Top-ranked North Carolina began this weekend by squeaking past Portland and losing to Iowa State in its first encounter with a tough defense.

Meanwhile, No. 18 Alabama began the weekend by defending well enough to get past Michigan State before being unable to stop the size of 20th-ranked UConn, falling 82-67.

Friday’s rough showings resulted in both schools taking their first loss and the Tar Heels and Crimson Tide are hoping to avoid a second defeat Sunday when they oppose each other in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore.

“If we lose to North Carolina, which is obviously very possible — they’re the No. 1 team in the country — you leave out of here 1-2 and you’re not feeling very good about yourself after the win over Michigan State and you’re on a two-game losing streak,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said.

“And North Carolina’s saying the same thing. They didn’t come here as the No. 1 team in the country to leave out of here 1-2 on a two-game losing streak. So we’re both in a spot. I don’t know if you can have a must-win game in college basketball in November, early December, but it’s a big game that we’d both like to get because after this, we have a week off where we don’t play.”

North Carolina (5-1) heads into the meeting coming off a 70-65 loss to Iowa State, which likely will make the next top 25 poll. In a game they trailed for only 7:56, the Tar Heels committed 14 turnovers, misfired on 15 of 18 3-point tries and blew a seven-point lead in the final 3:55.

“We had wide open threes. We were able to get to the basket. We were able to get whatever we wanted, we just didn’t make those shots,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said.

That included a rough final 5:43 when the Tar Heels were outscored 21-8 and ended by missing four of its final six shots and committing four turnovers.

R.J. Davis led North Carolina with 15 points but was 5-for-14 and is 9-for-25 in the two games in this event. Leading scorer Caleb Love was held to 12 after getting 23 in the opening contest against Portland, and Armando Bacot committed five turnovers.

“We turned the ball over a couple of times and you just can’t do that in late-game situations,” R.J. Davis said. “You have to be sound and disciplined and you have to do that on both ends of the floor and we just didn’t do it.”

Meanwhile Alabama (5-1) opened the event by holding Michigan State to 38.7 percent shooting but allowed UConn to shoot 43.3 percent while giving up 25 points to standout UConn big man Adama Sanogo.

The Crimson Tide also faced an uphill climb most of the way due to their inability to control the ball. Alabama committed 16 of its 21 turnovers by halftime, including five on its first seven possessions.

“First half, turnovers killed us,” Oats said. “We did a good job, I thought we showed fight, getting back and tying the game up a couple different times in the second half, and we just fouled too much.”

Freshman Brandon Miller, who is averaging 20.5 points, led the Crimson Tide with 18 points but second-leading scorer Mark Sears was held to eight and is 5-of-18 from the field in the event.

–Field Level Media

Jayden Pierre and Ed Croswell scored 13 points apiece as Providence posted a 78-64 win over visiting Columbia on Saturday afternoon.

Pierre (3-for-3 from 3-point range) and Croswell posted five field goals and logged a pair of steals apiece for Providence (5-2).

Bryce Hopkins had seven assists and Jared Bynum had eight of the team’s season-high 21 assists.

A 14-2 run over 3:33 in the middle of the second half was the finishing kick that the Friars needed to post their fifth consecutive home victory to begin the season.

For Columbia (2-6), Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa had a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds along with two assists and three steals.

After Locke hit from deep to break a 4-4 tie for the Friars, Columbia responded with a 9-2 run that included go-ahead layups by Josh Odunowo and Avery Brown. Two Blair Thompson free throws followed to give the Lions a 13-9 lead.

From there, neither team had more than a one-possession lead until Bynum’s layup and a Clifton Moore turnaround shot put Providence up 24-20 with 4:20 left in the half.

The Friars went on a 15-2 run to take a 35-22 lead before De La Rosa and Robbie Stankard hit back-to-back triples for Columbia. Devin Carter answered with a 3-pointer to end the half at 38-28.

