Tar Heels visit Wofford for revenge
No. 1 Kansas looks the part in beating Spartans
Luke Maye had 24 points and Cameron Johnson provided a huge spark in the second half as No. 8 North Carolina avenged an upset loss to Wofford last year with a 78-67 victory Tuesday night to tip off the regular season.
Maye, the ACC preseason player of the year, finished 7 of 13 from the field and 8 of 9 from the line. But it was former Pitt transfer Johnson who provided the big boost for the Tar Heels, knocking down three 3pointers after Wofford had tied the score with 10:32 remaining.
Wofford visited Chapel Hill, N.C., in December and stunned then-No. 6 Carolina, 79-75, behind 27 points from Fletcher McGee.
This time the Tar Heels invaded the 3,400-seat Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C., which opened in 2017, and pulled away late in the second half.
Kansas
The Jayhawks looked the part of a clear No. 1ranked team inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse Tuesday night. The Jayhawks opened their season with a 92-87 win against No. 10 Michigan State at the Champions Classic. In the buildup to the 2018-19 college basketball campaign, Kansas had grown into the most popular pick for the top spot in the sport. The Jayhawks won their third in a row in one of college basketball’s premier opening events.
Notre Dame
Freshmen Nate Laszewski, Robby Carmody and Dane Goodwin were among five players to score in double figures as the youthful Fighting Irish cruised by visiting Illinois-Chicago, 8467, in the season opener. Carmody (Mars High School)is the first freshman to start an opener for Notre Dame since Torin Francis in 2002.
Clemson
Marcquise Reed had 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as host No. 22 Clemson beat The Citadel, 100-80, and reached 100 points for the first time in nine years. The Tigers (1-0) last hit the century mark in a 102-66 win against Winthrop in November 2009. They reached triple digits for the first time in coach Brad Brownell’s nine seasons on the way to their 34th consecutive season-opening win.
Syracuse
Oshae Brissett had 20 points and eight rebounds as No. 16 Syracuse held Eastern Washington to 22 percent shooting, and the Orange overpowered the Eagles, 66-34, in the season opener for both teams. The Eagles’ output was the lowest since the Carrier Dome opened in 1980.
Villanova
Villanova started to head out for the second half toward its rehabilitated court when it got lost in a maze of exits and sprinted out the wrong door. They recovered as Eric Paschall scored 26 points and No. 9 Villanova opened its championship defense with a 100-77 win against Morgan State. The Wildcats have won 12 games in a row dating to last season and won their 16th consecutive season opener. The center of attention though was the $65 million facelift to the Pavilion, which was closed last season while the Wildcats played in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.
Virginia
Ty Jerome said it was great to be back on the court. Jerome scored 20 points as No. 5 Virginia beat Towson, 73-42, in its first game since they made history that followed them all offseason as the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers didn’t just lose, but got dominated in a 74-54 loss to UMBC.
Colorado
Last December, Colorado’s Evan Battey was playing hoops with his buddies when his right leg went numb. Then, his right arm. He tried to speak but couldn’t. Battey suffered a stroke that day along with two seizures. Nearly 11 months later, the 20-yearold forward will make his debut — with feeling back and his speech rapidly improving. “I’m thankful to be out here,” said Battey, whose team opens next Tuesday against Drake. “I’m thankful just to be alive today.”