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Wake / BC Ready for Snowed Out Game

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CHESTNUT HILL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Not much has gone well for Boston College in the second half of the season. The Eagles are 2-12 since the calendar flipped to 2026.

They will attempt to end an eight-game losing streak when they face Wake Forest on Wednesday evening in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The game originally was scheduled for Tuesday before it was moved due to inclement weather.

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Boston College (9-18, 2-12 ACC) is at the bottom of the conference in several offensive categories, including scoring (67.7 points per game), field goal percentage (40.8) and 3-point field goals (30.3%). The Eagles shot 33.3% from the field (23 of 69) during Saturday’s 94-70 loss to SMU, getting outscored 54-34 after halftime.

“I thought their zone at the start of the second half stymied us,” Boston College head coach Earl Grant said. “We usually get excited when we see a zone, but we didn’t (against SMU). … We didn’t probe it good enough.”

Boston College’s Donald Hand Jr. (leg) did not play against SMU, missing his third straight contest. Hand has averaged 13.8 points, second on the team behind Fred Payne (15.4).

Wake Forest (14-13, 5-9) is coming off an 82-63 setback Saturday at Virginia Tech which snapped a three-game winning streak. Juke Harris led Wake Forest with 16 points in the loss. He has scored in double figures in all 27 games this season and is the No. 3 scorer in the ACC (21.1 points).

The Demon Deacons rank last among ACC teams in rebounding (32.8 per game).

“I thought we were doing a good job rebounding the ball on the glass,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “Then I think they got four offensive rebounds in the last three possessions of the first half. They kind of smelled blood in the water, and then they got 13 offensive rebounds. They had great balance and six guys in double figures in scoring. I thought they came up with the majority of the 50-50 balls that led to easy baskets.”

Eight of Boston College’s nine victories this season have come at home. Wake Forest is 2-5 on the road.

–Field Level Media

Duke Beats Michigan; Top 20 Round-Up

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WASH DC – (Wire Service Report) – Duke’s Cameron Boozer scored 18 points and No. 3 Duke held on to beat No. 1 Michigan 68-63 in a much-anticipated non-conference showdown Saturday night.

The Duke victory will likely vault them to the No. 1 ranking in the country.

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Isaiah Evans racked up 14 points, Caleb Foster provided 12 points and Patrick Ngongba II turned in 11 points for Duke (25-2). Boozer grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, part of the Blue Devils 13-rebound advantage on the boards (41-28), and also distributed a game-high seven assists.

Yaxel Lendeborg posted 16 of his 21 points in the first half for Michigan (25-2), which had an 11-game win streak snapped. Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 13 points and Aday Mara notched 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting through foul trouble, but the Wolverines ended at 40% from the field, including 6-for-25 from 3-point range (24%).

Earlier in the day, the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s bracket preview listed Michigan and Duke, respectively, as the top two overall seeds. Attendance was announced at 20,537, making it the largest turnout for a neutral-site game this season.

No. 4 Arizona 73, No. 2 Houston 66

Reserve Anthony Dell’Orso matched his season high of 22 points to lead the Wildcats, handing the Cougars their first home loss of the season and second since they joined the Big 12 in 2023-24.

Arizona (25-2, 12-2 Big 12) took sole possession of the conference lead with the win over Houston (23-4, 11-3), which has lost two straight after a six-game winning streak.

Jaden Bradley had 17 points and four assists for the Wildcats, while Ivan Kharchenkov added 16 points and nine rebounds. Kingston Flemings led Houston with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

No. 5 UConn 73, Villanova 63

Alex Karaban scored eight of his 12 points in the second half as the Huskies posted a win over the Wildcats in Philadelphia.

All five starters scored between nine and 12 points for the Huskies (25-3, 15-2 Big East), who bounced back nicely from a 91-84 loss to Creighton. Tarris Reed Jr. was 5-of-5 from the field for 11 points, while Braylon Mullins pitched in 10 points.

Tyler Perkins scored 15 points to pace the Wildcats (21-6, 12-4), who had won six straight games since losing to UConn last month. Matt Hodge chipped in with 13 points for the Wildcats, while Acaden Lewis scored 11 points — all in the first half.

No. 23 BYU 79, No. 6 Iowa State 69

AJ Dybantsa recorded 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Cougars to an upset of the Cyclones in Provo, Utah.

Kennard Davis Jr. scored 17 points for the Cougars (20-7, 8-6 Big 12), who improved to 11-2 at home. Mihailo Boskovic added a career-best 13 points for BYU.

Tamin Lipsey scored 19 points and Jamarion Batemon added 14 off the bench for Iowa State (23-4, 10-4), which was coming off consecutive Top-10 wins over then-No. 9 Kansas and No. 2 Houston.

Cincinnati 84, No. 8 Kansas 68

Moustapha Thiam collected 28 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bearcats over the Jayhawks in a Big 12 Conference showdown in Lawrence, Kan.

Baba Miller contributed 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Jalen Celestine added 14 points and eight boards for Cincinnati (15-12, 7-7 Big 12).

Flory Bidunga led Kansas (20-7, 10-4) with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds but couldn’t prevent the Jayhawks from taking their most lopsided loss to an unranked team in Bill Self’s 23-year coaching tenure.

No. 9 Nebraska 87, Penn State 64

Pryce Sandfort scored a career-high 33 points and the Cornhuskers got back on track with a win over the Nittany Lions in Big Ten play in Lincoln, Neb.

Sandfort was 11-of-17 from the field, making a career-best 8 of 14 threes to add to the school record for 3s in a season with 98. Braden Frager had 15 points and Sam Hoiberg added 11 points and a career-high 10 assists for the Cornhuskers (23-4, 12-4 Big Ten), who earlier Saturday were projected as a No. 3 seed by the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

The Nittany Lions (11-17, 2-15) got 13 points apiece from Kayden Mingo and Ivan Juric, with Juric adding 10 rebounds. The Nittany Lions shot 42.1% but made only 4 of 20 3-pointers, taking their ninth double-digit loss in conference play.

UCLA 95, No. 10 Illinois 94 (OT)

Donovan Dent drove the length of court for the game-winning layup with no time remaining to give the Bruins an electric overtime victory over the Illini in Los Angeles.

Dent had 14 points and a career-high 15 assists in helping the Bruins (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) halt a two-game slide. Eric Dailey Jr. scored 20 points before fouling out for UCLA. Tyler Bilodeau scored 18 points, Trent Perry had 17 and Xavier Booker tallied 16 on 7-of-8 shooting off the bench for UCLA. Skyy Clark had 10 points.

Keaton Wagler had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Tomislav Ivisic scored 16 points for the Illini (22-6, 13-4), who lost for the third time in their past five games. Ben Humrichous had 15 on five 3-point baskets off the bench for Illinois. Kylan Boswell added 13 points and backup Zvonimir Ivisic had 11.

