Keels, Banchero lead Duke past Kentucky
NEW YORK » Freshman Trevor Keels scored 25 points and classmate Paolo Banchero added 22 to help No. 9 Duke open Mike Krzyzewski’s final season by beating 10th-ranked Kentucky 79-71 on Tuesday night in the nightcap of the Champions Classic.
Krzyzewski plans to retire at the end of the season. He has 1,171 wins, the most in the history of the sport.
The two basketball blue bloods put on a spectacular show to open the season. The loud split crowd at Madison Square Garden that included many members of the New York Knicks and Bruce Springsteen was on its feet for most of the second half.
Duke built a 15-point lead with just under 10 minutes left. The Wildcats scored the next 11 points to get within 69-65 on a three-point play by Oscar Tshiebwe with 6:07 left. But that was as close as Kentucky got.
NO. 3 KANSAS 87, MICHIGAN STATE 74 » Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 29 points and Kansas beat Michigan State in the Champions Classic opener.
NO. 1 GONZAGA 97, DIXIE STATE 63 » Julian Strawther had 17 points and 10 rebounds as Gonzaga beat Dixie State without coach Mark Few.
Few received a threegame suspension after he was cited for drunken driving in September. He will be back when Gonzaga hosts No. 5 Texas on Saturday.
NO. 4 VILLANOVA 91, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 51 » Collin Gillespie scored 13 points in his first game since suffering a torn MCL in his left knee, and Villanova beat Mount St. Mary’s.
NO. 5 TEXAS 92, HOUSTON BAPTIST 48 » Tre Mitchell scored 13 points coach Chris Beard’s Longhorns beat Houston Baptist in his Texas debut.
NO. 7 PURDUE 96, BELLARMINE 67 » Sasha Stefanovic made 5 of 6 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead Purdue past Bellarmine.
NO. 11 ILLINOIS 71, JACKSON STATE 47 » Jacob Grandison scored a career-high 20 points as short-handed Illinois opened the season by rolling past Jackson State.
NO. 12 MEMPHIS 89, TENNESSEE TECH 65 » Emoni Bates scored 17 points in his collegiate debut, Jalen Duren and Lester Quinones added 15 apiece and Memphis beat Tennessee Tech.
NO. 13 OREGON 83, TEXAS SOUTHERN 66 » Will Richardson scored 20 points to lead Oregon past Texas Southern.
NO. 14 ALABAMA 93, LOUISIANA TECH 64 » Keon Ellis scored 18 points and Jaden Shackelford added 17, leading Alabama to a rout of Louisiana Tech.
NO. 15 HOUSTON 83, HOFSTRA 75, OT » Marcus Sasser scored 25 points, Taze Moore added 12 and Houston rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat Hofstra in overtime.
NO. 16 ARKANSAS 74, MERCER 61 » JD Notae scored 30 points as Arkansas rallied past Mercer.
NO. 17 OHIO STATE 67, AKRON 66 » Zed Key hit a layup with less than a second left to lift Ohio State past Akron.
NO. 18 TENNESSEE 90, TENNESSEE-MARTIN 62 » Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi each scored 20 points, leading Tennessee past Tennessee-Martin.
NO. 19 NORTH CAROLINA 83, LOYOLA (MD) 67 » Caleb Love scored 22 points and North Carolina led the whole way in Hubert Davis’ coaching debut.
NO. 21 MARYLAND 83, QUINNIPIAC 69 » Eric Ayala scored 13 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, and Maryland beat Quinnipiac.
NO. 22 AUBURN 77, MOREHEAD STATE 54 » Wendell Green Jr. scored 19 points and fellow transfer K.D. Johnson added 12 points off the bench to lead Auburn past Morehead State.
NO. 23 ST. BONAVENTURE 75, SIENA 47 » Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes scored 17 points apiece and No. 23 St. Bonaventure overcame a sluggish start to beat Siena.
NO. 24 UCONN 99, CENTRAL CONNECTICUT 48 » Adama Sanogo scored 20 points and UConn routed Central Connecticut.
NAVY 66, NO. 25 VIRGINIA 58 » John Carter Jr. scored 19 points, Sean Yoder added 15 and Navy beat Virginia for its first win over a ranked team in 35 years.