CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Jarace Walker scored 17 points and No. 5 Houston used runs in each half and the nation’s best scoring defense to beat No. 2 Virginia 69-61 on Saturday.
Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark each added 13 points for the Cougars (11-1), who used a 10-2 run early in the second half to open a 40-30 lead. Virginia (8-1), playing for the first time in 11 days, never got closer than six again, and each time the Cougars answered.
Kadin Shedrick scored 16 points and Jayden Gardner had 13 for the Cavaliers.
NO. 1 PURDUE 69, DAVIDSON 61
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Zach Edey had 29 points and 16 rebounds and Caleb Furst scored all 12 of his points in the second half to help Purdue fend off Davidson in the Indy Classic.
The Boilermakers (11-0) are positioned to stay in the top spot of the Top-25 rankings for an unprecedented second straight week. Purdue earned its first No. 1 ranking last December, then lost on a buzzer-beater at Rutgers and didn’t return until this week.
Furst also had 13 rebounds.
Sam Mennenga had 14 points and Foster Loyer added 11 points and 10 assists for Davidson (7-4). The Wildcats fell to 0-11 against No. 1 foes and 18-116 against Top 25 teams.
No. 3 UCONN 68, BUTLER 46
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Adama Sanogo had 27 points and 14 rebounds, helping Connecticut beat Butler in the Big East opener for both.
Jordan Hawkins added 12 points as the unbeaten Huskies (12-0) extended the program’s fourth-longest winning streak to start a season. UConn’s No. 3 ranking is the team’s highest since 2009, and it likely will move up in the next poll after No. 2 Virginia lost to No. 5 Houston on Saturday.
The Huskies pulled away late in the first half. The Bulldogs (8-4) were unable to match the physicality of Sanogo, a 6-foot-9 junior center from Mali.
Manny Bates scored 16 points for Butler on 7-for-11 shooting. Chuck Harris had 12.
No. 15 GONZAGA 100, No. 4 ALBAMA 90
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Drew Timme matched his season-high with 29 points and Gonzaga overcame Brandon Miller’s 36-point outburst to beat Alabama in the C.M. Newton Classic.
Timme had 10 rebounds, four assists and made 12 of 18 shots to help the Bulldogs (9-3) cool off one of the nation’s hottest teams. The Crimson Tide (9-2) had won four straight and beat two No. 1 teams to earn their highest ranking in 15 years.
Miller scored 26 points in the second half, including the team’s first 10.
NO. 9 ARIZONA 75, NO. 6 TENNESSEE 70
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Azuolas Tubelis scored 19 points, Oumar Ballo added 18 and Arizona turned the physical tables on Tennessee.
The Wildcats (10-1) did well to withstand the Vols’ defensive pressure and applied a bit of their own in a game that saw bodies hitting the floor nearly every trip down the floor.
Arizona took advantage of 7-foot-1 Uroš Plavšić’s foul trouble by working the ball inside to Ballo and Tubelis, building a 10-point lead midway through the second half. Tennessee pushed back, but the Wildcats had the final say, making the key plays down the stretch for their third win over an AP Top 25 opponent this season.
Zakai Zeigler led Tennessee (9-2) with 21 points and Olivier Nkamhoua added 16.
No. 8 KANSAS 84, No. 14 INDIANA 62
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Gradey Dick scored 20 points to lead six Kansas players in double figures scoring, Dajuan Harris Jr. added 10 points and 10 assists and the Jayhawks romped past Indiana.
Kevin McCullar Jr. had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Jalen Wilson and KJ Adams scored 11 apiece, as the Jayhawks (10-1) beat their fellow college basketball blueblood for the seventh time in their last nine meetings.
Indiana (8-3) played most of the way without second-leading scorer Xavier Johnson, who hurt his right ankle less than 10 minutes into the game. Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers with 13 points and nine blocks.
No. 10 ARKANSAS 76, BRADLEY 57
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Freshman Jordan Walsh scored a career-high 18 points to lead Arkansas past Bradley and extend the Razorbacks’ winning streak to six games.
