Brandon Miller poured in 24 points as the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide roared past the Florida Gators 97-69 Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to stay perfect in the Southeastern Conference.

The nation’s top-scoring freshman, Miller went 9 of 17, including 4 of 8 on 3-pointers, and had nine rebounds as the Crimson Tide (21-3, 11-0) led by 29 points at the half and improved to 12-0 at home.

The 21-3 start matches the best in school history, equaling the first 24 games of the 1975-76 season. Alabama improved to 11-0 in the SEC to start a season for just the second time ever (1955-56).

It won its third straight meeting against the Gators but only for the fifth time in the past 20 games dating back to the 2008-09 season.

Lead guard Mark Sears scored 19 points and made 4 of 6 from long range. Jahvon Quinerly had 11 points and five assists.

Alabama made 15 of 34 (44.1 percent) from deep and held a 29-12 edge in bench points.

The Gators (13-11, 6-5) cut the deficit to 17 in the second half but lost for the third time in four outings. Colin Castleton had 29 points and 10 rebounds. Riley Kugel added 15 points and six boards. Will Richard scored 11.

On a tough shooting night, Florida was successful on just 34.9 percent (22 of 63) of its shots.

In their only regular-season matchup against Florida, the Crimson Tide got the start they needed behind hot shooting and strong defense. They made 4 of 5 field goals and both 3-pointers to lead 10-2 just three minutes in.

Meanwhile, the Gators struggled to find any offense and fell behind due to the home side’s 12-2 run. In the first 10 minutes, Castleton had some success and led with five points, but they made just 4 of 14 shots and trailed 29-11 as the contest began to slip away.

At 6:16 of the half, Alabama’s Jaden Bradley drove the lane and deftly fed a pass to the corner to Rylan Griffen, who drilled a trey to give the squad a 40-15 lead. Miller hit a pair of 3s to make it 50-21, and Sears drive and layup at the buzzer made it 52-23 at the break.

–Field Level Media

D.J. Jeffries scored 18 points and Shakeel Moore added 13 as host Mississippi State won its fourth consecutive game by defeating LSU 64-53 on Wednesday night in Starkville, Miss.

Jeffries made 5 of 6 of his 3-point attempts, and Tolu Smith scored 10 points and matched Jeffries’ game-high seven rebounds as the Bulldogs (16-8, 4-7 SEC) overcame a slow start offensively to take a three-point halftime lead and pull away in the second half.

Mississippi State had a 20-10 advantage on points off turnovers.

KJ Williams scored 11 points and Adam Miller and former Bulldogs player Derek Fountain added 10 each to lead the Tigers (12-12, 1-10), who lost their 11th straight game.

Mississippi State started the second half with a 9-1 run that produced a 34-23 lead.

Miller’s dunk on a three-point play ended an LSU field-goal drought of nearly 12 minutes dating to the first half.

The Tigers got within six points before Smith made two layups and Jeffries added a 3-pointer that gave the Bulldogs a 45-34 lead.

Fountain answered with a three-point play for LSU, but Moore’s 3-pointer pushed the lead back to 11 as Mississippi State outscored LSU 39-31 in the second half. The Tigers scored 53 or fewer points for the third time during their losing streak.

Jeffries made two 3-pointers as the Bulldogs scored the first 10 points of the game.

Williams made a 3-pointer for the Tigers’ first points, and Tyrell Ward added another 3-pointer during a 10-0 run that pulled LSU even.

Mississippi State broke the tie and scored the next four points before the Tigers scored 10 straight points to take a 20-14 lead.

Smith ended the run by scoring on a put-back, and he made another basket during an 11-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 25-22 halftime lead as LSU went scoreless for the final 7:19 of the half.

–Field Level Media

Chucky Hepburn scored 19 points and Connor Essegian added 18 as Wisconsin nipped Penn State 79-74 in overtime Wednesday in Big Ten action from University Park, Pa.