No. 11 Gonzaga 71, Pacific 62

Graham Ike scored 20 points to break a school record as the Bulldogs held off the pesky Tigers in Spokane, Wash.

Davis Fogle added 18 points off the bench, Emmanuel Innocenti scored 13 and reserve Tyon Grant-Foster had 10 for the Bulldogs (27-2, 15-1). Ike scored 20 or more points for a ninth consecutive game, eclipsing the mark of eight set by both Adam Morrison and Derek Raivio in 2006.

Justin Rochelin and Elias Ralph scored 12 points apiece for Pacific (17-13, 8-9). TJ Wainwright added 10 while Rochelin grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

No. 12 Florida 94, Ole Miss 75

Alex Condon scored 24 points as the Gators won their seventh consecutive game by defeating the Rebels in Oxford, Miss.

Thomas Haugh added 20, and Xaivian Lee collected 11 points and 10 assists. Florida (21-6, 12-2 Southeastern Conference) won for the 12th time in 13 games, shooting 57.1% from the floor and holding a 39-24 rebounding edge.

Malik Dia scored 24 points and Ilias Kamardine added 14 to lead Ole Miss (11-16, 3-11), which lost its ninth consecutive game.

No. 13 Texas Tech 100, Kansas State 72

Donovan Atwell scored 21 of his game-high 26 points in the first half as the Red Raiders overcame a Tuesday loss and a season-ending injury to star forward JT Toppin to dust the Wildcats in Lubbock, Texas.

Christian Anderson added 21 points and nine assists for Texas Tech (20-7, 10-4 Big 12), while LeJuan Watts hit for 19 points. Luke Bamgboye contributed 12 as the Red Raiders shot 54.8% from the field, including 13-of-28 (46.4%) from 3-point range.

PJ Haggerty scored 17 points for the Wildcats (11-16, 2-12) and Nate Johnson added 15 but it wasn’t nearly enough to earn Kansas state a second straight win under interim coach Matthew Driscoll. He took over last Sunday after the university fired coach Jerome Tang for criticizing players after a recent loss to Cincinnati.

No. 14 Virginia 86, Miami 83

Chance Mallory made three free throws with 3.6 seconds left and the Cavaliers extended their winning streak to eight with a win over the Hurricanes in Charlottesville, Va.

Reserve Jacari White led six players in double figures with 17 points for Virginia (24-3, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which improved to 13-1 at home.

Sam Lewis had 15 points, De Ridder scored 14, Mallory and Johann Grunloh each tallied 12 and Malik Thomas had 10 points for Virginia. Tre Donaldson and Shelton Henderson led Miami (21-6, 10-4) with 18 points apiece.

No. 16 North Carolina 77, Syracuse 64

Henri Veesaar scored 19 points in his return to the lineup the Tar Heels notched a road win over the Orange.

North Carolina (21-6, 9-5 ACC) improved to 2-1 since star freshman Caleb Wilson fractured his hand. The team’s first two games without Wilson coincided with a two-game absence by Veesaar (lower-body injury and illness), but the center returned in this one to shoot 9 of 13 from the field to go with three blocks.

Syracuse (15-13, 6-9) had only two double-digit scorers — JJ Starling with 22 points and Tyler Betsey with 10.

No. 17 St. John’s 81, Creighton 52

Dylan Darling scored 17 points as the Red Storm extended their winning streak to 13 with a wire-to-wire victory over the Bluejays in New York.

St. John’s (22-5, 15-1 Big East) moved a game ahead of UConn for the conference lead. St. John’s is on its longest winning streak since 1985. The Red Storm also are also on a 13-game winning streak in conference games.

Bryce Hopkins notched a double-double for the second straight game by collecting 15 and 10 rebounds. Fedor Zugic led Creighton with nine points.

Tennessee 69, No. 19 Vanderbilt 65

The Volunteers, behind 17 points from Ja’Kobi Gillespie and 13 from Nate Ament, scored a road upset of the Commodores in SEC play before a sellout crowd in Nashville.

The Volunteers (20-7, 10-4) shot 43.1% from the floor and outrebounded the smaller Commodores 39-30 in winning their fourth consecutive game and handing Vanderbilt its second straight loss. Ament’s contested, mid-range jumper with 54 seconds left gave Tennessee the lead for good, and Gillespie canned two free-throw attempts in the final 13.2 seconds.

Tyler Tanner led Vanderbilt with 16 points, and the Vols held Tyler Nickel — who entered the game averaging 14.7 points — to three.

No. 20 Arkansas 94, Missouri 86

Billy Richmond III scored 21 points, Darius Acuff Jr. added 20 and the Razorbacks overcame an early eight-point deficit for a victory over the Tigers in Fayetteville, Ark.

Reserve Malique Ewin had 16 points and eight rebounds while Meleek Thomas had 14 points and eight rebounds for Arkansas (20-7, 10-4 SEC).

Mark Mitchell scored 26 points, Trent Pierce had 22 and Shawn Phillips Jr. added 11 points for Missouri (18-9, 8-6), which had won four of five.

No. 21 Louisville 87, Georgia Tech 70

After a rough loss at SMU earlier this week, the Cardinals scorched the Yellow Jackets in a wire-to-wire home victory.

Mikel Brown Jr. scored 19 points, including three made 3-pointers, to lead Louisville(20-7, 9-5 ACC). J’Vonne Hadley had 17 points, Ryan Conwell scored 15 points and four assists and Isaac McKneely added 14.

Georgia Tech (11-17, 2-13) dropped its ninth straight. Baye Ndongo led the way for the Yellow Jackets with 17 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

No. 25 Alabama 90, LSU 83

Aden Holloway had 17 points and four assists while Aiden Sherrell posted his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Crimson Tide defeated the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La.

Amari Allen added 16 points and six rebounds for the Crimson Tide (20-7, 10-4 SEC), who won their sixth straight game. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line and scored 14 points off the bench, while London Jemison contributed 12 points and six rebounds.

Marquel Sutton, who came in averaging 18 points in his last three outings, had 21 points for the second consecutive game to lead the Tigers (14-13, 2-12), who dropped their fifth straight to fall to 1-6 at home in SEC play.

–Field Level Media

Tip-Off: College Basketball ’25-26

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LAS VEGAS – Freshman Koa Peat scored 30 points with seven rebounds and five assists in a stirring debut and No. 13 Arizona pulled off a 93-87 upset of No. 3 Florida in the Basketball Hall of Fame Series on Monday.

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Jaden Bradley scored 27 points and Ivan Kharchenkov added 12 points with 10 rebounds as Arizona rallied from a 12-point deficit in the first half to defeat defending champion Florida.

