Zach Freemantle had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to help host No. 22 Xavier hand No. 2 UConn its first loss of the season, 83-73, on Saturday before a frenzied crowd in Cincinnati.
Xavier was also gifted a huge mistake from often animated UConn coach Danny Hurley, whose complaining earned him a technical foul with 2:25 remaining. Souley Boum hit both free throws to put Xavier up 76-71 before Freemantle added another for a 77-71 lead.
Colby Jones added 16 points while Jack Nunge and Jerome Hunter scored 15 apiece to lead the Musketeers (12-3, 4-0 Big East) to their eighth straight win. It is the first 4-0 start for Xavier in Big East Conference play.
Adama Sanogo had 18 points for UConn (14-1, 3-1) while Andre Jackson Jr. added 14 points and eight assists.
No. 3 Houston 71, UCF 65
Tramon Mark scored a game-high 19 points, and Marcus Sasser added 18 points with three steals as the third-ranked Cougars edged the visiting Knights in an American Athletic Conference game.
J’Wan Roberts scored 12 points while Jamal Shead added 11 points and four assists for Houston (14-1, 2-0 AAC), which won its fifth straight game. The Cougars are 46-7 since the start of last season. They have also won six straight against UCF and 10 of their past 11.
UCF (10-4, 1-1) was led by Darius Johnson, who had 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals before fouling out.
No. 4 Kansas 69, Oklahoma State 67
K.J. Adams hit a layup with six seconds left to lift the Jayhawks to a victory over the Cowboys in the Big 12 season opener for both squads in Lawrence, Kan.
The Jayhawks (12-1, 1-0 Big 12), who overcame a 15-point halftime deficit, were led by Jalen Wilson with 20 points. Adams added 14.
The Cowboys (8-5, 0-1) were led by Bryce Thompson with 23 points and John-Michael Wright with 19.
No. 5 Arizona 69, Arizona State 60
Azuolas Tubelis scored 21 points and Oumar Ballo had a double-double to help the Wildcats survive after squandering almost all of a 17-point halftime lead in a road win over the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz.
Tubelis scored 13 points in the first half, when Arizona (13-1, 2-1 Pac-12) was in complete control, leading 45-28 at the break. But ASU (11-3, 2-1) flashed the defensive intensity that led to its early season success with four steals in seven minutes, closing to 49-47 with 13:06 to go.
That was as close as the Devils would get, as their offense went cold again. Seven Arizona State players scored at least six points, but only Frankie Collins reached double digits (12).
No. 6 Texas 70, Oklahoma 69
Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr scored 13 points each to lead the Longhorns to a come-from-behind victory over the Sooners in Norman, Okla.
With the game tight late, the Longhorns turned to Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice. Rice scored all 11 of his points in the final six minutes, going 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. Texas (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) was 15-for-16 at the free-throw line, making all six attempts in the final 50 seconds to put the game away.
Grant Sherfield set the tone early for the Sooners with 16 first-half points. But the Sooners (9-4, 0-1) missed eight consecutive shots during the Longhorns’ 10-1 run that gave Texas its first lead of the second half. Sherfield led all scorers with 22 points and Jacob Groves added 17 points, going 5-for-9 on 3-point tries.
No. 10 Gonzaga 111, Pepperdine 88
Drew Timme scored a season-high 35 points on 15-of-19 shooting and added 10 rebounds and five assists as the Bulldogs won their 27th consecutive West Coast Conference opener, defeating the Waves in Spokane, Wash.
The Bulldogs (12-3, 1-0 WCC) also defeated the Waves (7-8, 0-1) for the 44th straight time dating back to 2002. Timme moved past Elias Harris and into fourth place on Gonzaga’s career scoring list with 1,861 points, six shy of Adam Morrison, who is No. 3. Five other Zags scored in double digits, as Julian Strawther added 22 points, Malachi Smith had 15, Rasir Bolton scored 14, Anton Watson tallied 11 and Ben Gregg contributed 10.
Maxwell Lewis led Pepperdine with 20 points despite playing just 23 minutes because of foul trouble. Carson Basham and Jevon Porter each scored 17 points for the Waves, while Mike Mitchell Jr. added 13 and Houston Mallette had 11.
Iowa State 77, No. 12 Baylor 62
Gabe Kalscheur scored 23 points and Caleb Grill added 18 as the Cyclones pulled away in the second half for a victory over the Bears in both teams’ Big 12 opener in Ames, Iowa.
Kalscheur shot 7 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, and made 4 of 5 free-throw attempts for Iowa State. Grill took all of his shots from beyond the arc, going 5 of 9 in addition to making 3 of 5 free-throw attempts and recording seven rebounds and four assists. The Cyclones (10-2, 1-0 Big 12) were up by as many as 18 in the second half after leading by three at halftime.