Providence scored nine of the first 15 second-half points, starting the streak with a Locke trey. After De La Rosa had six of the Lions’ points during a 7-0 run, the Friars broke open the victory with four straight field goals, including three by Breed.

Two Thompson free throws broke up the 8-0 run, but Pierre and Breed knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to make 61-43 halfway through the second.

The lone Lions points from the 13:34 to 9:26 marks came from the charity stripe. Josh Odunowo’s layup broke the stretch and preceded a Hopkins triple to get the Friars back on the board.

Providence posted another 7-2 run punctuated by a Locke 3-pointer with 5:38 left. Pierre capped things off with another triple at the 2:58 mark.

–Field Level Media

Sherif Gross-Bullock went coast-to-coast for the game-winning floater with 0.8 seconds left as Bryant posted a 73-72 road upset of Syracuse on Saturday.

As part of a roller-coaster final minute, Gross-Bullock collected a steal and went in for the go-ahead dunk with 25 seconds remaining.

Syracuse’s Justin Taylor made 1-of-2 free throws before Gross-Bullock missed two from the line. Orange guard Joe Girard then knocked down a pair of foul shots to put the Orange ahead 72-71 with eight seconds to play, setting up Gross-Bullock’s heroics.

The decisive floater bounced several times on the rim before falling through.

Antwan Walker had 18 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Bulldogs (5-1), who got 15 points from Gross-Bullock and 13 apiece from Earl Timberlake and Charles Pride.

The Orange (3-3) received a career-high 25 points from Taylor and a career-high 21 rebounds from Jesse Edwards, who also registered 12 points. Syracuse’s Chris Bell chipped in 14 points, also a personal best.

The first half was marred by a series of ejections following a sequence in which Syracuse’s Judah Mintz slapped the jaw of Doug Edert, and then Edert responded by slapping Mintz in the back of his head. Both players were ejected, as were two Bryant reserves and several assistant coaches for both teams, all for leaving the bench area.

Syracuse did not reach double figures in points until nine minutes had elapsed. Bryant took its first double-digit lead on Walker’s layup with five minutes left in the half, and Miles Latimer followed with a 3-pointer for a 35-22 advantage.

The Orange scored seven of the next nine points, but Gross-Bullock drained a shot from near halfcourt at the buzzer to send the Bulldogs into the locker room ahead 40-29.

Syracuse got within five points early in the second half, but Bryant built its lead back to 13 on Gross-Bullock’s 3-pointer with about 15 minutes to play.

The hosts later went on a 10-2 run — capped by back-to-back buckets from Bell — to get within 58-56 with 5:17 remaining. Bell came up big again with a jumper and a 3-pointer to turn a four-point deficit into a 66-65 lead with 1:30 left.

–Field Level Media

Deivon Smith recorded 16 points, four rebounds and four assists in a balanced scoring effort as host Georgia Tech trounced North Alabama 80-61 on Saturday in nonconference play at Atlanta.

Along with Smith, Dallan “Deebo” Coleman tallied 14 points, Jalon Moore recorded 13 points and eight rebounds for Georgia Tech. Miles Kelly and Lance Terry added 12 points apiece as the Yellow Jackets improved to 3-0 at home.

Georgia Tech (4-2) capitalized on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a dunk by Ja’von Franklin, to close the contest in convincing fashion before pulling the main rotational pieces out of the game. The Yellow Jackets held a lead as large as 25 points in the second half.

North Alabama’s leading scorer Daniel Ortiz, who averaged 18 points per game entering Saturday, was held scoreless and played 15 minutes. The Lions (4-3) were led by Bryson Dawkins with 12 points. Daniel Braster neared a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds and KJ Johnson added 10 points.

North Alabama went on a run in which it made 7 of 9 field goals to cut the deficit down to 14 points, but the deficit never got any closer.

Georgia Tech prides itself on its defensive intensity, and uses points-per-possession as a marker to judge how it performs. Head coach Josh Pastner said the Yellow Jackets’ goal is to hold opponents to an average of under .90 points per possession. North Alabama averaged 0.884 points per possession.