Peat, the centerpiece of the Wildcats’ acclaimed freshman class, went 11 of 18 from the floor in a team-high 36 minutes.

Thomas Haugh scored 27 points for Florida and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee added 14 in his Gators debut. The Gators shot 36.8% from the floor in the second half to lose their opener after they dropped just four games last season on the way to the third title in program history.

No. 2 Houston 75, Lehigh 57

Kelvin Sampson earned his 800th career win as the Cougars handled the visiting Mountain Hawks.

Over a 36-year career coaching at Montana Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, Indiana and Houston, Sampson now has compiled a record of 800-354, including last season’s run to the NCAA championship game.

This win, Sampson’s 300th at Houston, featured a familiar script for a Sampson-coached squad, with Houston getting more rebounds (43-30) and shot attempts (61-51) while holding its opponent to worse than 40% shooting from the field.

Emanuel Sharp scored 24 points while making 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, pacing the Cougars in both categories.

No. 4 UConn 79, New Haven 55

Alex Karaban collected 19 points and 10 rebounds and Solo Ball added 18 points to fuel the host Huskies to a season-opening victory over the in-state Chargers.

All-Big East Preseason First Team members Karaban and Ball combined to sink six 3-pointers and all 11 of their free-throw attempts. Jaylin Stewart recorded 11 points and eight rebounds and Georgia transfer Silas Demary. Jr. had 10 points for the Huskies, who spoiled the Division I debut of the Chargers.

UConn played without All-Big East Preseason First Team member Tarris Reed Jr. (hamstring), star freshman Braylon Mullins (ankle) and classmate Jacob Furphy (ankle). New Haven’s Andre Pasha scored 17 points, Najimi George had 14 and Maison Adeleye added 13.

No. 5,  St. John’s 108, Quinnipiac 74

Zuby Ejiofor scored 17 points the Red Storm began their third season under coach Rick Pitino with a wire-to-wire victory over the outmatched Bobcats in New York.

The Red Storm lived up to their billing with a dominant showing ahead of Saturday’s game against No. 15 Alabama at Madison Square Garden. Ejiofor, the preseason Big East Player of the Year, made 7 of 10 shots from the field in 24 minutes.

Dillon Mitchell scored a game-high 18 in his St. John’s debut after transferring from Cincinnati. The guard made 7 of 9 shots and also grabbed seven rebounds to go along with four of the Red Storm’s 12 steals.

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No. 7 Michigan 121, Oakland 78

Morez Johnson scored 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting to help lead the Wolverines past the Golden Grizzlies in an intrastate matchup in Ann Arbor.

Johnson was one of seven players who scored in double figures for the Wolverines. Trey McKenney made 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range and scored 21 points off the bench and Elliot Cadeau dished out 12 assists for Michigan, which set a school record for points in a half with 69 before intermission.

Isaac Garrett scored 20 points and Tuburu Naivalurua added 18 for Oakland.

No. 8 BYU 71, Villanova 66

AJ Dybantsa scored 21 points in his college basketball debut — including 13 in the second half — to lead the Cougars over the Wildcats in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas.

Dybantsa also grabbed six boards and shot 9 of 18 from the floor. Richie Saunders complemented the freshman phenom with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Robert Wright III notched 14 points.

Bryce Lindsay led Villanova with 22 points and Duke Brennan added 15 rebounds. The Wildcats were leading BYU by two with 6:28 remaining but could only manage two baskets over the last six minutes.

No. 11 Louisville 104, South Carolina State 45

The Cardinals’ second season in the Pat Kelsey era began in remarkable fashion as five players scored in double figures en route to a 59-point rout of the visiting Bulldogs.

Khani Rooths led the way with a career-high 20 points off the bench for the Cardinals, who led 13-0 less than four minutes into the game. The winning margin was Louisville’s largest since an 87-26 win over Savannah State on Nov. 24, 2014.

South Carolina State’s first field goal came with 10:36 left in the first half and made the score 24-4. The Bulldogs shot just 10.3% in the first half.

No. 12 UCLA 80, Eastern Washington 74

Donovan Dent scored 21 points and dished nine assists in his Bruins debut as the hosts held off the Eagles in Los Angeles.

With five scorers in double figures, UCLA led most of the way against its Big Sky Conference opponent. Each time the Bruins appeared ready to blow the game open, however, Eastern Washington cut into the deficit — including pulling to within a single-digit margin in the final minute.

The Eagles had an opportunity to pull within five with 34 seconds remaining after Emmett Marquardt rebounded Skyy Clark’s one-and-one front-end miss. Isaiah Moses then penetrated and found Johnny Radford on the wing, but his 3-point attempt rimmed off and UCLA held on from there

No. 14 Arkansas 109, Southern 77

Trevon Brazile had 25 points and 11 rebounds, heralded freshman Darius Acuff Jr. scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half of his college debut and the Razorbacks blew out the Jaguars in both teams’ season opener in Fayetteville, Ark.

Freshman wing Meleek Thomas added 21 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals off the bench for the Razorbacks, who won their 52nd straight home opener.

Michael Jacobs had 22 points and Fazl Oshodi had 15 points on five 3-pointers for Southern. The Jaguars scored on their first possession for a 2-0 lead but never led again.

No. 15 Alabama 91, North Dakota 62

Labaron Philon scored a career-high 22 points and added eight assists to lead the Crimson Tide to an easy season-opening 91-62 victory over the Fighting Hawks in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Houston Mallette added 15 points and eight rebounds and Amari Allen registered 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals for Alabama, while London Jemison scored 12 points. The Crimson Tide never trailed in the game.

Garrett Anderson had 13 points and three steals for North Dakota, while Eli King added 11 points and four steals. The Fighting Hawks managed to shoot just 5 of 20 from beyond the arc as they lost to Alabama for the second straight season.

No. 16 Iowa State 88, Fairleigh Dickinson 50

Milan Momcilovic scored 29 points on 11-for-16 shooting, including 7-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc, and the Cyclones cruised past the Knights in Ames, Iowa.

Tamin Lipsey added 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals for Iowa State (1-0), which is looking to build upon a 25-win campaign from a season ago. Joshua Jefferson finished with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

David Jevtic scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1). Eric Parnell scored 13 points, and Taeshaud Jackson added nine points and seven rebounds.

No. 17 Illinois 113, Jackson State 55

Ben Humrichous and Tomislav Ivisic scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as the Illini rolled to a victory over the Tigers in Champaign, Ill.

Playing without starters Mihailo Petrovic (hamstring) and Andrej Stojakovic (knee), the Fighting Illini jumped to a 24-3 lead in the opening seven minutes and sprinted the distance to win their 10th straight opener and 26th in the last 27 years. Freshman David Mirkovic recorded 19 points and 14 rebounds in his college debut — achieving a double-double in the first half — while freshman Keaton Wagler added 18 points and four assists.

