Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Duke youngsters start with a bang
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NO. 9 DUKE 79, NO. 10 KENTUCKY 71
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 announced that he would retire at the end of the season. The Hall of Famer has won 1,098 games and five national championships in his 42 years coaching the Blue Devils. Overall he has 1,171 wins, the most in the history of the sport.
Duke, which led by four at the half, built the advantage to 15 with just under 10 minutes left behind Keels. The Wildcats wouldn’t go away, scoring the next 11 points to get within 69-65 on a three-point play by Oscar Tshiebwe with 6:07 left.
That’s as close as Kentucky could get. Kentucky could only get within eight the rest of the way.
Tshiebwe finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds. Sahvir Wheeler added 16 points and 10 assists for the Wildcats.
NO. 1 GONZAGA 97, DIXIE STATE 63
SPOKANE, Wash. — Julian Strawther had 17 points and 10 rebounds as topranked Gonzaga beat Dixie State without Coach Mark Few on the sideline.
Few received a three- game suspension after he was cited for DUI in September. He previously sat out the team’s two exhibition games, but will be back when Gonzaga hosts No. 5 Texas on Saturday. Assistant coach Brian Michaelson served as interim head coach.
Rasir Bolton added 15 points for Gonzaga, which was undefeated last season before losing to Baylor in the national title game. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a school-record 52-game home winning streak. Their last home loss was Jan. 18, 2018, to Saint Mary’s.
NO. 3 KANSAS 87, MICHIGAN STATE 74
NEW YORK — Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 29 points and No. 3 Kansas beat Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Remy Martin added 15 points and David McCormack had 10 for the Jayhawks, who returned four starters from last season’s squad that lost to USC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
A.J. Hoggard scored 17 points and Julius Marble added 13 for the Spartans, who received the most votes outside the Top 25 in the preseason poll.
NO. 4 VILLANOVA 91, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 51
VILLANOVA, Pa. — 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.
Justin Moore hit six three-pointers and scored a career-high 27 points for the Big East favorite Wildcats. Brandon Slater and Jermaine Samuels each added 17.
Malik Jefferson led the Mountaineers with 13 points.
NO. 5 TEXAS 92, HOUSTON BAPTIST 48
AUSTIN, Texas — Tre Mitchell scored 13 points and No. 5 Texas earned new coach Chris Beard his first win the Longhorns with a season-opening victory over Houston Baptist.
Beard came from Texas Tech, where he led the Red Raiders to the NCAA Tournament final in 2019. He immediately dove into the NCAA transfer portal to bring as much talent as he could find and what he landed quickly built big expectations. Texas’ No. 5 ranking to start the season is the program’s highest since the Longhorns were No. 3 to start the 2009-10 season.
Point guard Marcus Carr, a first-team All- Big Ten selection last season at Minnesota, scored eight of Texas’ first 18 points and had five assists. Forward Timmy Allen, who was All-Pac-12 last season at Utah, scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
NO. 7 PURDUE 96, BELLARMINE 67
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Sasha Stefanovic made 5 of 6 three-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead Purdue past Bellarmine.
Zach Edey added 16 points, Isaiah Thompson had 15 points, Brandon Newman 14 and Jaden Ivey 11 for the Boilermakers.
C.J. Fleming and Dylan Penn each scored 14 points for Bellarmine.
NO. 11 ILLINOIS 71, JACKSON STATE 47
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Jacob Grandison scored a career-high 20 points as short-handed No. 11 Illinois opened by rolling past Jackson State.
Sophomore Coleman Hawkins had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Illini.
NO. 12 MEMPHIS 89, TENNESSEE TECH 65
MEMPHIS — Emoni Bates scored 17 points in his collegiate debut, Jalen Duren and Lester Quinones added 15 apiece and Memphis beat Tennessee Tech.
Mamoudou Diarra led Tennessee Tech with 11 points.
NO. 13 OREGON 83, TEXAS SOUTHERN 66
EUGENE, Ore. — Will Richardson scored 20 points to lead Oregon past Texas Southern.
