No. 22 Xavier breaks No. 2 UConn’s undefeated start

CINCINNATI (AP) — Zach Freemantle scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Colby Jones also scored 16, helping No. 22 Xavier hand No. 2 UConn its first loss of the season, 83-73, on Saturday.

Jack Nunge started the game for Xavier (12-3, 4-0 Big East) despite an illness that limited him during warmups, and sat out some of the second half. He still finished with 15 points in 24 minutes. Jerome Hunter also had 15.

Adama Sanogo led UConn (14-1, 3-1) with 18 points. Andre Jackson Jr. scored 14 points and Jordan Hawkins had 11 for the Huskies.

UConn was off to its best start since beginning the 1998 season 19-0. No. 1 Purdue and No. 22 New Mexico are the only remaining undefeated Division I teams this season.

Xavier has three losses by a combined 13 points to Indiana, Duke, Gonzaga.

NO. 3 HOUSTON 71, UCF 65

HOUSTON (AP) — Tramon Mark scored 19 points, Marcus Sasser had 18 points and Houston held on for a win over Central Florida.

J’Wan Roberts added 12 points and Jamal Shead scored 11 points for Houston (14-1, 2-0 American Athletic Conference). The Cougars shot 38%, including 6 of 19 on 3-pointers.

Houston forced 13 UCF turnovers and converted them into 20 points.

Darius Johnson had 17 points and eight rebounds, Ithiel Horton and Taylor Hendricks each scored 14 points and C.J. Kelly scored 11 points for the Knights (10-4, 1-1). UCF shot 39%, including 6 of 27 on 3-pointers.

NO. 4 KANSAS 69, OKLAHOMA STATE 67

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — KJ Adams scored the go-ahead basket with 5.8 seconds left, Kansas stopped Oklahoma State twice at the other end, and the Jayhawks came back from 15 down to beat the Cowboys in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Jalen Wilson scored 20 points and Adams finished with 14 to lead the Jayhawks (12-0), who trailed 45-30 at halftime but used a 22-5 run in the opening minutes of the second half to not only wipe out the deficit but take the lead.

Bryce Thompson finished with 23 points, including seven 3-pointers for the Cowboys (8-5), who have lost four straight and nine of their last 10 to the Jayhawks. John-Michael Wright also had four 3s and finished with 19 points.

NO. 5 ARIZONA 69, ARIZONA STATE 60

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Azuolas Tubelis scored 21 points, Oumar Ballo had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Arizona withstood a second-half comeback by Arizona State.

Kerr Kriisa had 12 points and five assists for the Wildcats (13-1, 2-1 Pac-12), who won their fifth straight in the series. They entered averaging 90.2 points per game, second in Division I.

The Sun Devils (11-3, 2-1) scored 19 of the first 23 points of the second half after going to a full-court press and cut the deficit to 49-47 with 13 minutes left. Arizona responded with a 10-3 run to regain control.

Frankie Collins had 12 points to lead Arizona State and Devan Cambridge added nine.

NO. 6 TEXAS 70, OKLAHOMA 69

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Marcus Carr hit the go-ahead basket in the final minute to help Texas escape Oklahoma with a victory in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

It was the Longhorns’ fourth straight win on the Sooners’ home court.

Oklahoma (9-4, 0-1) led for most of the second half behind 22 points from Grant Sherfield, and had a chance regain the lead in the final 30 seconds. But freshman Milos Uzan’s 3-point attempt bounced off the back of the rim and the Longhorns (12-1, 1-0) hit six straight free throws down the stretch to seal the victory — withstanding a half-court shot at the buzzer from Oklahoma’s Jacob Groves.

It was the sixth win in a row for Texas, and raised the record of acting coach Rodney Terry to 5-0; he’s guiding the Longhorns during coach Chris Beard’s suspension.

NO. 10 GONZAGA 111, PEPPERDINE 88

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Drew Timme scored 22 of his season-high 35 points as part of Gonzaga’s first-half scoring outburst and the Bulldogs raced past Pepperdine.

Gonzaga (12-3, 1-0 WCC) won its 27th consecutive WCC opener and extended its home win streak to 74 games.

Julian Strawther added 22 points and Gonzaga finished with six players in double figures.

Maxwell Lewis led Pepperdine (7-8, 0-1) with 20 points in just 23 minutes, and was limited by major foul trouble in the first half.