Devin Ree paced Jackson State with 19 points before fouling out. Point guard Daeshun Ruffin, the SWAC’s preseason player of the year, was limited to 12 points and one assist.

No. 18 Tennessee 76, Mercer 61

Prized recruit Nate Ament totaled 18 points and nine rebounds as the Volunteers opened the season with a win over the Bears in Knoxville, Tenn.

The 6-foot-10 Ament, a McDonald’s All-American last season, made 6 of 11 shots from the floor, including 1 of 4 from 3-point range. Sophomore J.P. Estrella tallied a career-high 12 points, hitting 6 of 10 from the field, and added five rebounds. Jaylen Carey, a Vanderbilt transfer, had eight points and 10 rebounds in his Tennessee debut.

Baraka Okojie led Mercer with 15 points and had four rebounds. Armani Mighty contributed 14 points and five boards, and Zaire Williams had 10 points and four rebounds.

No. 19 Kansas 94, Green Bay 51

Freshman Darryn Peterson scored 21 points in his college debut and Flory Bidunga led all scorers with 23 points as the Jayhawks cruised past the Phoenix in Lawrence, Kan.

Peterson was 7-for-11 from the field, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, in 22 minutes for Kansas. With a comfortable margin, Kansas coach Bill Self rested Peterson, who missed the team’s last exhibition game with cramps, for most of the second half.

Bidunga went 9-for-11 from the field and made 5 of 6 free throws. He also led the Jayhawks with six rebounds. Marcus Hall led Green Bay with 17 points. The Phoenix shot just 28.6% (16-for-56) from the field.

No. 20 Auburn 95, Bethune-Cookman 90 (OT)

The Tigers needed overtime to avoid a stunning upset in Steven Pearl’s head-coaching debut before holding off the visiting Wildcats.

With Auburn leading 81-78, Elyjah Freeman fouled Bethune-Cookman’s Arterio Morris on a 3-point attempt with less than a second remaining in regulation. Morris made all three foul shots, part of his 20 points.

But Keyshawn Hall’s free throws with 3:27 left in overtime gave the Tigers an 86-85 lead and they never trailed again. Hall scored a game-high 28 points.

No. 21 Gonzaga 98, Texas Southern 43

Tyon Grant-Foster scored 15 points in his debut with the Bulldogs and Braden Huff added 14 as Gonzaga rolled to a victory over the Tigers in Spokane, Wash.

Graham Ike recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds while reserve Adam Miller also scored 13 points for the Bulldogs, who led by as many as 57.

Duane Posey and Jaylen Wysinger scored eight points apiece to lead the Tigers, who missed 16 of their final 17 field-goal attempts.

No. 22 Michigan State 80, Colgate 69

Jaxon Kohler scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds the Spartans beat the Raiders in East Lansing, Mich.

Jeremy Fears Jr. also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists, while Coen Carr contributed 12 points for Michigan State, which was 24-for-37 from the free-throw line while Colgate was 4 of 6.

Sam Wright led the Raiders with 17 points and Jalen Cox supplied 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the loss.

No. 24 Wisconsin 96, Campbell 64

John Blackwell scored 31 points and Nick Boyd added 21 as the Badgers pulled away from the Fighting Camels in Madison, Wis.

Campbell, which trailed by 15 early in the second half, rallied within 67-62 on two free throws by Chris Fields Jr. with 8:39 remaining. But Blackwell then scored eight of Wisconsin’s next 11 points to trigger a 15-0 run. Nolan Winter’s dunk put the Badgers in front 82-62 with 3:48 left.

Wisconsin has eight newcomers from the team that went 27-10 last season and lost to BYU 91-89 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin, which led the nation in free throw shooting last season with 82.6%, hit 17 of 19 free throws.

No. 25 North Carolina 95, Central Arkansas 54

Caleb Wilson scored 22 points in his collegiate debut, and the Tar Heels received contributions from a variety of sources in a season-opening victory against the Bears in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Kyan Evans, boosted by four 3-pointers, poured in 15 points, Henri Veesaar had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Seth Trimble scored 12 for North Carolina, who won its 21st consecutive season opener. The Tar Heels have also notched victories in 24 straight home openers.

Cole McCormick scored nine points for Central Arkansas, which fell into an early hole and couldn’t shoot its way back into range to make it interesting. The Bears shot 31.3% from the field, making eight of 29 attempts from 3-point range. McCormick fouled out with nearly five minutes left.

–Field Level Media

FINAL FOUR: GOLDEN’S GATORS

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SAN ANTONIO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – All-America guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 11 points in the final 15 minutes and made the game’s biggest defensive play with four seconds left as the University of Florida rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to edge Houston, 65-63, in the NCAA championship game Monday night in San Antonio.

Florida’s Will Richard put up 18 points and Alex Condon added 12 as the Gators earned their first national championship since Coach Billy Donovan’s teams won back-to-back championships in 2006 and ’07. Florida led for just 17 seconds before seizing its first second-half lead on Alijah Martin’s two free throws with 46.5 seconds to play.

The Gators (36-4) tied the 1998 Kentucky Wildcats for the third-largest rally in NCAA championship annals. Florida’s Todd Golden, 39, became the youngest coach to win an NCAA title since 37-year-old Jim Valvano and North Carolina State stunned Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston with Lorenzo Charles’ last-second dunk in 1983.

Houston (35-5) fell to 0-3 in national championship sgame despite a game-high 19 points from LJ Cryer. The Cougars had the ball for the final shot and Emanuel Sharp went up for a 3-point attempt with four seconds left, but Clayton flew out at him and Sharp had to drop the ball to the floor to avoid a traveling violation.

Condon dove on the floor to secure the ball and the rest of the Gators started celebrating as the clock hit zero for an improbable victory that looked impossible early in the second half.

After Florida was whistled for its fifth foul of the second half with 17:21 to play — including back-to-back offensive fouls before the Gators could take a shot — Florida’s assistant coaches jumped on the court and were whistled for a technical.

Cryer canned one of the technical free throws, then took the inbounds pass in the corner and swished a 3-pointer to push the lead to 40-30. Houston’s J’Wan Roberts soon followed with a jump hook in the lane to put the Gators behind by 12.

Clayton, who scored a career-high 34 points to guide Florida over Auburn in the semifinals on Saturday, missed his first six shots and committed three turnovers before finally getting on the board with 14:57 to play in the second half when he hit two free throws.

The Gators rallied in the second half behind a 14-3 run. When Clayton drove for a lefty layup — his first field goal of the night — and hit the accompanying free throw, Florida pulled even 48-48 with 7:54 to play.

Neither team could build more than a 3-point lead the rest of the way.

