Men's Top 25 roundup: Zach Edey, No. 2 Purdue top No. 11 Zags

 

[November 21, 2023]  Zach Edey had game-high totals of 25 points and 14 rebounds as No. 2 Purdue put together a second-half rally to defeat No. 11 Gonzaga 73-63 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational in Honolulu.

Lance Jones and Braden Smith each scored 13 points, with Smith adding six assists for the Boilermakers (4-0), who trailed by as many as nine points before intermission.

Graham Ike led the Bulldogs (2-1) with 14 points and seven rebounds but battled foul trouble while trying to match up with Edey. Nolan Hickman and Ryan Nembhard each added 11 points for Gonzaga, with Nembhard dishing out six assists.

Purdue will meet No. 7 Tennessee in the semifinals on Tuesday, while Gonzaga will oppose Syracuse in the consolation bracket.

No. 1 Kansas 83, Chaminade 56

Kevin McCullar Jr. became the first player in Jayhawks history to record back-to-back triple-doubles as Kansas defeated the Silverswords in the opening round of the Maui Invitational in Honolulu.

McCullar had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Kansas (4-0), which will oppose No. 4 Marquette in the semifinals on Tuesday. Hunter Dickinson, who shot 15-for-18 from the floor, added 31 points and 11 rebounds.

Chaminade (1-3) was led by Jamir Thomas, Ross Reeves and Wyatt Lowell, who each finished with 12 points. The Silverswords will play UCLA next.

No. 4 Marquette 71, UCLA 69

Sean Jones sank the go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play as the Golden Eagles topped the Bruins in the first round of the Maui Invitational in Honolulu.

The Bruins (3-1) led by 12 points early in the second half, but the Golden Eagles (4-0) went on a 24-5 tear to go up by seven with 9:20 remaining.

David Joplin led Marquette with 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers. UCLA's Sebastian Mack finished with a game-high 25 points.

No. 5 UConn 81, No. 15 Texas 71

Alex Karaban scored 20 points and hit a clutch jumper with 1:01 to play to help the Huskies outlast the Longhorns in the championship game of the Empire Classic in New York.

UConn (5-0) never trailed, building a 16-point lead midway through the first half and leading by 13 at halftime. But the Longhorns (4-1) battled back, drawing to within 71-67 with 5:24 to play thanks to a 10-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Ithiel Horton.

Cam Spencer added 16 points and Samson Johnson scored 15 for the Huskies. Dillon Mitchell scored a career-high 21 points for Texas.

No. 7 Tennessee 73, Syracuse 56

Dalton Knecht scored 17 points as the Volunteers pulled away from the Orange at the Maui Invitational, played this year in Honolulu due to the wildfires that ravaged Maui earlier in 2023.

Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo each posted a double-double for Tennessee (4-0). James contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Aidoo notched 14 points and 11 boards as the Volunteers outrebounded Syracuse 48-33.

Chris Bell had 16 points to pace the Orange (3-1), while Judah Mintz pitched in with 15 points.

No. 16 Kentucky 96, Saint Joseph's 88 (OT)

Tre Mitchell scored 22 points and sank a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:57 remaining in overtime as the Wildcats outlasted the Hawks after blowing a nine-point lead in the second half in Lexington, Ky.

Kentucky (4-1) also got 22 points from D.J. Wagner and 20 from Antonio Reeves.

Erik Reynolds II led all scorers with 28 points for Saint Joseph's (3-2), which was unable to get its first win over a ranked team in over five years. Cameron Brown and Xzayvier Brown finished with 17 points apiece.

No. 18 Colorado 64, Richmond 59

KJ Simpson scored 23 points and the Buffaloes knocked off the Spiders to advance to the championship game of the Beach Bracket in the Sunshine Slam at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Tristan da Silva added 15 points and eight rebounds for Colorado (4-0), which will face Florida State in Tuesday's title game. Jordan King recorded 23 points and seven rebounds for the Spiders (2-2). Dji Bailey added 11 points for Richmond, which will meet UNLV in the consolation game.

da Silva scored on a layup and Simpson hit two three throws to make it a seven-point advantage with 1:03 remaining. Then da Silva added two free throws with 32.3 seconds left to make it 62-53, and the Buffaloes closed it out.

Wisconsin 65, No. 24 Virginia 41

Steven Crowl posted 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Badgers' defense smothered the Cavaliers at the Fort Myers Tip-Off event in Florida.

Crowl posted for his fifth career double-double and the bigger Badgers (3-2) dominated the offensive glass, scoring 12 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds.

Wisconsin outrebounded the Cavaliers 48-21 and outscored them 30-14 in the paint. Reece Beekman led Virginia (4-1) with 17 points and seven assists.

--Field Level Media

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