IOWA STATE 77, NO. 12 BAYLOR 62

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Gabe Kalscheur and Caleb Grill combined for 41 points as Iowa State toppled Baylor in a Big 12 opener.

Kalscheur finished with 23 points, including a 3-pointer to give the Cyclones (10-2, 1-0) a commanding 69-54 lead with 5:22 left to play.

Grill added 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds while making four assists.

Adam Flagler led Baylor (10-3, 0-1) with 20 points, with 18 coming in the first half.

NO. 13 VIRGINIA 74, GEORGIA TECH 56

ATLANTA (AP) — Virginia blew away Georgia Tech with a 25-0 run that started at the end of the first half and carried over after the break, cruising to a win that pushed coach Tony Bennett into a tie with Terry Holland for the most in Cavaliers history.

Virginia (10-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored the final nine points of the first half — all on 3-pointers off Georgia Tech turnovers — to take a 36-25 lead into halftime.

It would get worse for the Yellow Jackets (7-6, 0-3), as the Cavaliers ripped off another 16 points to make it 52-25 before the home team finally made a basket.

Kihei Clark had 15 points and eight assists to lead Virginia, which kept up its domination of Georgia Tech with a 10th straight victory in the series. Jayden Gardner added 14 points, while Armaan Franklin and Kadin Shedrick added 11 apiece.

NO. 17 DUKE 86, FLORIDA STATE 67

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Ryan Young came off the bench for a season-high 20 points, Jaylen Blakes scored 17 points in his first career start and Duke beat Florida State.

Young, a transfer from Northwestern, had 12 rebounds.

Reserve Dariq Whitehead added 16 points for Duke (11-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which is undefeated in eight home games.

Caleb Mills and Matthew Cleveland both scored 18 points and Darin Green Jr. added 16 for Florida State (4-11, 2-2), which remains winless in seven games away from home.

NO. 18 TCU 67, TEXAS TECH 61

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Mike Miles Jr. scored 23 points, and TCU rallied in the second half for a win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 opener for both teams and its 10th consecutive victory.

The Horned Frogs (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) took their first lead since early in the first half when Miles hit a driving layup to put TCU up 59-58 with 3:37 remaining. Miles then gave the Frogs their biggest lead to that point with a three-point play on another driving bucket after De’Vion Harmon’s 3-point attempt in front of the Texas Tech bench was blocked.

Red Raiders (10-3) freshman Pop Isaacs scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, including several 3s that helped hold off the TCU rally. Harmon scored 13, and Daniel Batcho had nine rebounds and five blocks.

NO. 19 KENTUCKY 86, LOUISVILLE 63

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Oscar Tshiebwe had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Jacob Toppin added a career-high 24 points and Kentucky shot a season-best 60% to dominate rival Louisville.

The battle for Bluegrass bragging rights resumed after a one-year pause. The Wildcats (9-4) jumped out quickly and survived a couple of rallies by the Cardinals (2-12).

Kentucky made nine of its first 12 attempts and finished 33 of 55 from the floor. Tshiebwe had his seventh double-double this season by halftime and came up one rebound shy of his fourth 20/15 effort this season.

El Ellis had 23 points for Louisville, which dropped its third in a row.

NO. 22 NEW MEXICO 76, WYOMING 75

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 20 points, including the game-winning free throws with 17 seconds remaining, to lead New Mexico to a victory over Wyoming.

The Lobos (14-0, 2-0 Mountain West) remain one of only two unbeaten teams nationally.

USC transfer Ethan Anderson finished with 17 points on 7 for 10 shooting to lead the Cowboys (5-9, 0-2). Hunter Maldonado added 15 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out.

KANSAS STATE 82, NO. 24 WEST VIRGINIA 76

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Markquis Nowell had a game-high 23 points and 10 assists, Keyontae Johnson scored 18, and Abayomi Iyiola added a career-best 14 points as Kansas State rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat West Virginia in overtime in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

The Wildcats (12-1) scored the first six points in overtime after West Virginia forced the extra period on a tying 3-pointer by Keadrian Johnson with one second left in regulation. It West Virginia’s third 3-pointer in the game. Nowell took over in the extra period, scoring five points and helping Kansas State hold off the Mountaineers.

TreMitchell’s 16 points led West Virginia (10-3, 0-1) , which had 20 turnovers. The Wildcats scored 22 points off those miscues.

The Wildcats shot 29 of 69 (42%) from the field, while West Virginia was 26 of 63 (41%).

___

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up