Baylor (10-3, 0-1), which saw a five-game winning streak end, was led by Adam Flagler, who had 20 points, four rebounds and three assists. Keyonte George scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half, while Jalen Bridges finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
No. 13 Virginia 74, Georgia Tech 56
Kihei Clark led a mid-game flurry on his way to collecting 15 points, eight assists and three steals, leading the Cavaliers to an Atlantic Coast Conference victory over the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.
Jayden Gardner added 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Armaan Franklin produced 11 points, five steals and four assists as Virginia (10-2, 2-1 ACC) beat Georgia Tech for the 10th straight time.
It was the third conference loss by a double-digit margin for Georgia Tech (7-6, 0-3), which committed 23 turnovers and was outscored 30-17 on points off miscues. The Yellow Jackets entered the game averaging 10.1 turnovers per game, the 11th-highest figure in the nation.
No. 17 Duke 86, Florida State 67
Ryan Young’s 20 points and 12 rebounds off the bench gave the Blue Devils a huge boost as they defeated the Seminoles in Durham, N.C.
Jaylen Blakes checked in with 17 points in his first career start and reserve Dariq Whitehead poured in 16 points in an outing that kept Duke perfect in eight home games. The Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1 ACC) avoided back-to-back losses and shot 50.9 percent from the field.
Caleb Mills and Matthew Cleveland each scored 18 points, and Darin Green Jr. added 16 points to pace Florida State (4-11, 2-2), which was trying to produce back-to-back ACC victories.
No. 18 TCU 67, Texas Tech 61
Mike Miles Jr. scored 23 points, seven of them in a decisive late-game surge, as the Horned Frogs rallied for a gritty win over the visiting Red Raiders in Fort Worth, Texas, in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams.
The Red Raiders (10-3, 0-1 Big 12) led by 11 points at halftime before the Horned Frogs turned on their defense to get back in the game. TCU (12-1, 1-0) used a 9-0 run to tie the score at 53-53 and took its first lead since the opening minutes when Miles hit a layup with 3:37 to play.
Emanuel Miller added 16 points for the Horned Frogs, with Damion Baugh scoring 14 as TCU won its 10th straight game. Pop Isaacs led the Red Raiders with 17 points while De’Vion Harmon added 13. Texas Tech committed a season-high 23 turnovers, 15 of them in the second half.
No. 19 Kentucky 86, Louisville 63
Oscar Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin scored 24 points apiece to lead the Wildcats to a victory over the visiting Cardinals in Lexington, Ky.
Tshiebwe shot 10 of 13 from the field and added a game-high 14 rebounds and two assists. Toppin went 10 of 15 from the field and notched seven rebounds and two assists. Cason Wallace finished with 17 points with five rebounds and two assists for the Wildcats, who cruised to their 27th consecutive home win.
Kentucky (9-4), which led by as many as 27 points in the second half, shot 33 of 55 (60 percent) from the field. The Wildcats, who have won two of their past three games, outrebounded the Cardinals 33-20. El Ellis scored 23 points and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added 10 points for Louisville (2-12), which has dropped three straight games.
No. 22 New Mexico 76, Wyoming 75
Jamal Mashburn Jr. had 20 points, including two on the go-ahead free throws with 18 seconds left, to lead the Lobos to a win over the Cowboys in a Mountain West game at Laramie, Wyo.
New Mexico (14-0, 2-0 Mountain West) is off to its best start since the 1967-68 team started 17-0, while Wyoming (5-9, 0-2) has lost four consecutive games. After Jeremiah Oden put the Cowboys ahead 74-72 with 2:07 left, both teams had failed possessions before Jaelen House made two free throws to tie the game with 1:20 remaining.
Ethan Anderson made one of two free throws with 56 seconds left to give Wyoming a 75-74 lead. Mashburn was later fouled and sunk the go-ahead free throw, and the Cowboys’ Max Agbonkpolo missed a 3-pointer with nine seconds left and Brendan Wenzel was off the mark following an offensive rebound, effectively sealing the victory for the Lobos.
Kansas State 82, No. 24 West Virginia 76 (OT)
Markquis Nowell had seven of his game-high 23 points in overtime as the host Wildcats defeated the Mountaineers in Manhattan, Kan., in the Big 12 opener for both clubs.
Kansas State (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) has its best start since going 12-1 in the 2016-17 season. Keyontae Johnson scored 18 points for the Wildcats, Abayomi Iyiola added 14 points and eight rebounds, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin had 11 points.
Tre Mitchell led West Virginia (10-3, 0-1) with 16 points and 13 rebounds, Emmitt Matthews Jr. scored 12 points, and Mohamed Wague chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
