Tulsa routs UTSA with hot shooting
Tulsa exploded for the highest scoring total an opponent has posted against UTSA in a nonovertime game since 2016, riding a hot shooting night to a 107-78 rout Wednesday at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa.
The Golden Hurricane shot 59% overall and hit 16 of 29 (55.2%) from 3point range, finishing the game with just seven turnovers.
Tulsa’s 16 3-pointers marks the most UTSA has allowed since Oklahoma hit 17 in a 105-66 win on Dec. 3, 2020, and the Golden Hurricane’s 107 points stand as the highest total against the Roadrunners in a 40minute game since a 109-91 loss to Marshall on Feb. 6, 2016.
UTSA’S offense was unable to match the pace, shooting 37.9% overall and 19.4% beyond the arc, including a 2-of-18 (11.1%) performance from 3-point range in the second half. Jordan Ivy-curry led the Roadrunners with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting, adding a team-high seven rebounds. Christian Tucker posted 12 points with eight assists.
The Roadrunners built a six-point lead five minutes into the game, but the Golden Hurricane took control through the next 10 minutes, stretching the lead to 12. UTSA used a 12-0 run over a two-minute stretch to draw even, but Tulsa pushed the margin back out to 53-48 at halftime.
Tulsa opened the second half with a 16-2 run to take a 19-point lead, then used a 13-2 spurt later in the period to extend the lead to 29. Greg Luca
UCF 77, TEXAS 71
Jaylin Sellers had 24 points, and the visiting Knights (11-5, 2-2 Big 12) rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half.
Texas made just two of its last 10 shots in the final six minutes. The Longhorns shot 68% (17 of 25) in the first half but cooled to 34.5% (10 of 29) in the second.
Ithiel Horton scored 20 points to lead Texas (12-5, 1-3). Max Abmas and Dillon Mitchell each added 15 points.
NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 62 NO. 18 CREIGHTON 48
Tristen Newton scored 16 points, and the host Huskies (16-2, 6-1 Big East) used a stifling defense to beat the Bluejays (13-5, 4-3).
Steven Ashworth led Creighton with 14 points while Baylor Scheierman, who came into the game averaging 18 points a game, added 12.
NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA 86 LOUISVILLE 70
RJ Davis scored 21 points and North Carolina beat Louisville for its seventh straight victory, the Tar Heels extended their longest winning streak in five seasons with their seventh straight victory.
Armando Bacot had 19 points, Cormac Ryan added 17 and former Louisville player Jae’lyn Withers scored 15 off the bench for North Carolina (14-3, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Skyy Clark scored 16 points for Louisville (6-11, 1-5), which has lost five of six.
NO. 8 KENTUCKY 90 MISSISSIPPI STATE 77
Antonio Reeves scored 27 points, and the host Wildcats (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) gave John Calipari his 400th victory with the Wildcats.
Tolu Smith III had 26 points for the Bulldogs (12-5, 1-3).
NO. 12 ARIZONA 82 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 67
Caleb Love scored 20 points, Pelle Larsson added 13, and the host Wildcats (13-4, 4-2 Pac-12) had another bounce-back victory under coach Tommy Lloyd.
DJ Rodman led USC with 16 points.
NO. 13 AUBURN 80 VANDERBILT 65
Jaylin Williams hit every shot he attempted scoring 21 points as the visiting Tigers coasted to their 10th straight victory.
Williams knocked down five shots in the first half, including a pair of 3s, and five free throws, and his dunk with 19 seconds left helped the Tigers (15-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) take a 41-24 lead into halftime.
Vanderbilt (5-12, 0-4) has lost four straight and joins Missouri as the only winless teams in SEC play.
NO. 15 OKLAHOMA 77 WEST VIRGINIA 63
Jalon Moore scored 16 points, and Javian Mccollum and Rivaldo Soares added 13 apiece to lead the host Sooners.
Otega Oweh added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma (14-3, 2-2 Big 12), which shot 63.6% in the second half to pull away. The Sooners bounced back from losses to TCU and Kansas.
Noah Farrakhan scored 14 points and Raequan Battle added 12 for West Virginia (6-11, 1-3).
LSU 89 NO. 22 MISSISSIPPI 80
Jordan Wright scored a game-high 27 points to lead the host Tigers.
Wright, a graduate transfer from Vanderbilt and a Baton Rouge area native, scored six of LSU’S nine points to close the first half and eight of Tigers’ 10 points to open the second half.
Jalen Cook added 16 points for LSU (11-6, 3-1 SEC). Tyrell Ward contributed 11, including a trio of 3-pointers in two minutes during a 13-4 run that boosted the Tigers’ lead to 64-48 with 9:48 left to play.
Mississippi (15-2, 2-2) was led by Jaylen Murray with 23 points.