Hepburn (5 of 9) and Essegian (4 of 7) were dangerous from behind the arc as the Badgers (14-9, 6-7 Big Ten) won for just the third time in their last 10 games. Two of those victories have come against the Nittany Lions (14-10, 5-8), who have dropped three straight contests for the first time this season.

Jalen Pickett paced Penn State with 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Camren Wynter chipped in 15 points for the Nittany Lions, while Seth Lundy had 14 points and nine boards.

The Badgers scored the first four points of overtime, capped by Essegian’s 3-pointer from the top of the arc, to open a 72-68 advantage. Pickett brought Penn State within two points twice down the stretch, but Wisconsin answered each time — first on a layup by Steven Crowl and then on a bucket by Max Klesmit.

Tyler Wahl (16 points, eight assists) and Hepburn combined to make three free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.

No team led by more than six during the first half, aside from a brief eight-point lead for Wisconsin before Pickett’s layup at the buzzer brought the Nittany Lions within 35-29 at the break.

With 13:22 remaining in the second half, Jordan Davis drained a 3-pointer to give the Badgers a 47-40 lead. However, Penn State rallied to draw even at 56-56 with Myles Dread, Lundy and Pickett each knocking down a 3-pointer to fuel the comeback.

The game was still tied with less than three minutes remaining in regulation when Wynter hit a jumper for the Nittany Lions, although Wahl promptly answered with a layup to even the score at 65-65.

The teams then exchanged empty possessions until Hepburn drained a 3-pointer with 33 seconds to go. The lead didn’t last long, however, as Lundy responded with a 3-pointer of his own 10 seconds later, tying the game at 68-68.

Wisconsin missed twice on its final trip — a 3-pointer by Hepburn and a putback attempt by Carter Gilmore — as the game went into overtime.

–Field Level Media

Caleb Daniels scored 18 points, Justin Moore added 17 and host Villanova defeated DePaul 81-65 on Wednesday.

Cam Whitmore also contributed 17, Eric Dixon had 13 points and eight rebounds and Brandon Slater chipped in with 10 points for the Wildcats (11-13, 5-8 Big East), who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Villanova retired former guard Jalen Brunson’s No. 1 jersey and also recognized Hall of Famer and former head coach Jay Wright, who won more than 500 games and two national championships at the school.

Villanova capitalized on a final 11-0 run to push a 70-65 lead into a commanding 81-65 advantage, which turned out to be the final score.

Slater hit a 3-pointer with 2:32 remaining and Dixon converted a three-point play with 1:40 left to key the run.

Umoja Gibson and Javan Johnson led DePaul (9-16, 3-11) with 18 points apiece.

The Blue Demons, who shot 7-of-25 from 3-point territory, went the final 3:43 without scoring.

Since defeating then-No. 8 Xavier 73-72 on Jan. 18, DePaul has now lost six straight.

Gibson converted a four-point play with 16:48 left and the Blue Demons pulled ahead 41-40.

Daniels dropped in a 15-foot jump shot with 11:30 remaining and Villanova led 50-49.

Daniels stayed hot and made consecutive 3-pointers to put the Wildcats ahead 62-56 with 8:02 to go.

The Blue Demons trailed 65-61 when Johnson hit a trey with 6:25 remaining.

DePaul built a 21-12 lead with 10:37 left in the first half following a 3-pointer by Johnson.

After missing their first six treys, Daniels connected to close the Wildcats within six with 9:18 remaining. That basket triggered an 8-0 Villanova run and the deficit was cut to 21-20.

The Wildcats went ahead by eight and then Caleb Murphy cut to the basket, received a pass and scored as DePaul trailed 33-27 with 3:18 to go.

Villanova led 37-34 at halftime despite shooting just 4-of-17 from 3-point territory.

–Field Level Media

John-Michael Wright hit a putback basket and a free throw with 0.8 seconds to play and Bryce Thompson scored 21 points, all in the first half, as surging Oklahoma State outlasted Texas Tech 71-68 on Wednesday in a wild Big 12 Conference contest in Stillwater, Okla.

