Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 23 points for No. 20 Tennessee, which swept away the cobwebs to earn an impressive 83-62 victory over No. 11 Louisville on Tuesday in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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 nation’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 had 12 points and 10 rebounds coming off the bench.
Ryan Conwell led Louisville with 22 points. The Cardinals played shorthanded as Mikel Brown Jr., the team’s starting point guard and second-leading scorer, was knocked out late with 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 the Wildcats in Tucson, Arizona.
Motiejus Krivas finished with 15 points after hitting 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 percent (30 of 45) of its shots from the field, outshot Abilene Christian 38-23 and held a 44-22 advantage in points in the paint.
Abilene Christian (7-4) shot 35.7 percent (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 8 of 37 (21.6%).
No. 3 Duke 97, Lipscomb 73
Cameron Boozer had 26 points and 13 rebounds to help the Blue Devils hold off the upset Bisons in Durham, North Carolina.
Boozer shot 10 of 17 from the floor, went 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 rebounds into 26 second-chance points. Lipscomb, meanwhile, only made three of his own misses.
Grant Asman scored 18 points for the Bisons (6-5), while Mateo Esmeraldo had 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 entering this game averaging over 90 points per game.
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 beat the Rockets in East Lansing, Michigan.
Starter Coen Carr and reserve Kur Teng scored 14 points each, 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-high 29 points while shooting 10 of 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 victory 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 scored 15 on 4-of-4 3-point shooting. The Cougars have now won seven straight games.
Kajus Kublikas led Pacific (8-4) with 14 points and Elias Ralph had 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, North Carolina.
Caleb Wilson contributed 20 points and eight rebounds as North Carolina (10-1) earned its fourth straight victory. Veesaar made 10 of 11 shots, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down eight rebounds to help the Tar Heels take a 35-23 advantage 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 to lead East Tennessee State (8-4) in 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 earned a victory against 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 game-high 14 3-pointers to win their fourth straight game.
Nasir Mann scored 16 points, Maban Jariel 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 Tuesday night in Lawrence, Kansas.
Even without star freshman Darryn Peterson, who was ruled out before the game due to 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 heading into the game, was held to eight points. The team made just 27.5 percent of its shots from the field.
No. 19 Texas Tech 101, Northern Colorado 90
LeJuan Watts had 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 went 9 of 11 from the foul line while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists for Texas Tech (8-3). His teammate JT Toppin had 23 points, three rebounds and five blocks. Christian Anderson and Jaylen Petty scored 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 from the field (79.2%).
Northern Colorado (9-2) played without leading scorer Quinn Denker (17.3 points), but received a career-high 29 points from Brock Wisne. Zach Bloch had 17 points, five rebounds and eight assists. In his first start with the Bears, Vincent Delano scored 16 points as the team shot 56.1 percent from the field.
No. 22 St. John’s 79, DePaul 66
Dylan Darling scored a season-high 17 points and sparked game-winning 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 had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds for DePaul (8-4, 0-1), which has lost 11 straight league openers and had its three-game winning streak snapped. CJ Gunn added 15 points.
–Field level media