De’Vion Harmon added 15 points and Jacob Young had 14 for the Ducks, who led by as many as 23 points in the second half.
John Walker III led the Tigers with 19 points and PJ Henry had 10.
NO. 14 ALABAMA 93, LOUISIANA TECH 64
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Keon Ellis scored 18 points and Jaden Shackelford added 17, leading Alabama to a rout of Louisiana Tech.
Top freshman recruit JD Davison came off the bench for his college debut but had a big impact in just 13 minutes. He had 12 points, six rebounds and six assists. Juwan Gary had 12 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes.
Keaston Willis led Louisiana Tech with 16 points.
NO. 15 HOUSTON 83, HOFSTRA 75, OT
HOUSTON — 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.
Sasser scored 19 points after the half as the Cougars outscored Hofstra 34-13 over the final 8 1/2 minutes and overtime.
Kyler Edwards had 10 points and 11 rebounds and J’Wan Roberts chipped in eight points and 15 rebounds for Houston. The Cougars extended their home winning streak to 26 games.
NO. 17 OHIO STATE 67, AKRON 66
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Zed Key hit a layup with less than a second left to lift Ohio State past Akron.
The Buckeyes inbounded the ball after a timeout, and freshman Malaki Branham got it inside to Key, who banked it in to seal the win.
E.J. Liddell led Ohio State with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but fouled out on Ali’s late three-pointer. Key had a career-high 14 points.
Ali had 17 points and K. J. Walton scored 16 for the Zips.
NO. 18 TENNESSEE 90, TENNESSEE-MARTIN 62
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi each scored 20 points, leading Tennessee past Tennessee-Martin.
Chandler, regarded as the top high school point guard in the country last year, shot 7 for 10 from the field and had 4 assists.
KK Curry scored 15 points to lead the Skyhawks.
NO. 19 NORTH CAROLINA 83, LOYOLA (MD) 67
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Caleb Love scored 22 points and North Carolina led the whole way in Hubert Davis’ coaching debut.
Brady Manek, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma, poured in 20 points for the Tar Heels.
Jaylin Andrews scored 17 points to lead Loyola.
NO. 21 MARYLAND 83, QUINNIPIAC 69
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Eric Ayala scored 13 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, and Maryland beat Quinnipiac.
Qudus Wahab added 17 points for the Terrapins, who led by 16 at halftime.
Maryland won its 45th consecutive home opener and improved to 28-2 against current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Matt Balanc scored 25 points for Quinnipiac.
NO. 22 AUBURN 77, MOREHEAD STATE 54
AUBURN, Ala. — Wendell Green Jr. scored 19 points and fellow transfer K.D. Johnson added 12 points off the bench to lead Auburn past Morehead State.
Freshman Johni Broome had 12 points and eight rebounds for Morehead State.
NO. 23 ST. BONAVENTURE 75, SIENA 47
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes scored 17 points apiece and No. 23 St. Bonaventure overcame a sluggish start to beat Siena.
Aiden Carpenter and Jayce Johnson each scored 10 for the Saints.
NO. 24 UCONN 99, CENTRAL CONNECTICUT 48
STORRS, Conn. — Adama Sanogo scored 20 points and UConn routed Central Connecticut.
R.J. Cole scored 15 points and Tyrese Martin added 14 for the Huskies, who led by 29 points at halftime.
Joe Ostrowsky had 12 points and Nigel Scantlebury scored 11 for Central Connecticut.
NAVY 66, NO. 25 VIRGINIA 58
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — John Carter Jr. scored 19 points, Sean Yoder added 15 and Navy got its first win over a ranked team since the David Robinson era, stunning No. 25 Virginia 66-58.
The Midshipmen beat a team ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 — where Virginia’s stay will be brief — for the first time since Robinson led them past Syracuse 97-85 on March 16, 1986.
East Carolina transfer Jayden Gardner led Virginia with 18 points.