After Martin’s two free throws gave the Gators a 64-63 edge with 46.5 seconds to go, Richard stripped Sharp on a drive. Florida’s Denzel Aberdeen added a free throw to make it a two-point game with 19.7 seconds to go, then Houston called its last timeout to set up the unsuccessful final play.

The Cougars led 31-28 at halftime thanks to seven points from Mylik Wilson.

–Field Level Media

Final Four: Duke vs. Houston

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SAN ANTONIO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As Duke and Houston prepare to battle Saturday night in San Antonio, the story of the Final Four matchup between these No. 1 seeds is a contrast of two basketball powers at different stages of evolution.

The Blue Devils (35-3), appearing in their 18th Final Four and seeking their sixth national title, are the blue blood du jour. They’re the ones with the presumptive No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, and the team many believe is the best in the sport.

The Cougars (34-4) have made their seventh national semifinal, on par with the likes of Villanova and UConn. But the program most associated with “Phi Slama Jama” has yet to win its first national championship, and this season Houston has not enjoyed the same attention as Duke or the Southeastern Conference despite winning 17 games in a row.

J’Wan Roberts, in his fifth season at Houston, said this week that being overlooked suits the gritty Cougars just fine.

“We’re probably not the big-name school or whatever. We’re just Houston, in Third Ward,” Roberts said. “We probably don’t get the respect that we need, but I think that’s something that puts a fire under us and us keeping a chip on our shoulder.”

Roberts was a freshman on the Houston team that made the 2021 Final Four. He’s blossomed into the Cougars’ top rebounder (6.3 per game) and vocal leader. The forward is one of four Cougars scoring in double figures (10.7 ppg), behind L.J. Cryer (15.4), Emanuel Sharp (12.7) and Milos Uzan (11.6).

The main X’s and O’s question of this Final Four matchup is how Houston’s No. 1 KenPom defense will counter Duke’s No. 1 KenPom offense — and how Duke phenom Cooper Flagg will fare against the Cougars’ man-to-man.

Duke has shot 56.2 percent from the floor and 47.3 percent from 3-point range this tournament, averaging 91.8 points per game. Houston has allowed just 37.6 percent shooting and 24.0 percent on 3-pointers in four games, allowing only one opponent to exceed 60 points.

“You talk about five guys moving together on defense, they’re the best at it,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “They’re the best at it no matter what you do. You really have to take advantage of that window of opportunity, and then you have to go north-south. You can’t be going east-west against these guys.”

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Flagg (18.9 ppg) can score in bunches, but Houston’s lengthy frontcourt of Roberts, Ja’Vier Francis and Joseph Tugler may prioritize neutralizing him and lob threat Khaman Maluach.

Then the Cougars must deal with a Duke backcourt of Kon Knueppel, Tyrese Proctor and Sion James, all of whom are 40 percent 3-point shooters or better.

Scheyer has reached his first Final Four in his third year since succeeding Mike Krzyzewski. But he’s no stranger to the weekend, having made it with Duke as a player (2010) and an assistant (2015, 2022).

“Walking out there (Thursday) for practice, I was just soaking it in like when I was 22 years old walking out for the first time,” Scheyer said.

“… At the same time, I feel we belong here. I feel this is what we’ve worked for. So there’s that combination of amazing pride, wanting to soak it in, but then the incredible hunger and understanding what a challenge this game is going to be on Saturday.”

Scheyer and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson both expressed high respect for one another and revealed that they played a closed-door preseason scrimmage in 2022.

Sampson dubbed Proctor (12.5 ppg) a “professional role player” and complimented James (8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds), Duke’s less-heralded fifth starter.

“The brilliance of Jon is how he insulated those (freshmen) with veteran guys, and they don’t get talked about enough,” Sampson said. “Sion James when he was at Tulane — smart, tough, winner. For them to identify him, evaluate him and say, ‘That’s what we need with these three.’”

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | March 30

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While We’re Young (Ideas) | On NCAA Madness to Come

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – There are two (somewhat) hidden gems in the annual NCAA championship calendar. One is underway, and the other is Memorial Day Weekend – this year at nearly Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Sometimes, they are overlooked with all of the hullabaloo of March Madness, the GranDaddy of them all. The two best?

  1. The NCAA Frozen Four
  2. The NCAA Lacrosse Championship

Here’s the bracket for the on-going men’s ice hockey tournament, noting local favorite Boston College was a 3-1 winner over nearby Bentley on Friday afternoon in a very hard-fought game. BC improved to 27-7-2 overall. UConn, Penn State and Denver advanced as well, all three knocking out New England-area schools. Denver will play Boston College on Sunday night at 7:00pm with the winner advancing to the Frozen Four. Boston University played Saturday afternoon and defeated Cornell, 3-2, in overtime, to advance to the national semifinals in St. Louis … You can see all the results by visiting HERE.

When all is settled to four hockey teams, the Frozen Four will convene in St. Louis, Missouri – the hockey capital of the Mississippi River – although the river that runs through it never freezes.

The Frozen Four usually pits schools from New England (and occasional New York State) against schools from the west (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Michigan, Denver). This year, Penn State is representing the top notch Big Ten schools.

Going into the tournament, the four schools ranked in the Top Four were the same to be assigned No. 1 seeds. They were:

  1. Boston College
  2. Michigan State (was ranked as No. 1, while BC was No. 2)
  3. Maine
  4. Western Michigan

No. 3 Maine was ousted by Penn State, 5-1, on Friday while No. 2 Michigan State was eliminated by Cornell, the lone Ivy League representative.

While the men’s Final Four basketball tournament is April 5 & 7, the Frozen Four is scheduled for April 10 & 12.

LAX: Come Memorial Day Weekend, May 24 & 26, with ancillary (Women’s semis/finals and Division II and III men’s championships all weekend, one of the great American events will be staged in nearby Foxborough, Mass., at the home of the New England Patriots (NFL) and Revolution (MLS). Tickets range between $33 and $100 and are available on Ticketmaster. The top schools currently ranked include:

  1. Cornell
  2. Maryland
  3. Ohio State
  4. Princeton

That’s two Ivy League schools and two Big Ten schools at the top but plenty of others knocking at the door, and there’s two months of action and tournament games to come.

One important thing of note, the women’s basketball Finals Four, women’s Frozen Four and the women’s lacrosse championship are tremendous events with outstanding student-athletes, competing at a very high level. I do not want to take one thing away by listing the men’s tournaments without mentioning the women, especially in lacrosse as we’ll see them play in Foxborough this May.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As long as the topic is tournament time, let’s look at the newest college tournament on the block. The College Basketball Crown is a new 16-team, single-elimination postseason men’s basketball tourney, featuring teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East conferences, along with additional at-large participants. It’s scheduled from March 31 to April 6, 2025, and will be played at two Las Vegas venues – the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena. All games will be broadcast on FOX and FS1.

