Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 23 points for No. 20 Tennessee, which brushed off the cobwebs to score an impressive 83-62 victory over No. 11 Louisville on Tuesday in Knoxville, Tenn.
Playing for the first time in 10 days, the Volunteers (8-3) ended a three-game losing streak by using their size to stifle one of the country’s most potent offenses. Tennessee held the Cardinals (9-2), who entered Tuesday ranked seventh nationally averaging 94.3 points per game, to a season-low point total.
Gillespie scored 20 of his points in the second half as Tennessee shot 58.3% in the second half. Nate Ament added 13 points for the Volunteers, and Jaylen Carey posted 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Ryan Conwell led Louisville with 22 points. The Cardinals played short-handed as Mikel Brown Jr., the team’s starting point guard and second-leading scorer, was a late scratch due to a back injury. They committed 16 turnovers without him.
No. 1 Arizona 96, Abilene Christian 62
Brayden Burries had 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, leading six players who scored in double figures in Arizona’s win over Abilene Christian in a battle of Wildcats at Tucson, Ariz.
Motiejus Krivas finished with 15 points after making all four of his shots from the field and 7 of 8 free-throw attempts for Arizona. Ivan Kharchenkov finished with 11 points while Koa Peat, Jaden Bradley and Tobe Awaka each had 10. Arizona (10-0) made 66.7% (30 of 45) of its shots from the field, outrebounded Abilene Christian 38-23 and held a 44-22 advantage in points in the paint.
Abilene Christian (7-4) shot 35.7% (20 of 56) from the field. Cbo Newton had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and Joseph Scott had 15 after making 5 of 9 shots. The rest of the team was a combined 8 of 37 (21.6%).
No. 3 Duke 97, Lipscomb 73
Cameron Boozer piled up 26 points and 13 rebounds to help the Blue Devils hold off the upset-minded Bisons in Durham, N.C.
Boozer shot 10 of 17 from the floor, was a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe and also dished out three assists for Duke (11-0). Isaiah Evans added 16 points. The Blue Devils won the rebounding margin 55-21 and turned 20 offensive boards into 26 second-chance points. Lipscomb, meanwhile, grabbed just three of their own misses.
Grant Asman scored 18 points for the Bisons (6-5), while Mateo Esmeraldo tallied 14 points and eight assists.
No. 5 UConn 79, Butler 60
Solo Ball scored a career-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting to lead the Huskies to a victory over the Bulldogs in Hartford, Conn., to open Big East conference play.
Tarris Reed Jr. added 16 points and five rebounds for UConn (11-1, 1-0), while Silas Demary Jr. dished out 11 assists.
Drayton Jones led Butler (8-3, 1-1) with 13 points, and Azavier Robinson and Evan Haywood each added 10. The Bulldogs were held to a season low in points after coming into this game averaging 90-plus points per contest.
No. 9 Michigan State 92, Toledo 69
Jaxon Kohler notched a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds and Jeremy Fears Jr. added 15 points and eight assists as the Spartans downed the Rockets in East Lansing, Mich.
Starter Coen Carr and reserve Kur Teng scored 14 points apiece, and Michigan State (10-1) overcame a 15-4 turnover disparity thanks in part to a 54-24 rebounding advantage.
Sonny Wilson led all scorers with a career-best 29 points while shooting 10-for-15 from the floor for Toledo (5-6). The Rockets outscored the Spartans 41-34 in the second half but couldn’t overcome a 58-28 first-half deficit.
No. 10 BYU 93, Pacific 57
Richie Saunders scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Cougars to a win over the Tigers in Provo, Utah.
AJ Dybantsa had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds for BYU (10-1), while Robert Wright III added 22 points and Tyler Mrus chipped in 15 on 4-of-4 3-point shooting. The Cougars have now won seven straight games.
Kajus Kublickas led Pacific (8-4) with 14 points and Elias Ralph tallied 12, all of which he scored after halftime.
No. 12 North Carolina 77, East Tennessee State 58
Henri Veesaar scored a career-high 26 points as the Tar Heels pulled away from the Buccaneers in the second half in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Caleb Wilson contributed 20 points and eight rebounds as North Carolina (10-1) captured its fourth straight win. Veesaar made 10 of 11 shots, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. He also had eight rebounds to help the Tar Heels to a 35-23 edge on the boards. North Carolina posted a 36-22 advantage in points in the paint.
Brian Taylor scored 14 points and Blake Barkley added 11 points to lead East Tennessee State (8-4) of the Southern Conference.
No. 14 Arkansas 108, Queens 80
Senior Trevon Brazile had career highs with 26 points and five 3-pointers, freshman Darius Acuff Jr. had a career-high 23 points with 10 assists and the Razorbacks rolled to a victory over the Royals in Fayetteville, Ark.
Arkansas (9-2) also received contributions from Billy Richmond III (15 points), Nick Pringle (14 points and seven rebounds) and Karter Knox (11 points). The Razorbacks made a season-high 14 3-pointers to win their fourth straight game.
Nasir Mann scored 16 points, Maban Jabriel had 14 and Avantae Parker had 13 for Queens (5-7).
No. 17 Kansas 73, Towson 49
Flory Bidunga finished with 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Tre White added 16 points and the Jayhawks pulled away for a 73-49 victory over the Tigers on Tuesday night in Lawrence, Kansas.
Even without star freshman Darryn Peterson, who was ruled out before the game with cramping in his quad, Kansas (9-3) faced little danger. Melvin Council Jr. had 15 points and five rebounds, and Bryson Tiller finished with 11 points. As a team, the Jayhawks shot 46.7% from the field.
Dylan Williamson led Towson with 19 points, including 14 in the first half. Tyler Tejada, the Tigers’ leading scorer going into the game, was held to eight points. The team made just 27.5% of its shots from the field.
No. 19 Texas Tech 101, Northern Colorado 90
LeJuan Watts tallied 20 of his career-high 36 points in the first half, and the Red Raiders toppled the pesky Bears in Lubbock, Texas.
Watts made all but one of his 13 field-goal attempts and hit 9 of 11 at the foul line while grabbing six rebounds and dishing four assists for Texas Tech (8-3). Teammate JT Toppin had 23 points, three rebounds and five blocks. Christian Anderson and Jaylen Petty notched 14 points each and Donovan Atwell scored 10 as the Red Raiders shot 35 of 59 from the field (59.3%) and made 19 of 24 at the stripe (79.2%).
Northern Colorado (9-2) played without top scorer Quinn Denker (17.3 points) but received a career-high 29 points from Brock Wisne. Zach Bloch totaled 17 points, five rebounds and eight assists. In his first Bears start, Vincent Delano scored 16 as the squad shot 56.1% from the field.
No. 22 St. John’s 79, DePaul 66
Dylan Darling scored a season-high 17 points and sparked decisive runs in each half for the Red Storm, who beat the Blue Demons 79-66 in the Big East opener for both schools in New York.
Joson Sanon (15 points, nine rebounds) flirted with a double-double and Ian Jackson added 10 points for St. John’s (7-3, 1-0 Big East), which has won its last five conference openers, including three under Rick Pitino.
Kaleb Banks posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds for DePaul (8-4, 0-1), which has dropped 11 straight league openers and had its three-game winning streak snapped. CJ Gunn added 15 points.
–Field Level Media