Georgia Tech, after trailing in the first half by double digits in its last two games, jumped out to a big lead over the Lions and never relinquished it. North Alabama was held to 33.3 percent shooting at the intermission and finished at 41.9 percent.

The Yellow Jackets shot 59.6 percent from the field.

In the first half, Georgia Tech assisted on 10 of its 18 field goals.

Lance Terry hit two 3-pointers in the first half to account for eight of his 12 points. Moore contributed in multiple facets with six points and six rebounds before halftime.

Georgia Tech’s lead got to as large as 22 points in the first half after an 11-0 run.

–Field Level Media

Sir’Jabari Rice scored 19 points and Marcus Carr added 18 as No. 4 Texas set the pace early and rolled to a 91-54 win over visiting Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Saturday in a unique throwback game at Austin, Texas.

The contest was played in Gregory Gym on the Texas campus, which was the home of Longhorns basketball from the 1930-31 season through the 1976-77 campaign. It’s the second straight year that Texas has played in the edifice as part of coach Chris Beard’s initiative to focus on the tradition and past of the program.

Texas has now won its first five games by an average of 31.4 points.

Tyrese Hunter added 17 points for the Longhorns, with Dillon Mitchell scoring 10 and Dylan Disu adding 10 rebounds. Texas’ reserve players outscored the Rio Grande Valley bench 38-14.

Justin Johnson had 18 points to lead Rio Grande Valley (4-3) while Will Johnston scored 10 for the Vaqueros. They were just 1 of 9 from 3-point range, committed 22 turnovers and had two fast break points.

The Longhorns (5-0) looked right at home with the game’s first 10 points over the opening three minutes and never looked back. Texas led by as many as 24 points in the first half and settled for a 44-22 advantage at the break.

Carr paced the Longhorns with 12 points in the first half as Texas outshot the Vaqueros 47.1 percent to 30.8 percent, had 11 fast break points and forced 14 Rio Grande Valley turnovers that it turned into 19 points.

Only four players scored for the Vaqueros in the half, led by Dima Zdor’s seven points, and they missed all five of their 3-pointers.

Texas set the tone again in second half, reeling off the first seven points and leading 51-22 two minutes into the half. The Vaqueros never got closer than 21 the rest of the way.

–Field Level Media

Chase Hunter and Hunter Tyson each scored 14 points as Clemson pulled away in the second half for a 67-59 victory over winless Cal In the third-place game of the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday in Niceville, Fla.

Hunter shot 5 of 10 from the field, including 3 for 6 from distance, to go along with seven assists, while Tyson went 4 of 8 from the field, including 2 of 4 from distance, in addition to five rebounds. Brevin Galloway added 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, with PJ Hall chipping in 10 points.

Clemson (5-2), which never trailed and led by as many as 16 points in the second half, shot 23 of 43 (53.5 percent) from the field, including 7 of 17 (41.2 percent) from 3-point range, in addition to scoring 11 points off Cal’s 11 turnovers.

Cal (0-7) was led by Devin Askew, who had 18 points, while Lars Thiemann added 15 points and five rebounds and Kuany Kuany finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.

The Golden Bears shot 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) from the field, including 3 for 20 (15 percent) from beyond the arc.

Leading 31-28 at halftime, Clemson put the game away by opening the second half on a 17-4 run to take a 48-32 lead following Hall’s jumper with 13:01 left in the game.

The Tigers didn’t lead by fewer than six points the rest of the way.

After Clemson took a 22-12 lead on Tyson’s layup with 7:27 left in the first half, the Bears chipped away and pulled to within 31-28 at halftime.

Hall scored eight points and Hunter added six in the first 20 minutes for Clemson, which shot 12 of 22 (54.5 percent) from the field, including 3 of 8 (37.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

Askew and Kuany each scored nine first-half points as the Golden Bears struggled mightily on offense, shooting 6 for 22 (27.3 percent) from the field, including 2 of 12 (16.7 percent) from 3-point range.