Look for the likes of Boise State, Georgetown, Oregon State and Villanova competing for NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) money. According to reports, the champion team will receive a $300,000 in NIL money, the runner-up will earn $100,000, and the semifinalists will each take home $50,000 in NIL.

Utah vs. Butler will tip off the event on Monday, March 31, at 3 p.m. EDT.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | Special

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Bracketology: NCAA Fails Geography 101

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PROVIDENCE – Highly respected sports industry guru Tony Ponturo, he of multi-time nominee and winner for both the Most Powerful Man in Sports and in the theatre industry, wrote a thought-leadership book entitled, “Revenge of the C+ Student.”Ponturo, a two time TONY Award winner for his efforts on Broadway, reviving “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and producing 2010 Best Musical “Memphis,” helped make the brands “Bud” and “Bud Light” household names on a worldwide basis. Just ask The Budweiser Clydesdales.

Ponturo spent 26 years selling Bud, the exact same amount of time this columnist spent working for David Stern at the National Basketball Association. Looking at those two parallel lines, and enlightened by Ponturo’s book and his transcript, I’d love to author a similar sports business practice book and I’d call it, “At Least I Was Good at Geography.”

To wit, I give you this year’s brackets for NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball.

In the East, we have:

  • No. 2 Alabama
  • No. 3 Wisconsin
  • No. 4 Arizona
  • No. 5 Oregon
  • No. 6 BYU (Utah)
  • No. 7 St. Mary’s Moraga (California)
  • No. 14 Montana

In the West, we have:

  • No. 1 Florida
  • No. 2 St. John’s (New York)
  • No. 3 Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas)
  • No. 4 Maryland
  • No. 5 Memphis (Tennessee)
  • No. 6 Missouri
  • No. 8 UConn (Hartford, Connecticut area)
  • No. 9 Oklahoma
  • No. 14 UNC Wilmington (North Carolina)
  • No. 16 Norfolk State (Norfolk, Virginia)

There’s a few more.

In the South, there’s Michigan State (Lansing), Marquette (Wisconsin), Yale (New Haven, Connecticut), and Michigan (Ann Arbor) – four schools where you can’t get much further North, unless Canada does become the 51st State and UConn is south of Yukon.

In the Midwest, the bracket claims, UCLA (Los Angeles), Gonzaga (Spokane, Washington), Utah State (Logan, Utah), and then a slew of Southeastern or Southern schools like Wofford (Spartanburg, South Carolina), High Point (North Carolina), Clemson (South Carolina), Kentucky, McNeese (Lake Charles, Louisiana), Tennessee and Georgia.

There are other examples, but you surely get the point.

In recent years, the NCAA made adjustments to the brackets so an Eastern team such as St. John’s (full disclosure: it’s  my alma mater) can play in the West Regional but remain in Providence, Rhode Island to do so. But, success in Providence sends teams in that pod to San Francisco while a successful weekend in Seattle for Arizona or Oregon sends a team to Newark, New Jersey.

The tournament itself increased from 64 to 68 teams in 2001, so we’ve been bickering about this stuff for decades. Still, there is no resolve and it’s pretty bad when there’s no Big East team in the East.

Admittedly, this is nothing new being reported. The days of a truly East vs West NCAA Tournament went out with the 16 team set-up which gave the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in New York the golden opportunity of securing a very deep field in the late ‘60s and early ‘70’s. As the times changed and the Big Dance played to a bigger ballroom of dancers, the money kicked in and TV programmers maxed-out the billions being spent.

Suffice it to say, the names of the regionals should no longer be East, West, South and Midwest, and maybe the NCAA should take a page out of the NHL’s book and rename the basketball regionals something like:

  • Lester Patrick
  • Conn Smythe
  • James Norris
  • Charles Francis Adams

Joking aside, it’s time to rid the tournament of its D- grade in Geography, as the Men’s and Women’s basketball committees divvy-up the schools with goals other than to stack them to represent a region of the USA.

May it be suggested:

  • Dave Gavitt Division (East)
  • John Wooden Division (West)
  • Ray Meyer Division (Midwest)
  • Guy Lewis Division (South-Texas-Southwest representation)

Those names, in tribute of Dave Gavitt (founder of the BIG EAST), John Wooden (the great UCLA coach), Ray Meyer (coached Chicago’s DePaul University from 1942 to 1984) and Guy Lewis (coach of University of Houston from 1956 to 1986). To pay proper respect to college basketball in the United States, the Most Outstanding Player from each division would be recognized and awarded with:

  • Gavitt MOP received the Patrick Ewing Trophy
  • Wooden MOP honored with the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy
  • Meyer MOP receives the Oscar Robertson Trophy
  • Lewis MOP honored with the Junior Bridgeman Trophy

Should the tournament choose to expand, we could very easily add:

  • Gonzaga Division (Northwest) – MOP award John Stockton Trophy
  • Coach K Division (Southeast) – MOP gets the Michael Jordan Trophy (apologies to Grant Hill, Ralph Sampson, Artis Gilmore and Len Bias).

Those two divisional mentioned do not need further explanation, I hope.

The bottom line as the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament begins, is that the famed, crack committee did a pretty good job of selecting the right teams and fairly distributing them across the four existing regional pods, sans the Group of Death they sent out West.

The West is so stacked, a hot team like Florida, after its No. 1 vs No. 16 tilt against Norfolk State, will have a rough road to the Final 4, including:

  • Winner of UConn v.Oklahoma
  • Winner of Memphis v. Colo State/or/Maryland v. Grand Canyon
  • A Regional Final against No. 2 St. John’s or others (Kansas/Texas Tech) etc

There’s gotta be a better way.

They were partying at West End Johnnies at an NCAA Regional in Boston

PICKS: Here are a few picks that are going into a combination of my two or three bracket submission with friends and family. (Note: I always bang out one bracket on Selection Sunday night and set it aside). Then with more thought and research I do another bracket for use in pools.

TEAMS CONSIDERED HOT: These teams were playing the best over the past few weeks and into their conference tournaments:

  1. Florida
  2. Duke
  3. Houston
  4. Auburn
  5. Tennessee
  6. Michigan State
  7. St John’s
  8. Alabama
  9. Texas Tech
  10. Iowa State

FACTS: In the Round of 64, the higher seed wins 71.5% and that includes No. 8 v. No. 9 which are really equal … In the Second Round, the better seeds win at a 73.1% clip. After that, the advantage for the higher seeds declines gradually:

  • Sweet 16 – 63.8% victory pace for higher seed
  • Elite 8 – 55%

In terms of vulnerable seeds since 2009, the No. 6 seeds are (29-31) against the No. 11s. In just the last 10 years, No. 11 seeds are 22-18 vs. No. 6

Applying the 6 vs 11 raw data to this particular year’s bracket set-up surfaces a few interesting upset possibilities:

  • In the East bracket, can No. 11 VCU upset No. 6 BYU in Denver where you have to figure in the travel and altitude?
  • In the South, No. 6 Ole Miss has to play the hot play-in winner of North Carolina.
  • In the West, No. 6 Missouri (22-11) has a tough draw vs. No. 11 Drake (30-3).
  • And, in the Midwest bracket, No. 6 Illinois will face play-in winner Xavier, a team that finished the Big East regular season quite strong with seven straight victories to close out the regular season before meeting and losing to Marquette at the Garden.

