A&M starts out slow but topples West Va.

NO. 25 TEXAS A&M 88, NO. 11 WEST VIRGINIA 65

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Tyler Davis had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Admon Gilder scored 23 points and No. 25 Texas A&M overcame a sluggish start to dominate No. 11 West Virginia 88-65 early Saturday in the Armed Forces Classic.

D.J. Hogg added 19 points for the Aggies, who played without suspended forward Robert Williams and point guard J.J. Caldwell. Gilder also had nine rebounds and seven assists.

James “Beetle” Bolden led West Virginia with 19 points. Jevon Carter added 13 and Wes Harris scored 12.

The game was played in a hangar on the sprawling Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany and it marked the only matchup among ranked men’s teams on the opening day of the college basketball season.

West Virginia had its highest AP preseason ranking since 2009-10. But the Mountaineers struggled mightily after jumping to an early 13-point lead.

West Virginia got sloppy with the ball and committed several turnovers against the Aggies’ zone defense late in the first half.

NO. 1 DUKE 97, ELON 68

DURHAM, N.C. — Marvin Bagley had 25 points and 10 rebounds in his college debut, and No. 1 Duke opened another season of high expectations by routing Elon and moving Hall of Fame Coach Mike Krzyzewski one victory from yet another career milestone.

NO. 5 KENTUCKY 73, UTAH VALLEY 63

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hamidou Diallo scored 13 second-half points, most of them during an 18-0 run, and No. 5 Kentucky shot 59 percent after halftime to rally past Utah Valley in the opener for both schools.

One of Kentucky Coach John Calipari’s youngest rosters since arriving in Lexington showed its inexperience by struggling on both ends and trailing 3425 at halftime. The Wildcats emerged from the break more energetic to make the pivotal run over 3:22 with eight consecutive baskets, including backto-back transition dunks by Diallo.

NO. 9 NORTH CAROLINA 86, NORTHERN IOWA 69

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Luke Maye had a career-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds in No. 9 North Carolina’s season-opening victory against Northern Iowa.

Freshman Garrison Brooks added 14 points for the reigning national champions, who opened the season without Final Four Most Outstanding Player Joel Berry II and Pittsburgh graduate transfer Cameron Johnson due to injuries.

NO. 12 CINCINNATI 107, SAVANNAH STATE 77

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Cane Broome scored 17 points during his debut as Cincinnati’s point guard, and the 12th-ranked Bearcats pulled away to a victory over Savannah State.

The Bearcats showed the offensive depth that brought them their highest AP preseason ranking since 1999-2000. Gary Clark — one of three returning starters — had 13 points and 11 rebounds in their first game at a temporary home arena.

NO. 17 XAVIER 101, MOREHEAD STATE 49

CINCINNATI — Trevon Bluiett scored 21 of his 25 points during Xavier’s blistering first half, and the 17th-ranked Musketeers dominated from the opening tip-off for a victory over Morehead State.

The Musketeers return the core of their Elite Eight team and put their depth on display. They scored 62 points in the first half, their most since they had 68 during the opening half of a 117-75 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in the 2012 season opener.

NO. 23 SETON HALL 90, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 68

NEWARK, N.J. — Desi Rodriguez scored 17 points, 13 in the first half, leading No. 23 Seton Hall to an easy victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in the NIT Season Tip-Off first-round game.

Myles Cale scored 12 points in his first college game and Myles Powell added 10 points for the Pirates, who dominated the glass by a 44-27 margin.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 96, ALABAMA STATE 68

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Aric Holman scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Quinndary Weatherspoon added 17 points and Mississippi State beat Alabama State.

The 6-foot-10 Holman had 17 points in the first half while Weatherspoon — who was the team’s leading scorer last season — shot 8 of 9 from the field. Six Bulldogs finished with at least 10 points.

ALABAMA 82, MEMPHIS 70

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Dazon Ingram scored 20 points, and short-handed Alabama used long-range shooting to beat Memphis in their season opener at the Veterans Classic.

Donta Hall had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Crimson Tide, who outscored Memphis 44-34 in the second half after committing 20 fouls and 10 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

TENNESSEE 88, PRESBYTERIAN 53

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Admiral Schofield scored 22 points to match a career high as Tennessee went on a 28-0 run early in the game and breezed to a season-opening victory over Presbyterian.

Presbyterian took a 2-0 lead on Davon Bell’s driving basket with 18:26 left in the first half, but the Blue Hose wouldn’t score again for 9 minutes, 45 seconds. Tennessee led 28-2 by the time J.C. Younger ended the Presbyterian drought.

GEORGIA 79, BRYANT 54

ATHENS, Ga. — Yante Maten scored 21 points, freshman Rayshaun Hammonds added 17 and Georgia rolled to an easy victory over Bryant in the season opener for each team.

Maten had game-high totals of 12 rebounds and four blocks.

LSU 99, ALCORN STATE 59

BATON ROUGE, La. — Freshman Tremont Waters scored 27 points to help LSU beat Alcorn State in the season opener for both teams.

Waters made nine of his 13 field-goal attempts, including 4-of-6 three-pointers. Waters also had 6 assists, 5 steals and 5 rebounds.

The Tigers scored the first nine points and never trailed.

AUBURN 102, NORFOLK STATE 74

AUBURN, Ala. — Bryce Brown scored a career-high 31 points and Auburn opened the season with a victory over Norfolk State in a matchup of teams missing two of their top players.

The Tigers weathered the absence of center Austin Wiley and forward Danjel Purifoy with the help of Brown’s 23-point first half. It came after a troubling couple of months leading up to the season.

Auburn is holding the two sophomores out indefinitely citing eligibility issues. Former associate head coach Chuck Person has been indicted on federal charges after allegedly taking $91,500 in money to steer players to a financial advisor when they turn pro. He indicated some of that money went to the families of two recruits, according to a federal complaint.

SOUTH CAROLINA 73, WOFFORD 52

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Maik Kotsar had 13 points and Frank Booker added 12 off three-pointers in a rout of Wofford — the Gamecocks’ 17th consecutive opening-game victory.

South Carolina spoiled the debut of Wofford’s glittering Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, a 3,400-seat arena funded by Richardson, owner of the Carolina Panthers and a Wofford alumnus.

Wofford kept things tight most of the first half and trailed 25-22 on Derrick Brooks’ jumper with 3:15 left in the opening half.