Kyle Filipowski’s 13 points and 10 rebounds gave the freshman forward his fifth double-double as No. 17 Duke blew past visiting Boston College 75-59 in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams Saturday at Durham, N.C.

Mark Mitchell posted 13 of his 15 points in the second half for the Blue Devils (8-2, 1-0 ACC), who remained undefeated in six home games. Jacob Grandison had 10 points off the bench.

The outcome gave first-year Duke coach Jon Scheyer a victory in his first official game as head coach in conference play.

Duke shot 52.8 percent from the field.

CJ Penha had a strong second half to finish with 16 points for Boston College, which has lost two games in a row for the first time this season. Jaeden Zackery added 14 points and Devin McGlockton posted 10 points.

The Eagles were hurt by shooting 37.5 percent from the field, combined with Duke’s stretches of offensive efficiency.

Duke had nine players in the scoring column, yet with 11 1/2 minutes remaining, none of them had reached double-figure points. That came near the conclusion of Duke’s 11-0 run that opened a 58-37 gap.

Boston College couldn’t sustain a threat and it resulted in the Eagles suffering their second blowout loss of the week after losing Wednesday night at Nebraska.

Duke led 35-23 at halftime, shooting 48.3 percent from the field compared to Boston College’s 27.3 percent. The Eagles were only 1-for-10 on 3s before the break.

Duke began to get separation with a 7-0 spurt and then stretched the margin to 28-18 on a fast-break basket. The gap swelled to 15 points.

Duke committed 10 turnovers to only nine for Boston College.

Boston College, despite a 33-32 rebounding edge in this game, has never won in Cameron Indoor Stadium in 13 visits.

Duke has opened ACC play four times against Boston College, winning three of them.

–Fiele Level Media

Trevon Brazile poured in a career-high 23 points, prized freshman Nick Smith Jr. scored 16 points in his long anticipated first start, and the No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks crushed visiting San Jose State 99-58 on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.

Leading by only five points at halftime, Arkansas (7-1) opened the second by connecting on five of its first six shot attempts, extending the lead to 52-41 in the first five minutes.

It outscored the visitors 18-7 in the first 10 minutes to blow the game open, eventually routing the Spartans (6-3) by a 59-23 margin over the final 20 minutes.

The 6-foot-10 Brazile connected on 8 of 9 field goals, grabbed five rebounds, handed out two assists and blocked two shots. Ricky Council IV had 17 points and Jalen Graham added 11.

Following his debut Monday after being held out the first six games as a precaution for his ailing right knee, the 6-5 Smith was inserted into the starting lineup and went 6-for-14 from the field with five assists in 24 minutes. He made 3 of his 5 attempts from deep.

In their first-ever meeting with the Mountain West Conference school, the Razorbacks were 37-for-59 (62.7 percent) from the field and 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) on 3-pointers. They held a 23-2 on fastbreak points and 44-4 edge in bench scoring.

After earning a fifth-place finish in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship over the weekend, the 19-point underdog Spartans got a season-high 21 points from Omari Moore, while Sage Tolbert III had 12 and Ibrahima Diallo 10.

With Davonte Davis on the bench, Smith started and hit an early trey for a 5-2 lead, but the Spartans appeared up for the challenge of facing the Southeastern Conference squad.

They tied it at 11 on Moore’s two free throws, giving him six points right away, but Arkansas got into transition and pulled away for a 17-11 lead on Brazile’s three-point play.

The teams traded the lead 12 times in the half, but the Razorbacks used a 9-0 run near the end of the half to hold a 40-35 advantage at the break.

–Field Level Media

Caleb McConnell collected 16 points and 10 rebounds as host Rutgers scored 17 straight points midway through the second half and pulled away for a 63-48 victory over No. 10 Indiana on Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J. in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

In his third game back from a knee injury, McConnell made 4 of 12 shots, including the 3-pointer that sparked the decisive run and also made six free throws to help Rutgers (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) beat Indiana for the sixth straight time and eighth time in 11 meetings under coach Steve Pikiell. The Scarlet Knights improved to 10-3 at home against ranked teams since the start of the 2019-20 season.

Derek Simpson added 10 of his 14 points in the decisive run, hitting two layups, a mid-range jumper, a 3-pointer and a free throw as Rutgers turned a 37-35 deficit with 13:13 remaining into a 15-point lead a little over five minutes later. He then added an open 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2:25 left to make it 59-46 and essentially seal it.

Aundre Hyatt chipped in 11 for Rutgers, which survived shooting 36.7 percent and a quiet showing from Clifford Omoruyi. Omoruyi did not play the final 16:40 of the first half after picking up two fouls and compensated for being held to six points by making two key defensive plays down the stretch.

