Tech makes short work of Baylor

LUBBOCK — Keenan Evans scored 18 points, freshman Zhaire Smith added 15 in his Big 12 debut, and No. 22 Texas Tech rolled past 18th-ranked Baylor 77-53 in the conference opener for both teams Friday night.

Jarrett Culver finished with 13 points and Niem Stevenson had 11 points and a game-high five assists for the Red Raiders (12-1) in the first meeting out of 135 with both of these longtime conference rivals ranked.

Mark Vital scored 12 points for the Bears (10-3), who were missing Big 12 rebounding leader Jo LualAcuil because of a left foot sprain. Baylor was outrebounded 39-21, including 22-8 in the first half while falling behind 40-19.

Culver hit a jumper to start a 14-0 first-half run for a 29-9 lead as the Red Raiders beat a ranked team while in the poll themselves for the first time since 2005.

MICHIGAN ST. 111 CLEVELAND ST. 61

Nick Ward had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and the No. 2 Spartans routed the Vikings at East Lansing, Mich. — the third consecutive game for Michigan State with more than 100 points.

The Spartans (13-1) led 63-25 at halftime after shooting 74 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes — including 9-of13 on 3-pointers.

KENTUCKY 90 LOUISVILLE 61

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points, PJ Washington added 16, and the 16thranked Wildcats used several runs to blow out the rival Cardinals at Lexington, Ky., in the annual showdown for Bluegrass supremacy.

Seeking to regroup after last week’s 83-75 loss to unranked UCLA, Kentucky (10-2) used a 20-6 run to close the first half. Its 24-11 surge over 8:41 built a 67-38 lead that eventually reached 32, a gap helped by 57 percent second-half shooting.

Playing its first rivalry game in 16 seasons without coach Rick Pitino, who was fired in October amid a federal bribery investigation of college basketball, Louisville (10-3) couldn’t keep up after the early minutes. The Cardinals shot just 35 percent and had their six-game winning streak stopped. Deng Adel had 13 points.

WEST VIRGINIA 85 OKLAHOMA ST. 79

Teddy Allen scored 15 points, leading six players in double figures as the No. 7 Mountaineers (12-1) rallied to a victory over the Cowboys (10-3) at Stillwater, Okla., in the teams’ Big 12 opener.

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 110 JARVIS CHRISTIAN 80

Zachary Hamilton scored 25 points, Gary Blackston had 20, and the Panthers ended an eight-game losing streak with a win over the NAIA Bulldogs at Prairie View.

Iwin Ellis and J.D. Wallace had 10 points apiece for Prairie View A&M (3-11), and Dennis Jones had eight points and 10 assists.