The Cowboys (15-9, 6-5 Big 12) led by as many as 14 points with just under 14 minutes left in the game, but Texas Tech battled back, tying the score on a layup by De’Vion Harmon with 18 seconds to play.

Oklahoma State played for the final shot and Thompson missed a short jumper, but Wright grabbed the offensive rebound and laid in the decisive basket.

Quion Williams added 10 points for Oklahoma State, which has won four straight games and six of its past seven. The Cowboys were without senior guard Avery Anderson III, who underwent wrist surgery on Wednesday and is likely done for the season.

Jaylon Tyson scored a career-high 20 points for Texas Tech (12-12, 1-10). Harmon added 19 and Kevin Obanor had 15 points and seven rebounds as the Red Raiders played their fourth straight game without injured freshman guard Pop Isaacs.

The first half featured a lengthy series of runs by both teams. Texas Tech scored the first seven points over the initial 88 seconds and was up 13-6 after two free throws by Daniel Batcho at the 16:31 mark.

The Cowboys answered with a 20-2 run over the ensuing seven minutes, capped by a layup by Thompson that granted them a 26-15 lead.

The Red Raiders responded, reeling off 10 straight points to pull to within 26-25 after a pair of free throws by Obanor with 7:05 play in the half.

Oklahoma State built the lead back to six points before Texas Tech finished the half with back-to-back baskets make it 36-34 at the break.

Thompson’s 21 points led all scorers before halftime. Kalib Boone, the Cowboys’ leading scorer and the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, was held scoreless in the half and took only one shot.

Obanor hit for 13 to lead the Red Raiders.

Oklahoma State pushed its lead to 14 points on a 3-pointer by Caleb Asberry with 13:48 to play, but the Red Raiders fought back to within 61-58 after a layup by Harmon with 5:02 remaining.

–Field Level Media

Bryce Hopkins scored 17 points and three of his Providence teammates added double-figure totals as the 20th-ranked Friars beat visiting Georgetown 74-62 on Wednesday night.

Devin Carter had 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Friars (18-6, 10-3 Big East), who have won four of their past five games and improved to 13-0 at home this season.

Providence’s Ed Croswell also scored 12 points and Noah Locke added 11 points thanks largely to three 3-pointers. Hopkins added six rebounds and four assists.

Bradley Ezewiro scored 14 of his career-high 19 points in the second half and had three blocks to lead Georgetown (6-19, 1-13) during its fourth straight loss.

Primo Spears had 18 points and seven assists, while Brandon Murray finished his sixth straight double-digit scoring game with 16 points and seven boards.

There were five ties and five lead changes early before Providence used a 9-0 run to take a 23-16 lead.

The Friars turned the game around in a span of 2:56. Locke hit a transition 3-pointer from the wing before Croswell and Hopkins sank back-to-back layups.

A Hopkins layup through contact and Jayden Pierre’s 3-pointer bookended another 7-0 spurt and finished an extended 16-1 run that put Providence ahead 30-17.

Georgetown used a 7-0 run including a Spears 3-pointer to climb within 30-24 with 5:25 left before halftime, but Carter’s baseline cut to flush Pierre’s feed was one of two straight dunks for the hosts.

The Friars led 39-30 at the break. Murray’s second 3-pointer with 3:52 left was the final Georgetown field goal of the period.

Jared Bynum sank a layup and a transition 3-pointer from the corner to stretch the Friars’ lead to 46-33 two minutes into the second half.

Spears and Murray hit consecutive baskets for Georgetown, but an 8-0 Providence run including a Carter slam and Locke trey made it a 54-37 game with 13:08 left.

The Hoyas logged a 10-2 run midway through the second. Ezewiro had two dunks and six total points during that stretch.

Locke and Hopkins canned wing 3-pointers to give Providence a 64-51 lead with 7:26 left.

After Ezewiro flushed a pair of dunks, Carter set up Hopkins for a basket with 5:01 left, restoring the Friars’ 13-point margin.

The Hoyas shot 0-for-9 from 3-point range in the second half.

Georgetown center Qudus Wahab scored his 1,000th career point early in the second half.