Miller Kopp scored 21 points for Indiana (7-1, 0-1) but the rest of the Hoosiers experienced frustrating showings against Rutgers’ varied defenses.

Indiana shot a dreadful 30.4 percent and missed 19 of 25 3-point tries after shooting 55 percent through the first seven games. The Hoosiers were also limited to 14 points in the paint after scoring 50 points inside Wednesday against North Carolina.

Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis fouled out for the first time in his career and finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Xavier Johnson also struggled as he finished with eight on 2 of 11 shooting as the
Hoosiers played without Jalen Hood-Schifino, who was held out due to a back injury after struggling in pregame warmups.

The Scarlet Knights held a 31-24 lead at halftime after Mulcahy hit a layup with 28 seconds remaining. Rutgers got the lead when Hyatt’s layup snapped a 10-10 deadlock with 12:48 remaining and it expanded its lead to seven three other times before Mulcahy’s basket.

–Field Level Media

With much tougher games looming on the horizon, still-unbeaten Missouri will play its final tune-up game Sunday when it hosts Southeast Missouri State in Columbia, Mo.

The Tigers (8-0) will face No. 9 Kansas, Central Florida, No. 16 Illinois, No. 19 Kentucky and No. 11 Arkansas during a five-game stretch from Dec. 10 through Jan. 4.

But first Missouri will face the Redhawks (5-3) at Mizzou Arena.

The Tigers are coming off an 88-84 overtime victory at Wichita State on Tuesday night when they forced 20 turnovers and turned them into 29 points.

“Man, we got a quick team,” Missouri forward Noah Carter said. “Our pressure defensively in the frontcourt and the backcourt, just the amount of energy the opposing team has to use to get the ball across and get into their offense, it really wears them down.

“I think it really came through for us. When you have guards like that who can handle the ball and get us in our offense, it’s all positive.”

The Tigers have been paced by guard D’Moi Hodge (16.9 points per game) and forwards Kobe Brown (13.0) and Carter (12.6). Five different players have led the team in scoring this season and seven players are averaging at least 8.6 points per game.

Through Friday’s games, Missouri ranked third among Division I teams in scoring with 92.6 per game and first in assists with 22.1 per game.

Southeast Missouri State has played well on the road this season, and with five games to play before moving into the Ohio Valley Conference schedule, the Redhawks look o achieve their first winning season in nine years. The Redhawks won at South Florida and Evansville and earned a neutral site victory over Boston University.

“Our guys play, and they compete,” Redhawks coach Brad Korn told the Southeast Missourian. “It is really impressive the way that we compete. We’ve shown this all year.

“We play with a high spirit, and we get up to that line, but we haven’t gone over it. We get right up to it, and I appreciate that, and love that in our guys.”

The Redhawks are led by guards Phillip Russell (14.1 points per game), Chris Harris (11.6) and Israel Barnes (10.0). Kobe Clark, a transfer from Georgetown, is averaging 9.5 rebounds and 7.5 points a game.

–Field Level Media

Chuck Harris set career highs with six 3-pointers and 32 points, and Butler scored 20 of the game’s final 27 points to post an 80-66 win over visiting Tennessee Tech on Saturday in Indianapolis.

Manny Bates added 17 points for the Bulldogs (6-3), who shot 50.9 percent from the field made nine 3-pointers.

Harris made 10 of 16 shots from the floor and hit all but two of his 3-point attempts for Butler, which saw its 14-point lead whittled to four at intermission.

The Bulldogs stayed in front but struggled to put away Tennessee Tech (3-6). Brett Thompson’s 3-pointer and a Jayvis Harvey layup got the Golden Eagles within 60-59 with 8:38 to play.

Eric Hunter Jr. (12 points) immediately followed with a 3-pointer for Butler, which scored the next seven points.

Thanks to more contributions from Harris and Bates, the Bulldogs closed on that 20-7 run to improve to 5-0 this season at home, where they’ve won 69 of the last 71 against non-conference opponents.

Harvey scored 16 points, Ty Perry added 14 and Nolan Causwell contributed 12 for Tennessee Tech, which went 6-of-11 from beyond the arc in the second half after going 2-for-12 in the first.

The first half was a game of streaks.

Nine points from Harris highlighted a 17-2 spurt that put Butler ahead 22-8 with 11:09 remaining in the opening half. However, the Golden Eagles got back into the contest with a 14-3 surge of their own.

Five more points from Harris keyed a 9-0 run for the Bulldogs to regain some breathing room. But, again, Tennessee Tech wouldn’t fold, and closed the first half on an 11-3 spurt, paced by five points from Harvey.

Despite its poor 3-point shooting in the first half, Tennessee Tech held a 22-15 advantage on the boards and outscored Butler 9-0 on second-chance points in the opening 20 minutes.

