Wheeler produces for ’Cats in easy rout over Tar Heels

NO. 21 KENTUCKY 98, NORTH CAROLINA 69

LAS VEGAS — Kentucky Coach John Calipari gave a simple message to Savhir Wheeler before the Wildcats’ showdown with North Carolina, both individually and in front of the team: “Lead us.”

Whether or not he produced offensively, Calipari pleaded with the team’s fourth-leading scorer who averages just 9.9 points per game.

Saturday, he led, on a stage he cherished.

Wheeler scored 26 points and No. 21 Kentucky beat North Carolina 98-69 on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic.

“As players, not many people get the opportunity to play against a Duke, a Carolina, and later we play Kansas — all in one year,” Wheeler said. “I’m just super excited, super grateful to be here [and] have the opportunity to play against those types of programs. At the end of the day we just wanted to come here and win, and we did that.”

Wheeler, who shot a season-best 80% (12 of 15) from the floor, was one of four Wildcats to score 10 or more points in Kentucky’s first victory away from Rupp Arena.

Oscar Tshiebwe added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (8-2), while Kellan Grady had 18 points and Keion Brooks Jr. had 10.

“That’s by far the best we’ve played and we’re still trying to figure it out,” Calipari said. “Savhir hasn’t been close to that, maybe the Duke game.”

The Tar Heels (8-3) had kept five consecutive opponents below 64 points. They were held to their lowest scoring output of the season.

Armando Bacot led North Carolina with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while RJ Davis had 10 points.

NO. 1 BAYLOR 78, OREGON 70

EUGENE, Ore. — Kendall Brown and James Akinjo each scored 17 points and Baylor defeated Oregon.

Adam Flagler made five three-pointers en route to 16 points for the Bears (10-0), who broke a 51-51 tie with 12 consecutive points in the second half. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua had 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds for Baylor.

De’Vion Harmon scored 18 points, Will Richardson had 16 and Jacob Young added 11 for the Ducks (6-6).

NO. 2 DUKE 87, ELON 56

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke beat last-minute replacement Elon after two different opponents bowed out due to covid-19 issues.

The Blue Devils (10-1) led 44-26 by halftime and never trailed. Duke’s Trevor Keels had a game-high 19 points, Paolo Banchero had 12 points and nine rebounds, while Wendell Moore Jr. had 12 points and five assists.

NO. 3 PURDUE 77, BUTLER 48

INDIANAPOLIS — Jaden Ivey scored 22 points and Zach Edey finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds to help Purdue (10-1) rout Butler in the Crossroads Classic.

The Bulldogs (7-4) were led by Bryce Golden with 17 points.

NO. 5 GONZAGA 69, NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 55

PHOENIX — Andrew Nembhard scored 16 points, Rasir Bolton added 15 and No. 5 Gonzaga (9-2) outlasted No. 25 Texas Tech in the Colangelo Classic.

The Red Raiders (8-2) struggled offensively without leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr., who didn’t play after leaving Tuesday’s game against Arkansas State with back spasms.

NO. 6 ALABAMA 65, JACKSONVILLE STATE 59

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Keon Ellis had 20 points and 10 rebounds, giving Alabama’s sputtering offense just enough to beat Jacksonville State.

Ellis hit four of Alabama’s eight three-pointers and also had three assists. Jahvon Quinerly added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for the Crimson Tide (9-2).

NO. 7 KANSAS 80, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 72

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Remy Martin hit a three-pointer with one minute to go to extend a three-point lead and help No. 7 Kansas (9-1) over Stephen F. Austin.

Christian Braun scored a game-high 21 points for the Jayhawks, Ochai Agbaji had 18, Martin contributed 15 and Jalen Wilson scored 10.

The Lumberjacks (8-4) were led by David Kachelries with 18 points.

NO. 8 ARIZONA 84, CAL BAPTIST 60

TUCSON, Ariz. — Azuolas Tubelis had 19 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 as Arizona shook off a slow start to beat Cal Baptist.

The Wildcats (11-0) continued their best start since opening the 2014-15 season with 12 straight wins, but they trailed by 11 less than four minutes into the game and didn’t take their first lead until 9:01 left in the first half.

NO. 10 USC 67, GEORGIA TECH 53

PHOENIX — Boogie Ellis scored 16 points, Drew Peterson added 14 and Southern California overcame a shaky start to beat Georgia Tech in the Colangelo Classic.

The Trojans (11-0) needed some time to solve Georgia Tech’s aggressive zone, relying on their defense early before pulling away from the Yellow Jackets (5-5), who got 25 poitns from Michael Devoe.

NO. 13 AUBURN 74, SAINT LOUIS 70

ST. LOUIS — Walter Kessler scored 19 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and blocked 4 shots, and Wendell Green Jr. and Jabari Smith each scored 13 points to help Auburn overcome a 13-point deficit and beat Saint Louis.

K.D. Johnson hit a jump shot with nine seconds remaining to put Auburn (10-1) up 72-70, and Billikens forward Frances Okoro missed a pair of free throws with two seconds left.

NO. 14 HOUSTON 72, OKLAHOMA STATE 61

FORT WORTH — Jamal Shead scored 18 points, Fabian White had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Houston beat Oklahoma State in the Hoop Hype XL College Basketball Showcase.

Marcus Sasser added 15 points and Kyler Edwards had 13 for the Cougars (10-2).

Bryce Williams led Oklahoma State (74) with 17 points.

NO. 19 LSU 66, LOUISIANA TECH 57

BOSSIER CITY, La. — Tari Eason scored 21 points, Darius Days added 13 with a career-high 18 rebounds and No. 19 LSU (11-0) rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Louisiana Tech.

Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Amorie Archibald led the Bulldogs (8-3) with 13 points each.

PROVIDENCE 57, NO. 20 UCONN 53

HARTFORD, Conn. — A.J. Reeves scored 16 points and Providence held off UConn in the Big East opener for both teams.

Ed Croswell had 11 points and Nate Watson added 10 for the Friars (11-1), who led by as many as 16 points in the second half but had to hold on at the end.

R.J. Cole had 16 points and Tyrese Martin scored 15 for UConn (9-3).

NO. 22 XAVIER 80, MARQUETTE 71

CINCINNATI — Dwon Odom scored a career-high 19 points and Nate Johnson added 17 to lift Xavier over Marquette in their Big East Conference openers.

Jack Nunge had 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Xavier (11-1, 1-0), which has won seven in a row.

Colby Jones added 11 points for the Musketeers. Marquette (8-4, 0-1) was led by Greg Elliott’s 18 points and Justin Lewis’ 15.