Top 25 roundup: No. 5 UConn tops No. 9 UNC in New York

 

[December 06, 2023]  Cam Spencer scored 23 points and No. 5 UConn used some hot shooting to defeat No. 9 North Carolina 87-76 on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic in New York.

Alex Karaban posted 18 points and nine rebounds, Tristen Newton racked up 14 points, and Solomon Ball had 13 points for UConn (8-1), which shot 51.5 percent.

RJ Davis scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half for North Carolina (7-2), which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Davis has scored 20 or more points in six games this season.

The Huskies, who were coming off a loss Friday night in a showdown at Kansas, were relentless at times on the boards, securing 11 offensive rebounds.

No. 2 Kansas 88, Kansas City 69

Kevin McCullar Jr. scored a career-high 25 points to lead four Jayhawks in double figures during a win over the Roos in Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas (8-1) built a 20-point lead about 12 minutes into the game and then seemed to cruise. When they were tested late, the Jayhawks responded again. KJ Adams Jr. had 18 points in his first action since burying his mother on Saturday. Hunter Dickinson had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Johnny Furphy added 10 points.

The Roos (3-6) were led by Cameron Faas and Khristion Courseault with 18 points apiece. Anderson Kopp added 15.

No. 6 Baylor 78, Seton Hall 60

RayJ Dennis scored 17 points and fab freshman Ja'Kobe Walter added 15 as the Bears played their best over the final eight minutes in a runaway win over the visiting Pirates in a Big East-Big 12 Battle game in Waco, Texas.

The Bears (9-0) led by 10 points at halftime but by only three with 13:15 left in the game after a 7-0 run by Seton Hall.

Baylor responded with a decisive 8-0 surge, which consisted of two 3-pointers and Josh Ojianwuna's dunk with 11:13 remaining. Minutes later, a 12-2 run by the Bears ended with a layup by Dennis and an 18-point lead that all but finished off Seton Hall (5-3).

No. 7 Gonzaga 111, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 71

Braden Huff recorded 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench and Graham Ike had 17 points and nine rebounds to help the Bulldogs roll over the Golden Lions in Spokane, Wash.

Anton Watson added 15 points and seven rebounds and Nolan Hickman scored 13 points for the Bulldogs (7-1), who topped 100 points for the second time this season. Jun Seok Yeo added 10 points for Gonzaga, which led by 49 points in the wire-to-wire victory.

Joe French made a career-high eight 3-pointers while scoring 26 points and Rashad Williams added 17 points for the Golden Lions (4-6). Kylen Milton added 13 points for Pine Bluff, which is 0-2 on a four-game road trip that includes Saturday's game at No. 5 UConn.

No. 20 Illinois 98, No. 11 Florida Atlantic 89

Marcus Domask and Terrence Shannon Jr. combined for 49 of their 66 points after halftime to lead the Illini over the Owls in the Jimmy V Classic opener at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Domask, a graduate transfer from Southern Illinois, poured in a career-high 33 points for the Illini (7-1) while adding six rebounds. Shannon, a fifth-year senior, also set a career mark with 33 points as Illinois shot 63.2 percent from the field and 90 percent at the line.

Seven-foot-1 center Vladislav Goldin paced the Owls (7-2) with a career-high 23 points, but he played just 19 minutes due to constant foul trouble. Johnell Davis added 19 points as five Florida Atlantic players scored in double figures.

No. 14 BYU 96, Evansville 55

Jaxson Robinson paced a high-powered offense with 19 points off the bench and the Cougars added yet another blowout win to their resume with a thrashing of the Purple Aces in Provo, Utah.

BYU (8-0), which led Division I by making 12.7 3-pointers per game entering the game, went 14-for-32 from the beyond the arc on Tuesday. The Cougars outshot Evansville 52.9 percent to 33.3 percent from the field, and the hosts assisted on 26 of their 36 made field goals.

It marked BYU's fourth win of more than 40 points this season. Yacine Toumi led Evansville (7-2) with 13 points and seven rebounds and Antonio Thomas added 10 points.

No. 17 Tennessee 87, George Mason 66

Jonas Aidoo had a career-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists as the Volunteers broke a three-game losing streak by defeating the Patriots in Knoxville, Tenn.

After suffering three straight losses to ranked teams, including then-No. 1 Kansas and then-No. 2 Purdue, the Volunteers (5-3) gradually pulled away late in the first half against George Mason (7-2), where Tennessee's Rick Barnes started his head-coaching career. Barnes spent one season (1987-88) leading the Patriots.

Josiah-Jordan James totaled 15 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Volunteers. George Mason's Darius Maddox tallied 15 points and five rebounds, and Woody Newton had 13 points and five boards.

No. 19 Oklahoma 72, Providence 51

Javian McCollum scored 19 points as the Sooners beat the Friars in Norman, Okla., in a Big East-Big 12 Battle game.

Oklahoma (8-0) extended its best start to a season since 2015-16, when it made a run to the Final Four after a 12-0 start. The game was close until late, when the Sooners ripped off a 14-0 run over a stretch of nearly five minutes to put the game away.

Devin Carter led Providence (7-2) with 17 points, while Josh Oduro added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. The result snapped the Friars' four-game winning streak.

No. 23 Wisconsin 70, Michigan State 57

AJ Storr had 22 points and the Badgers opened Big Ten play with a win over the host Spartans in East Lansing, Mich.

Steven Crowl supplied 18 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Badgers (7-2, 1-0), who were coming off an upset of Marquette. Tyson Walker topped the Spartans (4-4, 0-1) with 22 points. A.J. Hoggard was the only other Michigan State player in double figures with 14 points along with seven assists.

Wisconsin controlled the boards, outrebounding the Spartans 36-22 while scoring 19 second-chance points.

Grand Canyon 79, No. 25 San Diego State 73

Ray Harrison scored 23 points to lead the Lopes past the Aztecs in Phoenix for their first victory over a ranked team in program history.

Grand Canyon (7-1) lost its previous nine games against ranked opponents. Tyon Grant-Foster had 18 points for the Lopes, while Gabe McGlothan and Collin Moore each had 15 points. McGlothan also grabbed 13 rebounds.

Jaedon LeDee led San Diego State (7-2) with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

--Field Level Media

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