–Field Level Media

Tolu Smith scored 24 points, D.J. Jeffries added 12 and Mississippi State stayed undefeated Saturday afternoon with an 82-52 victory against Mississippi Valley State in Starkville, Miss.

The Bulldogs (8-0) opened a 16-point halftime lead and coasted in the second half while keeping intact their season-long streak of not allowing more than 55 points in a game. They enjoyed a 43-24 advantage in rebounds.

For the Delta Devils (1-9), Danny Washington and Terry Collins each scored 14 points, Kadar Waller had 12 points and Arecko Gipson added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The margin would have been even bigger if the Delta Devils hadn’t shot 53.3 percent (8 of 15) on 3-pointers, led by Collins’ 4 of 9 shooting.

The Bulldogs’ Tyler Stevenson started the second-half scoring with a three-point play that increased the lead to 19 points.

The Delta Devils later trimmed the lead to 16 on a 3-pointer by Collins, but Will McNair answered with a layup and Shawn Jones Jr. added a 3-pointer that made it 53-32, and MVSU would never again get within 20 points.

Kimani Hamilton’s 3-pointer expanded the lead to 25 points midway through the half.

Early in the game, 3-point baskets by Washington and Collins gave the Delta Devils a 6-5 lead, and they were tied at 9-9 after six minutes.

McNair’s layup broke the tie, giving the Bulldogs the lead for good. They expanded the lead to 21-14 on a 3-pointer by Jones.

Jeffries scored five points and Eric Reed Jr. had two as the Bulldogs opened a 28-18 lead.

Gipson’s layup reduced the lead to single digits before MSU finished the half with a push.

Smith scored the Bulldogs final five points of the period as they took a 38-22 halftime lead.

–Field Level Media

Kihei Clark scored a game-high 18 points and the defense of No. 3 Virginia stifled Florida State, leading the Cavaliers to a 62-57 win in the teams’ Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.

Jayden Gardner had 10 points and seven rebounds, Armaan Franklin added nine points and Ben Vander Plas and Reece Beekman finished with seven points apiece as Virginia remained undefeated (7-0, 1-0 ACC).

While the Cavaliers struggled offensively, going 18 of 51 (35.3 percent) from the field, including 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range, they were terrific defensively.

The Cavaliers outrebounded the Seminoles 40-38 and forced them to shoot 21 of 64 (32.8 percent) from the field, including 6 of 18 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Seminoles (1-9, 0-1), who lost their fifth straight game, were led by Darin Green Jr., who had 17 points, four rebounds and two assists. Matthew Cleveland added 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, with Jalen Warley and Caleb Mills each scoring seven points.

Leading 25-24 with 18:31 left in the second half, the Cavaliers took control of the game by going on an 18-7 run to take a 43-31 lead they wouldn’t relinquish following Gardner’s layup with 11:16 to go.

Florida State pulled to within 60-57 on Mills’ three-point play with 7.6 seconds left, but Beekman made two free throws to secure the win.

Neither team led by more than four points during a defensive-minded first half in which both teams struggled mightily on offense and ended with the Seminoles leading 22-21.

Green scored seven points and Tom House had six in the first 20 minutes for Florida State, which shot 7 of 28 (25 percent) from the field, including 3 of 9 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

Virginia was led by Franklin’s six points, while Clark added five.

The Cavaliers shot 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) from the field, including 3 of 11 (27.3 percent) from distance.

–Field Level Media

The 13th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers have thrived off stellar defense this season, and they will try to keep it up Sunday when they host Alcorn State in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Vols (6-1) are coming off a 76-40 win over McNeese State on Wednesday night. They have won five consecutive games and have held four opponents to 50 points or less during that stretch.

While offense can come and go for a team on a nightly basis, defense is something that should be consistent.

“You can always impact the game,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “You always can be doing your job — the details, creating something. Defensively, you should never have an off night. Ever.

“That’s just mental toughness and paying attention to a scouting report coming in.”

In the win over McNeese State, the Vols forced 24 turnovers and blocked eight shots, including five blocks by Jonas Aidoo.

Tennessee has forced 141 turnovers on the season and recorded 30 blocks. Opponents are shooting just 35.4 percent from the field against the Vols and have made a total of 35 3-pointers. McNeese State was 2-for-17 from 3-point range against the Volunteers.

Opposing teams have made just 20.4 percent of their 3-point shots against Tennessee.

Alcorn State enters this game looking to bounce back after nearly pulling off an impressive comeback in an 80-72 loss to Grand Canyon on Tuesday night.

The Braves (3-5) trailed by 30 before tying the score at 63-63. Byron Joshua scored 30 in the loss. Joshua is tied for the team lead in scoring average (11.6) with Dominic Brewton.

Alcorn State has lost its past two and is facing an SEC opponent for the second time this season. On Nov. 7, the Braves lost 73-58 to Ole Miss.

