No. 1 Bears win 20th straight
James Akinjo matched his career high with 27 points, Adam Flagler scored 22, and top-ranked Baylor stretched its national-best winning streak to 20 games with an 84-74 victory over Oklahoma on Tuesday night in Waco, Texas.
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua added 12 points for the Bears (14-0, 2-0 Big 12 Conference), whose winning streak began with their six victories in last season’s NCAA tournament on the way to their first national championship.
Baylor and seventh-ranked USC (12-0) are the only undefeated teams remaining from major conferences.
at No. 2 Duke 69, Georgia Tech 57:
Freshman Paolo Banchero had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the Blue Devils won in their return from a COVID-19 outbreak that led to a pair of postponements. Duke (12-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a rough night on offense and shot a season-low 37.3%. But the Blue Devils’ defense made things even tougher on the Yellow Jackets. Michael Devoe, who came in averaging 21.2 points, finished with 21 for Georgia Tech (6-7, 0-3).
No. 6 Kansas 74, at Oklahoma State 63:
David McCormack had 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, Ochai Agbaji scored 16 points, and the Jayhawks overcame a scoreless streak of more than 91⁄2 minutes to beat the Cowboys in the delayed Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. Kansas (12-1, 1-0) missed 19 straight shots to end the first half, allowing Oklahoma State (7-5, 0-1) to pull even at 29-29 by halftime, but the Jayhawks made seven straight shots during a 20-8 run early in the second half.
No. 9 Auburn 81, at South Carolina 66:
Wendell Green Jr. scored a season-high 22 points, and Auburn beat South Carolina for its 10th straight win. The Tigers (13-1, 2-0) were up by 21 points in the second half before the Gamecocks (9-4, 0-1) cut it to 63-55 with about seven minutes left. But Green stepped forward again with two foul shots and 7-foot-1 Walker Kessler jammed home a basket as Auburn opened 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference for the first time in four years.
No. 14 Texas 70, at Kansas State 57:
Marcus Carr scored 19 points, Timmy Allen had 17, and the Longhorns rallied in the second half to beat the Wildcats. Courtney Ramey added 14 points for Texas (12-2, 2-0 Big 12), which has won six in a row. Kansas State (8-5, 0-2) led 35-29 at halftime, but the Longhorns opened the second half with an 18-2 run.
at No. 21 Louisiana State 65, No. 16 Kentucky 60:
Tari Eason capped his 13-point performance with a dunk following a Kentucky turnover with 13 seconds left, and the Tigers (13-1, 1-1 SEC) held off the Wildcats (11-3, 1-1). Xavier Pinson added 11 points for LSU (13-1, 1-1), capped by a flamboyant dunk in the final seconds.
at Marquette 88, No. 16 Providence 56: Justin Lewis had a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds as Marquette broke out of its slump and ended Providence’s eight-game winning streak. The Golden Eagles (9-6, 1-3 Big East) ended their fourgame skid. Providence (13-2, 3-1) lost for the first time since a 58-40 setback against Virginia on Nov. 23.