–Field Level Media

Arizona State will play its third game of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series when the upstart Sun Devils host Alcorn State on Sunday.

The Sun Devils (5-1) have won three straight games, including an 87-62 win over then-No. 20 Michigan on Nov. 17, after losing in overtime at Texas Southern on Nov. 13 in their first Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series game.

After returning from New York, where they defeated the Wolverines to win the Legends Classic at Brooklyn, Arizona State took care of business in an 80-49 win over Grambling State on Tuesday in its second game against a SWAC opponent.

“On the heels of the trip to New York, this was a game that concerned me,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley said. “Just making sure the guys were grounded (after) very emotional wins in the Barclays Center, especially the Michigan game, winning a championship and then traveling back across the country.”

The Sun Devils held Grambling State to 1 of 13 from 3-point range and held the Tigers to 26.6 percent shooting (17 of 64) overall from the floor, the lowest in the Hurley era. It was the lowest since the Sun Devils held Oregon State to 14 of 57 (.246) on Feb. 11, 2010.

Arizona State’s offense was efficient as well, producing 21 assists on 25 made shots from the field. Frankie Collins had a game-high seven assists with 11 points.

Devan Cambridge made 7-of-8 shots from the field and finished with 16 points.

Alcon State (3-3) is coming off a 62-54 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Friday in the last day of a holiday tournament at Texas-El Paso.

The Braves won the turnover margin against Bakersfield 20-11 and produced 13 steals. They scored 17 points off Bakersfield turnovers.

Reserve Dominic Brewton had a team-high 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Alcorn State’s Landon Bussie is the reigning SWAC Coach of the Year after leading the Braves to the conference tournament championship. He recently was signed to a contract extension through the 2025-26 season.

“This shows the commitment they’ve made to me and the men’s basketball program,” Bussie said. “Hopefully, we can continue to have success in leading the program.”

–Field Level Media

The Miami Hurricanes will be out for revenge.

Miami (5-1) will visit UCF (5-1) on Sunday night in Orlando, Fla.

The Hurricanes lead this series 8-3. However, UCF won at Miami last season 95-89. It was the most points scored by UCF since 2015.

“UCF is a really good team,” Miami guard Nijel Pack said this week.

Indeed, the Knights have won five straight since starting the season with a double-overtime loss to UNC Asheville.

During the win streak, UCF owns a 14-point victory over Florida State. UCF also rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat Oklahoma State in a neutral-court game in the Bahamas.

Leading UCF this season is Taylor Hendricks, a 6-foot-9 true freshman who grew up less than one hour north of Miami and went to Fort Lauderdale’s Calvary Christian.

Hendricks tops UCF in minutes (32.7), points (15.8), rebounds (7.3) and blocks (2.0).

The Knights are coming off a 76-56 win over Evansville in the Bahamas. It was the fifth straight game that UCF held its opponent under 60 points.

Even so, UCF was forced to play Evansville without two starters due to injuries: 7-foot center Michael Durr and 6-foot-8 forward C.J. Walker, an Oregon transfer.

The injuries have forced UCF coach Johnny Dawkins to adjust.

“(True freshman Thierno) Sylla is having to log more minutes,” Dawkins said.

Sylla, who is 6-11, is filling in for Durr, a University of South Florida transfer.

UCF’s oldest veterans are Durr, Walker, Massachusetts transfer C.J. Kelly, Pitt transfer Ithiel Horton and Utah transfer Lahat Thioune. Kelly is second on the team in scoring (11.3) and Horton is third (10.3).

Meanwhile, Miami had faced a fairly soft schedule before getting drilled by Maryland, 88-70, last Sunday. Maryland is the only school from a Power Five conference Miami has played.