The teams entering the tournament that have executed the best in terms of both Offensive and Defensive efficiency:

  • Auburn
  • Duke
  • Florida
  • Houston
  • Arizona
  • Tennessee
  • Louisville

Not to bore anyone with a full Round-by-Round, Pick-by-Pick selection show, (see Jay Bilas’ column on ESPN.com as he does a much better job than everyone else put together), I’ll simply list my Regional Finalist predictions. Yes, they are rather high seeds.

  • East: Duke vs. Wisconsin
  • Midwest: Houston vs. Tennessee
  • South: Auburn vs. Michigan State
  • West: Florida vs St. John’s

No matter what – whether your bracket is torn up tomorrow or your favorite team survives and advances – it’s time for March Madness. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the spectacle of the best of College Basketball (Men’s and Women’s) with a love of the game and not the X and O marks on a piece of paper, otherwise known in American culture as “your bracket.”

TL

Top 25 | The Battle in Seattle

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SEATTLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) -The University of Kentucky’s Andrew Carr recorded 19 points and seven rebounds and prevented a potential game-winning shot to help No. 4 UK Wildcats notch a 90-89 overtime victory over No. 7 Gonzaga at the Battle in Seattle on Saturday night.

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Jaxson Robinson scored 18 points and Otega Oweh added 13 as the Wildcats (8-1) defeated Gonzaga after falling to the Bulldogs in each of the past two seasons. Amari Williams had 12 points and Brandon Garrison added 10 points and nine rebounds for Kentucky, which overcame an 18-point deficit in the second half.

Graham Ike registered season highs of 28 points and 11 rebounds for Gonzaga (7-2). Ben Gregg scored 14 points, Ryan Nembhard added 13 points and 10 assists and Khalif Battle also scored 13 points for the Bulldogs.

With Kentucky leading by one, Carr missed two free throws with 4.3 seconds left in overtime. Dusty Stromer got the rebound for the Bulldogs, but Carr knocked the ball away from behind in transition as Gonzaga failed to get a final shot.

No. 5 Marquette 88, No. 11 Wisconsin 74

Kam Jones matched his season-high with 32 points and David Joplin added 13 as the Golden Eagles pulled away in the second half for a nonconference victory over the Badgers as the in-state rivals met in Milwaukee, Wis.

Marquette (9-1), which trailed 39-37 at the half, went in front 61-53 with 12:17 remaining when Jones was fouled while sinking a 3-pointer and added the free throw. The Golden Eagles extended the lead to 70-55 on a three-point play by Stevie Mitchell with 8:49 remaining.

Max Klesmit snapped out of a shooting slump to lead Wisconsin with 22 points by going 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Klesmit entered shooting 25.4 percent from beyond the arc and had made just three of his last 21.

No. 17 Houston 79, Butler 51

LJ Cryer scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half and Emanuel Sharp finished with 16 points as the Cougars rolled over the visiting Bulldogs.

Cryer scored 10 of the Cougars’ opening 14 points in the second half to help Houston (5-3) seize control en route to its 26th consecutive home win, tied for the longest active streak in the nation.

Butler (7-2) had its six-game winning streak snapped. Patrick McCaffery and Augusto Cassia tallied 11 points each for Butler. Senior forward Jahmyl Telfort averaged 22.3 points over the prior three games but scored just four points on Saturday.

No. 18 Pitt 64, Virginia Tech 59

Jaland Lowe scored 19 points, including the go-ahead layup in the final minute, and Guillermo Diaz Graham had a key block to help the Panthers rally past the Hokies in both teams’ Atlantic Coast Conference opener in Blacksburg, Va.

Diaz Graham finished with nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Ishmael Leggett scored 17 points for the Panthers (8-2, 1-0 ACC).

Toibu Lawal scored 16 points and Jaden Schutt netted 14 to lead the Hokies (3-6, 0-1), who dropped their sixth straight game.

No. 20 North Carolina 68, Georgia Tech 65

Seth Trimble scored a team-high 19 points, helping the Tar Heels get past the visiting Yellow Jackets in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams in Chapel Hill, N.C.

RJ Davis added 16 points, while Ian Jackson chipped in 15 off the bench for the Tar Heels (5-4, 1-0 ACC), who snapped a three-game losing streak. North Carolina shot just 39 percent from the field and 20.8 percent (5 of 24) on 3-pointers, while Georgia Tech shot 31.2 percent from the field and just 29.6 percent (8 of 27) from distance.

Lance Terry led the Yellow Jackets (4-5, 0-1) with 22 points, while Baye Ndongo had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Naithan George had 12 points and eight rebounds for Georgia Tech, which lost its second straight.

No. 21 Oklahoma 94, Alcorn State 78

Jalon Moore scored 19 of his 20 points in the second half to help the Sooners break out of an early slumber en route to a victory over the winless Braves in Norman, Okla.

Moore connected on all eight of his second-half shots and was 8 of 9 overall for the Sooners (9-0). Jeremiah Fears and Dayton Forsythe each added 14 points and seven assists for Oklahoma. Mohamed Wague had 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Brycen Goodine added 12 on four 3-pointers for the Sooners. Duke Miles had five steals and Fears contributed three for Oklahoma, which shot 54.7 percent from the field and was 12 of 37 from 3-point range.

Omari Hamilton scored 16 points and Davian Williams added 13 points and seven assists for Alcorn State (0-10). Michael Pajeaud scored 12 points and Keionte Cornelius added 11 and Dhaji Binet had 10.

No. 23 Ole Miss 86, Lindenwood 53

Sean Pedulla scored 19 points and the Rebels used a dominant second half to run away from the visiting Lions in Oxford, Miss.

Mikeal Brown-Jones added 14 points for the Rebels (8-1), who outscored the Lions 47-20 in the second half. Ole Miss, which shot a season-best 56.7 percent from the floor in its last game, hit 57.7 percent in the second half and 51.7 percent for the game Saturday.

Reggie Bass was the only Lindenwood player to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points. The Lions (3-6) shot 32 percent from the floor in the second half and 35.3 percent for the game. Ole Miss committed just seven turnovers and Lindenwood committed 15.

