Streaking Auburn rallies for 15th straight win
Students set up camp outside Auburn Arena for at least 24 hours, waiting to get into the biggest home game in years.
The second-ranked Tigers made it worth the wait.
Walker Kessler scored 19 points and K.D. Johnson added 17, helping Auburn keep its hot streak alive and make a case for the top ranking with an 80-71 victory over No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday.
The Tigers (18-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) rallied from a 10-point deficit to win their 15th straight in likely the biggest home game since the arena opened in 2010. It was big enough that students at the traditional football school were pitching tents by Friday morning and endured the cold weather overnight to make sure they got in.
“To me it felt like a movie,” Johnson said. “I never played in anything like that. It’s just so fun.”
The Tigers, who have matched the highest ranking in program history, are hoping to move up to the top spot for the first time. Fans chanted No. 1 in the final moments, hoping their team will supplant Gonzaga.
“Sometimes it’s hard to have such high expectations be lived up to,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “But I don’t think there’s any question that that game and that environment lived up to anybody’s expectations.”
Kentucky’s No. 2 scorer, TyTy Washington, only played eight minutes and scored four points before being helped off the court with a left ankle injury. He didn’t return.
“That hurt us. No excuse though,” Wildcats coach John Calipari said. "We had our chances to win. We had breakdowns defensively.
“Defensively, the lob play, which we just kept that game.”
McGusty and Charlie Moore each scored 12 for UM. FSU was led by Caleb Mills (16) and Anthony Polite (15).
The Seminoles are deeper and taller than the Hurricanes, with four 7-footers on the roster, and that presented problems.
“They have a lot of size and take up a lot of room on the floor and they’re a tremendous defensive team,” Waardenburg said. “When you drive into that telling the guys get off, but they just didn’t do it. They’ve done this to a lot of teams, but it was something that we thought we could guard.”
Johnson made 3 of 5 three-pointers for Auburn. Kessler hit 8 of 10 shots and had seven rebounds. Jabari Smith had 14 points and seven boards for the Tigers, who hit their first 15 free throws in the second half.
No. 5 Baylor 65, Oklahoma 51: Adam Flagler scored 16 points and the Bears (17-2, 5-2 Big 12) beat the Sooners (12-7, 2-5) their 14th straight victory away from home.
No. 6 Duke 79, Syracuse 59: AJ Griffin hit five three-pointers — the most by a Duke player this season — as the host Blue Devils (15-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) bolted to an early lead and never trailed agains the Orange (9-10, 3-5).
No. 7 Kansas 78, Kansas St. 75: Ochai Agbaji hit a baseline jumper with 9
AAApaint, they crowd you and it’s quite difficult to find guys. I really hope we see them again. We want to get a W against them. It’s been a while.”
The Hurricanes and Seminoles are tied with an ACC-best 6-2 conference record. Miami is 14-5 overall, FSU is 13-5. Duke is third at 5-2 and is 15-3 overall. With a sweep over Miami and a win over Duke in the past two weeks, FSU should get into the Top 25.
“That was a perfect seconds left as the Jayhawks (16-2, 5-1 Big 12) snapped the host Wildcats’ (10-8, 2-5) two-game winning streak against ranked foes.
No. 11 Villanova 85, Georgetown 74: Collin Gillespie scored 28 points and Justin Moore added 19 as the Wildcats (14-5, 7-2 Big East) beat the host Hoyas (6-10, 0-5) for the 17th time in 20 meetings.
TCU 59, No. 15 Iowa
St. 44: Damion Baugh scored 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting as the Horned Frogs (13-3, 3-2 Big 12) held the host Cyclones (14-5, 2-5) to their lowest point total in the 50-year history of Hilton Coliseum. The previous low was 45 points against Tennessee in 2018.
No. 18 Texas Tech 78, West Virginia 65: Terrence Shannon scored a seasonhigh 23 points with a goahead three-point play as the Red Raiders remained undefeated in 12 games at home. Kevin Obanor added 18 points and Bryson Williams had 13 for Texas
AAAexample of what I call an ACC blowout — we beat Miami by one point,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton told the Herald on the phone after the game. “We’re probably not quite as good as we played in the first half and I’m sure they’d say they’re not as vulnerable as they played in the first half, but that’s what happens in the ACC.”
Hamilton, who coached at UM from 1990-2000, praised Larrañaga for turning Miami around this
Tech (15-4, 5-2). Taz Sherman led the Mountaineers (13-5, 2-4 Big 12) with 21 points.
Missouri St. 79, No. 22 Loyola Chicago 69: Isiaih Mosley scored 40 points on 14-of-22 shooting as the visiting Bears ended the Raamblers 30-game home winning streak. Donovan Clay added 16 points and Gaige Prim 11 for the
Bears, who last beat an AP top-25 team Dec. 28, 2011, when it defeated No. 21 Creighton.
No. 23 Texas 56, Oklahoma St. 51: Marcus Carr scored 14 points and made two free throws with five seconds remaining as the host Longhorns (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) snapped a twogame losing streak with a victory over the Cowboys (10-8, 3-4).
AASTATE SCHOOLS
Florida 61, Vanderbilt 42: Backup guard Tyree Appleby was the game’s only double-digit scorer with 11 points and the hist Gators (12-6, 3-3 SEC)
Aseason and said he hopes fans appreciate the in-state rivalry and how far the programs at UM and FSU have come.
“It’s amazing, you have to give Coach Larrañaga a lot of credit for coming owned the second half in an easy victory over the Commodores (10-8, 2-4).
Florida A&M 70, Alcorn St. 68: MJ Randolph had 21 points as the host Rattlers (6-11, 4-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) narrowly beat the Braves (5-13, 4-2) for their fourth straight win.
AWOMEN’S TOP 25
No. 15 Texas 68, TCU 47: Joanne Allen-Taylor and Audrey Warren combined to score 27 points and distribute nine assists as the Longhorns (14-3, 4-2 Big 12) continued their season-long road success by cruising past the in-state Big 12 Conference rival Horned Frogs (6-9, 2-4).
No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast 66, Jacksonville St. 44: Tishara Morehouse scored 20 points, Kerstie Phills added 17 plus nine rebounds and the Eagles (17-1, 6-0) won their 10th straight game with a rout of the host Gamecocks (14-4, 5-1), who had an eightgame win streak end.
AA‘‘ I WAS THRILLED TO SEE THE PLACE SOLD OUT, OUR STUDENTS TURNED OUT IN LARGE NUMBERS — IT MADE FOR AN ABSOLUTELY ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE.
from an injury-plagued team to the team that was No. 1 in the ACC,” Hamilton said. “That says a lot about his ability to recruit and assess how to play within the talent they have. They play a unique style, different from all the other teams we play, and it’s extremely effective. I think it’s great to have two teams from Florida ranked 1 and 2 in the ACC. You could say we’re 1A and they’re 1B.”
Jim Larrañaga
Michelle Kaufman: 305-376-3438, @kaufsports