SEC-leading scorer Ricky Council IV had 16 points, and freshman guard Anthony Black added 15 for the Razorbacks (10-1).
Bradley (7-4) was led by Rienk Mast’s 17 points.
NO. 16 UCLA 63, NO. 13 KENTUCKY 53
NEW YORK (AP) — Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 19 points and 12 rebounds as UCLA turned back Kentucky 63-53 in a matchup of college basketball royalty in a CBS Sports Classic game at Madison Square Garden.
Jaylen Clark and Tyger Campbell each scored 15 for the streaking Bruins (10-2), who won their seventh straight game and passed another early test away from Pauley Pavilion following an 87-60 blowout Wednesday night at No. 20 Maryland.
Freshman forward Chris Livingston led the Wildcats (7-3) with a career-high 14 points off the bench, and Sahvir Wheeler had 11 points and six assists.
Big man Oscar Tshiebwe, the consensus 2022 national player of the year, pulled down 16 rebounds but was held to eight points — two in the second half — on 4-of-12 shooting as the Bruins double- and triple-teamed him.
No. 17 MISSISSIPPI STATE 68, NICHOLLS STATE 66
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Dashawn Davis made two clutch free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining and Tolu Smith had 15 points and eight rebounds to help Mississippi State hold off Nicholls State 68-66.
Davis added 14 points and six assists for the Bulldogs (11-0), who are off to their best start since the 2003-04 season. Tyler Stevenson added 14 points, including 12 in the first half, for Mississippi State.
Latrell Jones led Nicholls State (5-6) with 15 points, while Marek Nelson and Micah Thomas each added 12. Pierce Spencer had a steal with two seconds remaining, but his 3-point try at the buzzer bounced in and out of the rim.
NO. 18 ILLINOIS 68, ALABAMA A&M 47
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Matthew Mayer had 21 points and seven rebounds to help Illinois overcome Alabama A&M’s comeback try.
Mayer went 7 of 8 and scored 15 points in the second half to help Illinois (8-3) close out the result.
Garrett Hicks scored 13 points and Messiah Thompson added 12 for the Bulldogs (3-7).
NORTH CAROLINA 89, No. 23 OHIO STATE 84
NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Nance made a jumper at the buzzer to force overtime, RJ Davis iced a much-needed victory for scuffling North Carolina with two late free throws and the Tar Heels beat Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic.
Armando Bacot had 28 points and 15 rebounds and Caleb Love scored 22 for North Carolina (8-4), which is trying to right itself after a four-game losing streak — all away from home — knocked the preseason No. 1 team out of the Top 25 two weeks ago.
The Tar Heels have now won three straight after trailing for most of the game before Davis hit a 3 from the wing with 1:29 left to make it 75-74 North Carolina.
Brice Sensabaugh made a jumper from inside the foul line with 2 seconds left to give the Buckeyes a 79-77 lead. But North Carolina’s Leaky Black lobbed an inbounds pass to the 6-foot-11 Nance, who swished a turnaround from the wing as time expired to send it to OT.
Sensabaugh had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Buckeyes (7-3).
No. 24 VIRGINIA TECH 74, GRAMBLING STATE 48
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Sean Pedulla scored 21 points to lead Virginia Tech past Grambling State.
Pedulla shot 5 for 12 from the floor and had four 3-pointers for the Hokies (11-1), who won their sixth straight game. Pedulla, who added six assists, has scored in double figures in every game this season.
Carte’are Gordon scored 12 points to lead Grambling State (6-4), which saw its three-game winning streak snapped.
No. 25 MIAMI 91, ST. FRANCIS (PA.) 76
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Isaiah Wong had 22 points and 10 assists, Wooga Poplar scored a career-high 20 and Miami beat St. Francis (Pa.).
Bensley Joseph and Norchad Omier each scored 14 points for the Hurricanes (11-1), who won their seventh straight. Miami offset a pesky first half by the Red Flash (3-9) and took the lead for good with seven unanswered points to open the second half.
Josh Cohen scored 30 points and Landon Moore finished with 25 points for St. Francis.
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