No. 24 San Diego State 74, San Diego 57

Four players scored in double figures to help the Aztecs pull away in the second half for a home win over the cross-town rival Toreros.

Florida Atlantic transfer Nick Boyd led San Diego State (6-2) with 17 points, while Miles Byrd and Jared Coleman-Jones each added 13. Freshman Pharaoh Compton came off the bench to tally 12 points.

Bendji Pierre tallied 17 points in a reserve role for San Diego (3-6), which struggled to make shots against the Aztecs’ typically tough defense. San Diego hit just 30.9 percent of its attempts from the field, including a 6-of-32 performance from 3-point range, and committed 16 turnovers.

–Field Level Media

Top 25: St. John’s Returns to Top 25

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JAMAICA ESTATES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – St. John’s newcomer Aaron Scott scored seven of his 11 points over the final seven minutes of the second half as No. 22 Johnnies survived several choppy stretches before pulling away for a 66-45 victory over visiting Wagner Wednesday night in Queens.

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Ranked for the first time since January 2019, St. John’s (3-0) led the entire way but didn’t put away Wagner (1-2) until it scored 18 straight points to turn a two-point lead into a 57-37 edge with 5:48 left. RJ Luis Jr. led the Red Storm with 13 points.

Deivon Smith and Brady Dunlap added nine points apiece as the Red Storm shot 50 percent from the floor (21 of 42) but missed 12 of its 30 free-throw attempts.

Javier Ezquerra scored 10 points to lead Wagner, which shot a dreadful 29.1 percent overall, went 5-for-24 from 3-point range and committed 16 turnovers.

No. 3 UConn 90, Le Moyne 49

Alex Karaban scored a game-high 17 points and Liam McNeeley finished with 15 as the Huskies crushed the Dolphins in Hartford, Conn.

Karaban was 7 of 11 from the field and made three 3-pointers. McNeeley also connected on three 3-pointers. Samson Johnson had four of UConn’s nine blocked shots.

The Huskies (3-0) had a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers, and a 12-0 ratio in fast-break points. Dwayne Koroma led Le Moyne (1-3) with 13 points and five rebounds.

No. 5 Auburn 79, Kent State 56

Four days after topping then-No. 4 Houston on the road, the Tigers let much of a 22-point first-half lead against the Golden Flashes slip away before emerging with a home win.

Johni Broome, selected the SEC Player of the Week on Monday, and Chaney Johnson each scored 18 points to lead the Tigers (3-0). Johnson’s night included 12 rebounds plus a dunk that increased the Tigers’ lead to 36-22 entering halftime. Auburn’s Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara tallied 12 points apiece.

Kent State (2-1) was carried by forward VonCameron Davis’ 19 points but struggled from beyond the 3-point arc. The Golden Flashes went 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) from long distance. Davis finished 6-for-14 from the field, including 2-for-6 from 3-point range.

No. 8 Houston 91, Louisiana 45

Terrance Arceneaux led a balanced scoring effort with 14 points and the host Cougars dominated from early in the game while downing the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Milos Uzan added 13 points, Mercy Miller scored 12 and J’Wan Roberts and Emanuel Sharp had 11 each as the Cougars (2-1) bounced back from a 74-69 home loss to then No. 11 Auburn on Saturday.

Louisiana (1-2) got a team-high eight points from Christian Wright. The Ragin’ Cajuns sank just 6 of 21 3-point attempts, while the Cougars made 10 of 23.

No. 11 Tennessee 92, Montana 57

Igor Milicic Jr. scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, paving the way for the Volunteers to throttle the Grizzlies in Knoxville, Tenn.

Chaz Lanier added 13 points, shooting 5 for 8 from the floor, as the Volunteers improved to 3-0. He scored all but two of his points in the second half. Felix Okpara and Cameron Carr each chipped in 13 points, as well.

Money Williams scored 30 points to lead Montana (2-2), which was facing Tennessee for the first time. Williams was 4 of 7 on 3-point shooting and hit on eight of his 15 attempts from the field.

No. 14 Creighton 78, Houston Christian 43

Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 16 points to fuel the Bluejays to a convincing victory over the visiting Huskies in Omaha, Neb.

A three-time conference defensive player of the year, Kalkbrenner also had five rebounds and three blocks. His dominant performance paved the way for Greg McDermott to record his 328th head coaching victory at Creighton, snapping a tie with his predecessor Dana Altman (1994-2010). Steven Ashworth collected 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Fredrick King added 11 points off the bench. Jamiya Neal had nine points and seven rebounds for the Bluejays (3-0), who benefited from a 36-5 run to close the first half.

The Huskies (1-2) made just 25.4 percent of their attempts from the floor and 14.3 percent from beyond the arc. Houston Christian was led by D’Aundre Samuels’ eight points.

No. 18 Arkansas 65, Troy 49

A hot second half from Zvonimi Ivisic allowed the Razorbacks to overcome the pesky Trojans in Fayetteville, Ark.

Ivisic, who scored 19 points and blocked five shots, provided a second-half spark off the bench as he shot 5 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 16 points after intermission. Adou Thiero also had 19 points for Arkansas (2-1).

Boston College Bests The Citadel

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CHESTNUT HILL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Sophomore guard Donald Hand Jr. tossed in a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Monday night to lead host Boston College past The Citadel 69-60 in the season opener for both teams in Massachusetts.

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Hand was 3 of 8 from 3-point range and 11 of 11 from the free-throw line. He scored 17 points in the second half.

Chad Venning added 15 points in the game for the Eagles, who received 11 from Elijah Strong.

Brody Fox led The Citadel with 18 points. Fox’s layup with 24 seconds to play sliced BC’s lead to seven points, which was the closest the Bulldogs got in the second half.

Cam Glover and Keynan Davis each scored 10 points for the Bulldogs. Davis also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

It was a rough shooting night for The Citadel, which made 20 of its 52 shots from the floor (38.5 percent). The Bulldogs were 3 of 24 from 3-point territory.

BC led 27-25 with 1:44 remaining in the first half, then the Eagles used a 10-0 run to take a 37-25 lead with 7 seconds left in the half. Venning scored six points in the 10-0 run. BC had a 37-28 halftime lead.

The Citadel was 2 of 13 from 3-point territory in the opening 20 minutes, when BC had a 15-6 edge in points off turnovers.

The Citadel didn’t score in the second half until Glover made two free throws that cut BC’s lead to 43-30 with 15:02 to play. The Eagles owned their largest advantage in the game after Hand made two free throws to stretch the lead to 48-32 with 13:42 left.

The Bulldogs were within nine points, 63-54, after a Davis 3-pointer with 5:01 to play. Hand made two free throws that gave the Eagles a 67-54 advantage with 2:06 remaining.

BC had a 43-32 edge in rebounds. Each team committed 14 turnovers.

–Field Level Media