–Field Level Media

Marcus Sasser scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half to help No. 2 Houston steamroll visiting Tulsa 80-42 on Wednesday night in American Athletic Conference play.

Emanuel Sharp added 13 points before fouling out and Jamal Shead recorded a season-best 12 assists to go with seven rebounds as the Cougars (23-2, 11-1 AAC) won their fifth consecutive game. Houston led by as many as 41 while beating the Golden Hurricane for the 10th time in the past 12 meetings.

Tim Dalger scored 13 points and Sam Griffin added 11 for Tulsa (5-18, 1-11), which scored its fewest points of the season while losing its fifth straight contest and 12th in its last 13. The last five setbacks are by an average of 19.4 points.

Houston limited a foe to 50 or fewer points for the 10th time this season.

The Golden Hurricane established their previous season-low point total on Dec. 28 when they were routed 89-50 by Houston. Tulsa lost this season’s two regular-season games against the Cougars by an average of 38.5 points.

The Cougars made 46.3 percent of their shots — including 13 of 35 from 3-point range — and held a 53-27 rebounding edge. J’Wan Roberts collected 10 boards for Houston.

Tulsa shot 27.8 percent from the field and was just 4 of 29 (13.8 percent) from behind the arc.

Houston turned it into a one-sided contest with a 37-6 burst over a span of just less than 14 minutes.

Sasser opened the game with a 3-pointer and later went on a personal 12-0 run as the Cougars took the lead for good.

The Golden Hurricane led 10-7 before the explosion in which Sasser buried two 3-pointers as part of a five-basket run that gave Houston a 19-10 lead with 11:30 left in the first half.

Griffin scored for Tulsa before the Cougars ripped off 12 more consecutive points. Tramon Mark capped the surge with a trey to make it 31-12 with 6:09 remaining.

After Bryant Selebangue scored for Tulsa, Houston rattled off 13 more in a row. Terrance Arceneaux completed the run with a jumper to make it 44-16. The score was 46-18 at the break.

The Cougars moved their lead over 30 on two free throws by Sharp to make it 58-27 with 12:44 left in the contest.

The advantage was pushed over 40 when Sasser drained his fifth 3-pointer to make it 72-31 with 7:49 remaining in the game.

–Field Level Media

Quinten Post scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, freshman Chas Kelley III poured in a career-high 17 points off the bench and Boston College beat Virginia Tech for the fifth straight time, winning 82-76 on Wednesday in Blacksburg, Va.

Devin McGlockton added 14 points for the Eagles (12-13, 6-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won for just the second time on the road this season. T.J. Bickerstaff chipped in seven points and eight rebounds while senior Makai Ashton-Langford dished out a career-best 12 assists.

Grant Basile supplied a season-high 33 points and four assists for the Hokies (14-10, 4-9), who fell to 11-3 at home this season. Justyn Mutts put up 16 points, while Sean Pedulla scored all 12 of his points in the second half.

Ashton-Langford’s crisp passing was contagious among a Boston College attack that kept the Hokies scrambling throughout the night en route to a season-high 24 assists. All but two of the Eagles’ helpers came without their assists leader, as Jaeden Zackery left the game just 7:53 in after injuring his shin when he collided with a Virginia Tech player.

The Eagles also buried a season-best 12 3-pointers, on 24 attempts, while the Hokies produced a 10-of-32 mark (31.3 percent) from deep.

Five of Boston College’s triples came in a 22-7 surge to finish the first half, giving the Eagles a 39-27 lead at the break. Their collective hot hand hung around for the first five minutes of the second period as Boston College went 6-for-7 from the floor to open up a 14-point lead.

Mutts’ layup shaved the Hokies’ deficit to eight with 12:02 to play, but Kelley got open on the right wing and silenced a sold-out crowd with his fourth triple on the ensuing possession.

The Hokies engineered a late 21-10 run to slice Boston College’s lead to four with 18 seconds remaining, but Kelley sank two free throws with 14 seconds left to seal it.