The Hurricanes are led in scoring by Isaiah Wong (14.3); Norchad Omier (14.0); Jordan Miller (13.7); Pack (12.5) and Wooga Poplar (8.2). Those have been Miami’s five starters for all six of its games.

Omier leads the team in rebounds (10.2) and blocks (1.0), and Wong tops the squad in steals (2.3).

The Hurricanes are not getting much from their freshman class, including forward A.J. Casey (1.8 scoring average).

But Casey is not worried.

“I’m adjusting really well,” he said. “I have a lot of guys supporting me. I’m just looking to get wins.”

–Field Level Media

After being named to the preseason All-Big East Second Team, Seton Hall guard Kadary Richmond was seemingly in position to be one of the Pirates’ top producers for the 2022-23 campaign.

So far, that hasn’t been the case.

Richmond will try to get on track on Sunday when Seton Hall faces Siena in the third-place game of the ESPN Events Invitational at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

After scoring in double figures in 12 of the Pirates’ final 19 games last season, Richmond is averaging just 6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 44.4 percent shooting through the first six games. He is playing 20.5 minutes per game this season after he played 25.9 minutes last season.

He most recently finished with five points, five assists and seven rebounds in a season-high 25 minutes on 2-of-7 shooting Friday, as Seton Hall (4-2) fell 77-64 to Oklahoma. Al-Amir Dawes paced the Pirates with 12 points, while KC Ndefo and Dre Davis each added 10.

“I’m on him; we need him to get going. He’s a guy that’s got some experience, played good last year,” Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway said of Richmond during a radio interview following the loss to the Sooners. “He’ll get there. I’ll get him there. He’s trying to figure out ways to impact the game, but we need him to score.”

Richmond’s next chance to find his offense comes against Siena, which has allowed 72 points per game.

The Saints (3-3) lost for the third time in four games Friday, falling 74-62 to Ole Miss. Javian McCollum had a game-high 24 points and eight assists on 9-of-17 shooting, while Jackson Stormo added 13 points and Jared Billups chipped in 11.

“We got to get better. I think it’s a great learning lesson,” Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello said following the loss. “There’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves. Chance to get better again, and we look forward to that opportunity.”

McCollum is the Saints’ leading scorer, averaging 17.5 points per game. Andrew Platek averages 13.7, and Jackson is averaging 11.

–Field Level Media

Oklahoma State hopes to get off to a faster start when it hosts Prairie View A&M on Sunday afternoon in Stillwater, Okla.

The Cowboys (4-2) have a full head of steam on the heels of an 82-56 victory at home over Tulsa on Friday. Bryce Thompson led Oklahoma State with 18 points that included four 3-pointers. Moussa Cisse added 12 and Tyreek Smith tallied 10.

Oklahoma State missed 11 of its first 12 shots but still led by 12 points at halftime. The Cowboys then put away the game by scoring 35 of the first 43 points of the second half.

“That’s what we’re supposed to do,” Thompson said. “Our job is to go out there and win and win the right way. We played until the buzzer was over. My teammates were able to find me. We had a great game plan going in.”

The Cowboys may be the best team in the nation that no one is talking about, winning three of their past four outings. Oklahoma State’s two losses have been by a point at home against Southern Illinois and by four in overtime to UCF in the semifinals of the Baha Mar Hoops tournament in the Bahamas.

The Panthers (4-2) continue their arduous start to the season after a 67-59 victory on the road over Arkansas State on Friday. The win snapped a two-game skid for Prairie View, with Will Douglas leading the way with 18 points and a season-high nine rebounds, Jeremiah Campbell adding 13 points and Hegel Augustine scoring 11.

Sunday’s contest is the fourth of a 10-game road trip for the Panthers.

Coach Byron Smith isn’t afraid of the challenge.

“At the end of the day, what coaches are required to is — the bottom line is winning,” Smith said prior to the season.

Oklahoma State has won all five meetings in the all-time series against Prairie View. Each of the games have been contested in Stillwater with the Cowboys averaging 88.6 points per outing.

–Field Level Media