Florida State upsets No. 6 Florida 63-51
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Devin Vassell scored 13 points, M.J. Walker added 12 and Florida State upset No. 6 Florida 63-51 on Sunday, extending its series winning streak to six.
The Seminoles (1-1) avoided their first 0-2 start since 2000 thanks to suffocating defense that forced the rival Gators (1-1) into 16 turnovers and a woeful shooting performance. Florida was 14 of 50 from the field, including 4 of 22 from 3-point range.
Florida’s football team scored more points this week that its basketball team.
The Gators, a six-point favorite at home, expected some growing pains from a team that features graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr., three sophomores and five freshmen. They clearly weren’t ready to match Florida State’s intensity.
A sellout crowd witnessed FSU take over late in the first half and really seize control after the break. The Gators went 10 minutes with just one field goal — a dunk on an inbound play — as Florida State pulled ahead 38-25 in the opening minutes of the second half. The ‘Noles went up by 14 on Anthony Polite’s 3-pointer with 9:31 to play.
Keyontae Johnson led the Gators with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
NO. 5 LOUISVILLE 78, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 55
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jordan Nwora scored 21 points in Louisville’s home opener.
The Cardinals (2-0) made the first 11 shots to jump out to a 24-8 lead. They then started the second half making seven of their first nine shots to put away the Penguins (1-1).
Steven Enoch added 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for Louisville
Naz Bohannon led the Penguins with 14 points.
NO. 18 OHIO STATE 76, UMASS-LOWELL 56
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Freshman D.J. Carton and Kaleb Wesson each had 13 points for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes (2-0) got contributions throughout the lineup in the tuneup against the Atlantic East squad ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup with No. 10 Villanova. Wesson also had 13 rebounds and five assists. Luther Muhammad added 11 points.
Obadiah Noel led UMass-Lowell (1-2) with 15 points.