Virginia Tech made five of its first six shots in the game’s fast-paced opening minutes to race out to an 11-4 lead before the Eagles slowed the game down and began to settle in.

Following two free throws from Basile that pushed the Hokies’ lead to 20-17, the Eagles caught fire from beyond the arc and used triples from Kelley (two), Post (two)and Mason Madsen to engineer their surge before closing out the half on a Bickerstaff layup at the buzzer.

–Field Level Media

Lance Terry’s tip-in as time expired lifted Georgia Tech to a 70-68 victory over Notre Dame in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Wednesday in Atlanta.

After Georgia Tech called timeout with 5.3 seconds left, Kyle Sturdivant’s shot from the baseline caromed off the rim, but Terry used his right hand to direct it into the basket.

Terry scored 19 points, with Ja’von Franklin adding 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (9-15, 2-12 ACC), who ended a nine-game losing streak.

Sturdivant chipped in 12 points, while Dallan “Deebo” Coleman finished with 11 points for the Yellow Jackets, who ended their longest losing streak since dropping 13 straight to end the 1980-81 season.

Georgia Tech defeated Notre Dame for just the second time in the past nine meetings.

Notre Dame (10-14, 2-11), which has dropped six of its past seven contests, was led by Nate Laszewski, who had 16 points, while Dane Goodwin added 14 points and seven rebounds.

Ven-Allen Lubin chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds, while Cormac Ryan had 13 points and five rebounds and Marcus Hammond posted 10 points for the Fighting Irish.

Georgia Tech used a 9-2 run to take a 65-64 lead when Coleman hit three free throws after being fouled while taking a 3-pointer with 3:32 remaining.

After Franklin’s three-point play pushed the advantage to 68-64 with 2:58 left, Notre Dame pulled even when Laszewki’s layup was followed by Ryan’s two free throws with 1:55 to go.

Laszweski missed a jumper in the lane with 26 seconds remaining, enabling Georgia Tech to call timeout with 5.3 seconds left to set up Terry’s game-winning shot.

Georgia Tech took a 36-29 lead on Franklin’s jumper with 1:39 left in the first half, but Notre Dame closed on an 8-2 run to pull within 38-37 at halftime.

–Field Level Media

Joseph Girard III scored 26 points and had seven rebounds to lead Syracuse to a 76-67 victory over host Florida State on Wednesday night at Tallahassee, Fla.

Jesse Edwards recorded a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds as Syracuse (15-10, 8-6 ACC) put together back-to-back wins after snapping a three-game losing streak last weekend.

Matthew Cleveland also finished with a double-double, scoring 19 points and collecting 12 rebounds, but the Seminoles (8-17, 6-8) lost for the fourth time in their past five games and dropped their fourth consecutive home game.

After Chandler Jackson’s jumper gave Florida State a 56-55 lead with 9:26 left, Syracuse closed out the game by outscoring the Seminoles 21-11.

Judah Mintz, who finished with 16 points and six assists, made four consecutive shots and sparked a 10-0 Orange run that gave them a 65-56 lead with just over seven minutes left. Syracuse outscored Florida State 16-2 over a stretch of over five minutes until Caleb Mills hit a pair of free throws with 5:12 left.

The Seminoles went 6:20 without making a field goal until Cleveland’s fast break dunk off a turnover with 3:06 left.

But Mintz and Edwards continued to be effective on the offensive end and ignited an 11-3 surge that put the game away.

Naheem McLeod had one of his better games for Florida State as he totaled 16 points and eight rebounds. But it didn’t stop Syracuse from scoring 40 points in the paint and outrebounding Florida State 39-34.

Darin Green Jr. finished with 17 points and Jackson had nine assists and seven points for the Seminoles.

Florida State led by six at halftime and moved the ball well, finishing with 21 assists. But 12 turnovers resulted in 19 points for Syracuse, which overcame some early shooting struggles and shot 53.1 percent (17 for 32) in the second half.

Chris Bell, who fouled out with 1:57 left, totaled 10 points and six assists for Syracuse.

–Field Level Media