No. 1 Gonzaga rallies past Creighton in 1st true road game
OMAHA, NEB. >> Zach Norvell Jr. scored 23 of his careerhigh 28 points in the second half, and top-ranked Gonzaga wiped out an early double-digit deficit and beat Creighton 103-92 on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (8-0), who took over the No. 1 ranking this week after beating Duke in the Maui Invitational, overcame a boisterous crowd of more than 18,000 at the CHI Health Center to win in their first true road game.
Norvell was held in check the first 20 minutes but came out strong after halftime as he did in last year’s win over Creighton in Spokane, Washington.
The Bulldogs held Creighton (6-2) scoreless for nearly four minutes in the middle of the second half while going on a 12-0 run to go up 84-73.
Brandon Clarke added 27 points and 10 rebounds and Rui Hachimura added 22 and 11 boards for the Bulldogs.
Ty-Shon Alexander led the Bluejays with 27 points. Damien Jefferson had 15 and Martin Krampelj scored 10. NO. 7 MICHIGAN 76, NO. 19 PURDUE 57 >> Jordan Poole scored 21 points as part of a balanced offense and Michigan was stingy on defense as it routed a third ranked team this season.
The Wolverines (8-0) are off to their best start since winning the first 16 games of the 2012-13 season. They were coming off an 84-67 win over No. 11 North Carolina, and they beat thenNo. 8 Villanova 73-46 on its home court last month.
The Boilermakers (5-3) have lost three of their last four games.
Michigan’s Jon Teske matched his career high with 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Purdue’s Carsen Edwards scored 19 on 7-of-21 shooting and Ryan Cline added 15 points. NO. 10 KENTUCKY 78, UNC GREENSBORO 61 >> Reid Travis scored 22 points, Keldon Johnson added six of his 13 points during a 14-2 second half run and Kentucky won its seventh straight.
The Spartans seemed poised to take control with a 55-50 edge with 13:08 remaining before Kentucky (7-1) had consecutive threepoint plays by Travis and Ashton Hagans for a 56-55 lead.
Demetrius Troy’s jumper put UNCG (7-2) back ahead but that was the last lead.
Francis Alonso had 22 points but just three after halftime as UNCG had its six-game winning streak end. MARQUETTE 83, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 71 >> Markus Howard scored 45 points and went 19 of 21 from the foul line, and Marquette used tight defense to hand Kansas State its first loss.
Sacar Anim added 16 points for the Golden Eagles (6-2), who didn’t back down from the physical Wildcats. Marquette outrebounded Kansas State 34-25 and kept attacking the rim in holding a double-digit lead for most of the second half.
Howard’s productive day from the field (11 of 17) helped Marquette overcome 20 turnovers.
Playing its first true road game against its toughest foe of the young season, Kansas State (6-1) saw its defense falter. Makol Mawien and Xavier Sneed scored 12 points apiece for the Wildcats. NO. 20 TEXAS TECH 78, MEMPHIS 67 >> Tariq Owens had 13 points and 11 rebounds and tied a career high with eight blocks, Jarrett Culver scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and Texas Tech rallied to beat Memphis.
Deshawn Corprew scored 12 points and Brandone Francis added 10 for Texas Tech, which has won all seven of its games this season by double digits. Owens had seven of his blocks in the second half to help the Red Raiders’ comeback.
Tyler Harris scored 17 points, and Kyvon Davenport added 13 for Memphis (3-4). The Tigers missed 17 of their final 21 shots. NO. 21 BUFFALO 85, SAN FRANCISCO 81 >> Nick Perkins scored 22 points, Jeremy Harris added 15 with eight rebounds and Buffalo held off San Francisco in the title game of the Hall of Fame Belfast Classic.
C.J. Massinburg scored 15 points, making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 20 seconds to close out the win, and Montell McCrae added 11 points as Buffalo (7-0) won the matchup of unbeatens to continue its best start since 1930.