Azubuike powers No. 3 Kansas past No. 16 West Virginia
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Udoka Azubuike had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Devon Dotson and Marcus Garrett made crucial plays down the stretch, and third-ranked Kansas rallied to beat No. 16 West Virginia 60-53 in its Big 12 opener Saturday.
Dotson added 16 points and Garrett finished with 12 points and six assists for the Jayhawks (11-2, 1-0), who won their 28th straight conference opener by overcoming a sluggish first half. Kansas trailed by as many as 10 before leaning on defense and dunks to beat the Mountaineers (11-2, 0-1) for the seventh time in their last eight meetings.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 17 points and 17 rebounds for West Virginia, though almost all his production came during a big first half. Fellow freshman Miles McBride added 13 points, most of that coming as the Mountaineers tried to close the gap in the final minutes of their eighth consecutive loss in Allen Fieldhouse.
NO. 8 AUBURN 80, MISSISSIPPI STATE 68
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — J’Von McCormick scored a career-high 28 points to help Auburn beat Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Samir Doughty had 15 points for the Tigers (13-0, 1-0), and Isaac Okoro finished with 14. McCormick went 9 for 17 from the field and 8 for 11 at the line.
Reggie Perry had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Mississippi State (9-4, 0-1) in his 16th career double-double. Nick Weatherspoon scored 18 points, and Robert Woodard finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 18 FLORIDA STATE 78, NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 65
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — M.J. Walker scored 23 points to help Florida State to the road win.
The Seminoles (13-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got a strong performance from Trent Forrest, who had 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Devin Vassell scored 14, and Malik Osborne finished with seven points and nine rebounds.
Louisville’s Jordan Nwora scored 32 points, matching a career high. But Nwora and the Cardinals (11-3, 2-1) were unable to overcome a 55.2% shooting performance by the Seminoles.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Rayshaun Hammonds scored 15 points, Anthony Edwards had 13 and Georgia stopped Memphis’ 10-game winning streak.
Hammonds was 7 for 18 from the field, and Edwards went 4 for 17. But Donnell Gresham Jr. scored 12 points for the Bulldogs (10-3), and Sahvir Wheeler added 10 points and seven assists.
Precious Achiuwa led Memphis (12-2) with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Alex Lomax had 11 points and Boogie Ellis scored 10 for the Tigers, who lost for the first time since Nov. 12 against Oregon.
MARQUETTE 71, NO. 10 VILLANOVA 60
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Markus Howard scored 29 points, Koby McEwen had 22 and Marquette snapped Villanova’s six-game win streak.
Howard was 7 for 20 from the field and 12 for 12 at the line. He also had eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles (10-3, 1-1 Big East).
Marquette made 26 of 30 free throws, and Villanova went 3 for 5 at the line.
Cole Swider and Justin Moore each had 14 points for Villanova (10-2, 1-1).
NO. 11 BUTLER 71, CREIGHTON 57
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kamar Baldwin scored each of his 20 points in the second half, and Butler earned its fifth straight win.
Sean McDermott had 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (14-1, 2-0 Big East).
Marcus Zegarowski finished with 15 points and Damien Jefferson had 12 for Creighton (12-3, 1-1), which had won eight in a row.
NO. 15 MARYLAND 75, INDIANA 59
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Jalen Smith scored 19 points to help Maryland return to form.
Aaron Wiggins and Anthony Cowan Jr. had 13 apiece for the Terrapins (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten), who climbed to No. 3 in mid-December before losing successive games to Penn State and Seton Hall. An unimpressive win over Bryant followed on Dec. 29, but Maryland opened the New Year in dominant fashion against the Hoosiers (11-3, 1-2).
Indiana trailed 71-41 with 3:44 left before using a late surge to avoid its lowest point total of the season.
Devonte Green scored 18 for the Hoosiers, with most of those points coming in the final meaningless minutes.
NO. 17 KENTUCKY 71, MISSOURI 59
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 23 points, Nick Richards had 21 and Kentucky beat Missouri in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools.
Richards went 9 for 13 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. The junior forward also blocked four shots before fouling out with 3:52 left.
Kentucky (10-3, 1-0) posted its second straight victory since consecutive losses to Utah and Ohio State.
Dru Smith had 11 points for Missouri (8-5, 0-1), which had won four in a row.
Kentucky guard Ashton Hagans left in the final minutes with a left ankle injury that coach John Calipari said was a low sprain.
NO. 19 VIRGINIA 65, VIRGINIA TECH 39
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Kihei Clark scored a career-best 18 points, Braxton Key also had 18 and Virginia dominated with its defense.
The Cavaliers (11-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 30-17 by halftime and built their lead to as many as 23 in the second half. Key scored 11 in the first half and Clark had 10 after halftime.
Landers Nolley II scored 18 points for the Hokies (10-4, 1-2). He had their last 15 in the first half but did not score again until a 3-pointer with 3:49 remaining.
The Hokies shot 27.1% overall (13 for 48).
NO. 21 PENN STATE 89, NO. 23 IOWA 86
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Izaiah Brockington scored 23 points to lead Penn State to its fifth straight win.
Lamar Stevens and Myreon Jones each scored 16 points for the Nittany Lions (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten).
Luka Garza scored 34 points for the Hawkeyes (10-4, 1-2), but he missed three crucial free throws down the stretch that helped the Nittany Lions win in front of a raucous home crowd on Philly’s most famous court.
NO. 22 TEXAS TECH 85, OKLAHOMA STATE 50
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points, helping Texas Tech pull away for the win in its Big 12 opener.
The Red Raiders (10-3, 1-0) went ahead to stay with 11 points in a row late in the first half. After Lindy Waters III made a jumper for Oklahoma State right after halftime, Texas Tech scored 15 in a row.
TJ Holyfield added 17 points for the Red Raiders. Davide Moriette and Terrence Shannon each had 13.
Waters had 13 points for the Cowboys (9-4, 0-1), who shot 29 percent (15 of 52) from the field.
NO. 24 WICHITA STATE 74, MISSISSIPPI 54
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Erik Stevenson scored a career-high 29 points to help Wichita State to the victory.
Stevenson had 19 points in the first half, leading the Shockers (13-1) to a 39-24 halftime lead.
Jamarius Burton scored 16 points for Wichita State, and Grant Sherfield finished with 10.
Khadim Sy and Devontae Shuler each scored 12 points for Ole Miss (9-4), which shot 30.8% (16 for 52) from the field.