The game against Tennessee marks the start of five consecutive games on the road for the Braves through the end of the calendar year. That stretch precedes the start of the Southwestern Conference play. Their best win this season came at Wichita State, 66-57.

“If we’re locked in and we’re competing and we’re playing hard, I think we have a chance to win against every team on our schedule,” Alcorn State coach Landon Bussie said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, it just matters what we do.”

As for the Volunteers, Josiah-Jordan James leads the team at 13.7 points per game. He is one of four players in double figures, along with Santiago Vescovi (12.0), Julian Phillips (10.9) and Tyreke Key (10.7). Vescovi scored 16 points in Wednesday’s win, sinking four 3-pointers, giving him nine in the past two games

The Volunteers are shooting 40 percent from the floor as a team and are knocking down nine 3-pointers per game.

Defensively, as well as Tennessee has played, Barnes expects his team to be even better going forward.

“The defensive mentality that we’ve had, we still have to get better,” Barnes said. “I will tell you that. I could tell you 18 offensive rebounds (against McNeese State) means there were 18 possessions where we didn’t finish it. So we got to obviously clean that up.”

–Field Level Media

Florida will look to build off the momentum of its most lopsided win of the season when it hosts Stetson on Sunday afternoon in Gainesville, Fla.

The Gators (5-3) are coming off a 102-62 win over Florida A&M on Wednesday. Florida reached triple-digit scoring in regulation for the first time since beating Long Beach State 102-63 on Dec. 28, 2019.

“We have plenty of things to get better at but I would say that tenacity in which we were competing, and obviously getting off to a 19-2 start is something to get excited about,” first-year Florida coach Todd Golden said. “We challenged the team that way — like, ‘Hey, how are we going to respond? What are we going to do?’

“I thought to a man everybody competed really hard. We did a good job. It’s a good one to build on as we move forward.”

Florida won big despite being down two starters — point guard Kyle Lofton and shooting guard Will Richard. Golden said both players remain questionable heading into the Stetson matchup.

“Both are still day-to-day at this time,” Golden said, “but they’ve made progress which is good. (We) hope to have them for Sunday.”

Trey Bonham helped pick up the slack with Lofton and Richard out against FAMU, making a career-high seven 3-pointers and finishing with 23 points in the victory. Bonham has averaged 17.0 points since being inserted in Florida’s starting lineup four games ago.

Stetson (4-2), which upset both Florida State and South Florida, is coming off a 125-51 win over Div. II Johnson on Tuesday.

The Hatters are led by Ball State transfer Luke Brown, who is averaging 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Brown scored 27 points in Stetson’s 83-74 season-opening victory versus the Seminoles.

“Obviously got a great win and it’s always good when all of your team gets a chance to play,” Stetson coach Donnie Jones said, per the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “I loved how we played the game, regardless of the score. I think we were really trying to get better today and playing unselfishly.”

–Field Level Media

Washington and Colorado look to rebound following one-point losses in their Pac-12 Conference openers when they meet Sunday afternoon in Seattle.

The short-handed Huskies (6-2, 0-1) nearly overcame the absence of 7-foot-1 starting center Braxton Meah (ankle) and a knee injury to 6-11 Franck Kepnang in the second half of their 66-65 setback to Oregon State on Thursday.

Washington, which also was missing senior guard Noah Williams to a leg injury in the conference opener, erased an 18-point deficit and held a three-point lead before bowing to the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore.

Kentucky transfer Keion Brooks collected 21 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies, as coach Mike Hopkins went to a four-guard lineup in the final minutes Thursday.

“I told them how proud I was,” Hopkins said, per the Seattle Times. “We weren’t going to go down without swinging. That’s who these guys are.

“Franck goes out and that was emotional. Just tougher together. Went out there and fought. Made plays. Got ourselves in position and just couldn’t finish it. I was disappointed that we lost, but so proud of how they fought and how they kept coming.”

Like the Huskies, the Buffaloes (4-4, 0-1) dropped a heartbreaker in their Pac-12 opener Thursday.

Colorado squandered a 15-point halftime lead and then was done in by a late 3-pointer in a 60-59 setback to Arizona State.

“This one stings,” Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said. “This is easily one of the top five losses in the 13 years I’ve been at Colorado. We let our fans down. I let them down. The players let them down. … We wilted to their pressure.”

KJ Simpson scored 13 points and Tristan da Silva added 10 points and a career-high eight rebounds for the Buffaloes.

Last season, da Silva scored a career-high 22 points in Colorado’s 78-64 win over Washington in Boulder, Colo., on Jan. 9. He sat out with a non-COVID-19 illness in the rematch later that month, when Washington won in Seattle 60-58.

–Field Level Media