opening win.

The Cardinals are touted as a potential Final Four team, and they lived up to the hype with a rout on the road against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

Nwora, the preseason ACC player of the year, shot 8 for 16 and had 12 rebounds in 31 minutes.

McMahon and Dwayne Sutton had 16 points apiece for the Cardinals, who shot 54%.

Chris Lykes had 18 points and DJ Vasiljevic scored 16 for the Hurricanes.

NO. 6 FLORIDA 74, NORTH FLORIDA 59

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 20 points and 10 rebounds in his Florida debut, and the Gators beat North Florida.

Blackshear, who came to Gainesville after four years at Virginia Tech, added three assists and two steals.

Scottie Lewis finished with nine points, five rebounds and two assists in his college debut. Tre Mann had 11 points and four boards.

Noah Locke chipped in 14 points for the Gators.

JT Escobar led North Florida with 15 points. Garrett Sams added 14.

NO. 7 MARYLAND 95, HOLY CROSS 71

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Jalen Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Darryl Morsell scored 15 and Maryland launched a season of high hopes by defeating Holy Cross.

Taking full advantage of their height and depth, the Terrapins placed four players in double figures, finished with a 47-33 rebounding advantage and scored 64 points in the paint.

Freshman guard Drew Lowder scored 24 for Holy Cross, playing its first game under coach Brett Nelson.

NO. 12 SETON HALL 105, WAGNER 71

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — Myles Powell scored 27 points to lead Seton Hall to the win without coach Kevin Willard.

Seton Hall announced a week ago that the NCAA is investigating the program and Willard would be sitting out two games.

Quincy McKnight added 10 points and seven assists for Seton Hall.

Patrick Szpir led Wagner with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Alex Morales finished with 13 points.

NO. 16 BAYLOR 105, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 61

WACO, Texas (AP) — Jared Butler scored 30 points with a career-high eight 3-pointers to lead four Baylor players in double figures, and the Bears opened coach Scott Drew’s 17th season with a win.

The hometown Bears scored the first 19 points in the game that began at 11 a.m. and was played before a crowd filled mostly with elementary school students.

MaCio Teague, a transfer guard from UNC Asheville who had to sit out last season, had 18 points and 10 rebounds in his Baylor debut. Devonte Bandoo scored 15 points and Freddie Gillespie had 14.

Rylan Bergersen, a transfer from BYU, had 17 points in his Central Arkansas debut.

NO. 19 XAVIER 76, JACKSONVILLE 57

CINCINNATI (AP) — Tyrique Jones had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Naji Marshall also scored 17 and Xavier beat Jacksonville.

Paul Scruggs scored all 12 of his points in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers, to help the Musketeers build a 21-point lead at the break. Bryce Moore’s 3 off an assist from Scruggs put Xavier ahead 41-22 late in the half.

Xavier freshman Zach Freemantle scored 11 points in his debut, including a two-handed dunk for his first points.

Aamahne Santos and Bryce Workman each had 15 points for Jacksonville.

NO. 25 VCU 72, ST. FRANCIS 58

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Marcus Santos-Silva had 21 points and 18 rebounds and No. 25 VCU used a big early run to take command against St. Francis.

De’Riante Jenkins added 16 points and Marcus Evans scored 12 for the Rams.

Isaiah Blackmon scored 15 and Keith Braxton had 11 for the Red Flash.