LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Koby Brea scored 23 points and hit seven 3-pointers off the bench to lead No. 10 Kentucky over No. 6 Florida 106-100 on Saturday, handing the Gators their first loss of the season.
The Gators (13-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) had cut an 80-69 Kentucky lead to 89-87 on Walter Clayton Jr.’s free throws with 4:40 remaining, but Lamont Butler hit a 3 as the shot clock wound down and added two free throws to help the Wildcats (12-2, 1-0) hang on.
Clayton scored 33 points, 12 of those in Florida’s 18-9 run before Butler’s 3 with 3:42 left. Alijah Martin scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half to rally Florida after Kentucky took a 52-42 halftime lead.
NO. 1 TENNESSEE 76, No. 23 ARKANSAS 52
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chaz Lanier scored 29 points to lead the Volunteers over the Razorbacks and tie for the best start to a season in program history.
The Volunteers (14-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) are tied with the 1922-23 team for the best start, according to the school.
Igor Milicic Jr. had 13 points and 18 rebounds. Zakai Zeigler had 12 points and 7 assists.
Tennessee nearly shot better from 3-point range (38.5%, 10 of 26) than from the field (39.1%, 27 of 69).
NO. 2 AUBURN 84, MISSOURI 68
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Johni Broome scored 24 points and had seven rebounds and four blocks, and No. 2 Auburn opened Southeastern Conference play with a win over Missouri.
Auburn (13-1, 1-0) shot 10 for 21 from 3-point range, with seven different Tigers hitting at least one triple.
Chaney Johnson and Chad Baker-Mazara each scored 13 points each for Auburn, while Denver Jones added 10 points and seven assists.
Marques Warrick had 19 points to lead Missouri (11-3, 0-1) and Marcus Allen had nine.
NO. 3 IOWA ST. 75, BAYLOR 55
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Keshon Gilbert had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cyclones to a win over the Bears in their Big 12 home opener.
Gilbert had his first double-double of the season and the fourth of his career for the Cyclones (12-1, 2-0 Big 12), who won their ninth straight game.
Milan Momcilovic scored 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, with all his field goals coming from 3-point distance. He also shot 3 for 4 from the line. Curtis Jones finished with 14 points off the bench and added four steals for Iowa State.
NO. 4 DUKE 89, SMU 62
DALLAS (AP) — Duke standout freshman Cooper Flagg had 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Blue Devils, playing without ill coach Jon Scheyer, extended their winning streak to eight games with a victory at Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer SMU.
Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel each had 14 points for the Blue Devils (12-2, 4-0).
Wake Forest transfer Boopie Miller had 21 points for SMU (11-3, 2-1), which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped. Samet Yigitoglu, a 7-foot-2 freshman from Istanbul, had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Matt Cross had 11 points.
NO. 5 ALABAMA 107, NO. 12 OKLAHOMA 79
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 22 points and had 10 assists and No. 5 Alabama dominated in every way for a victory over No. 12 and previously unbeaten Oklahoma in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Grant Nelson had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Labaron Philon added 16 and Clifford Omoruyi scored 10 for Alabama (12-2, 1-0).
Jalon Moore had 20 points to lead the Sooners (13-1, 0-1). Sam Godwin scored 15 while Jeremiah Fears overcame an 0-for-8 shooting effort in the first half to finish with 16 points. Kobe Elvis and Miles Duke each added 10.
NO. 13 TEXAS A&M 80, TEXAS 60
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Zhuric Phelps had 18 points and Pharrel Payne added 15 to lead No. 13 Texas A&M to a win over Texas in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools.
Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0 SEC) extended its winning streak to eight games in the first on-campus meeting between these rivals since 2012.
The game was tied at halftime before the Aggies opened the second half with a 15-2 run to make it 52-39 with about 14 ½ minutes left. Phelps led the way in that stretch with six points and a steal.
Texas (11-3, 0-1) got going after that, used a 13-5 spurt to get within 57-52. But Texas A&M went on an 11-3 run, highlighted by a 3 from Hayden Hefner, to push the lead to 68-55 with less than five minutes to go.
Tramon Mark had 14 points for the Longhorns in their first SEC game after spending the last 28 seasons in the Big 12.
NO. 14 HOUSTON 86, BYU 55
HOUSTON (AP) — Emanuel Sharp had 18 points, Terrance Arceneaux scored 15 as the No. 14 Cougars beat BYU for its sixth straight win.
Mylik Wilson had 12 points as Houston (10-3, 2-0 Big 12) shot 49% overall and 47% on 3-pointers. The Cougars have won 30 straight home games.
Houston outrebounded BYU 37-24.
NEBRASKA 66, NO. 15 UCLA 58
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Brice Williams scored 16 points, Andrew Morgan added 12 off the bench as the Cornuskers the Bruins.
The Cornhuskers (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) won their 20th straight home game to match the school record.
The Huskers took the lead midway through the second half and turned back the Bruins (11-3, 2-1) as they tried to come back.
The Bruins were within 61-58 in the last 30 seconds, but Sam Hoiberg made two free throws and Juwan Gary blocked Dylan Andrews’ layup to help preserve the win.
ARIZONA 72, NO. 16 CINCINNATI 67
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jaden Bradley had 15 points, including two free throws that helped the Wildcats clinch a win over the Bearcats.
Carter Bryant added 14 points and Caleb Love scored 12 as Arizona (8-5, 2-0 Big 12) won it’s second straight game.
Cincinnati (10-3, 0-2) lost for the second straight game. Dan Skillings Jr. scored 18 points and had two steals.
NO. 17 MISSISSIPPI ST. 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 50
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Josh Hubbard scored 21 points and Claudell Harris had 17 points and nine rebounds as the Bulldogs beat the Gamecocks in the SEC opener for both teams.
Mississippi State (13-1) opened the game with a 15-2 run and limited South Carolina to 18 points in the first half. That was the lowest point total allowed by the Bulldogs in SEC play under coach Chris Jans. The Bulldogs closed out the first half with a 10-0 outburst and led 43-18 at the break.
Riley Kugel scored 12 points and KeShawn Murphy contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots as Mississippi State won its seventh straight game.
NO. 19 GONZAGA 96, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 68
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Graham Ike scored 27 points, Khalif Battle added 26 and No. 19 Gonzaga rolled to a victory over Loyola Marymount.
Michael Ajayi came off the bench with 15 points for the Bulldogs (12-4, 3-0 West Coast Conference), who have won 11 straight true road games. Gonzaga has won 13th straight over Loyola Marymount on the Lions’ home floor.
Will Johnston had 18 points and Jevon Porter 17 for Loyola Marymount (9-7, 1-3).
Gonzaga led by double digits midway through the first half and kept extending its lead. The Bulldogs were up 46-28 at halftime and their largest advantage was 30 (96-66) late in the game.
NO. 24 MISSISSIPPI 63, GEORGIA 51
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield scored 15 points apiece and ignited a decisive second half rally as the Rebels defeated the Bulldogs.
Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed 28-26 at halftime, but opened the second half with an 11-2 burst in less than four minutes, started by consecutive jumpers by Murrell and capped by consecutive baskets by Brakefield to build a 37-30 lead.
Georgia (12-2, 0-1) never led again but pulled within 45-43 on a Blue Cain jumper with six minutes remaining. Ole Miss responded with a 3-pointer by Brakefield and a Davon Barnes jumper and were never seriously threatened again.
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