Ball’s exit surprises Alford
TOP 25
■ No. 1 Duke 124, Saint Francis (Pa.) 67: Freshman Marvin Bagley III had 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Blue Devils (11-0) scored 71 points in the first half against the Red Flash (3-5). Marques Bolden had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and Gary Trent Jr. and Grayson Allen both finished with 14 points for the Blue Devil.
■ No. 3 Michigan State 62, (at) Rutgers 52: Miles Bridges scored 21 points as the Spartans (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten) overcame their worst offensive performance of the season against the Scarlet Knights (6-3, 0-2). Jaren Jackson Jr. scored all 11 of his points in the second half and had eight of the Spartans’ season-high 13 blocks.
■ No. 4 Villanova 88, No. 12 Gonzaga 72: Mikal Bridges proved he’s one of the top players in the nation, scoring a career-high 28 points to lead the Wildcats (9-0) past the Bulldogs (7-2) in New York. Bridges hit five 3-pointers. Zach Norvell Jr. led Gonzaga with 22 points and Josh Perkins had 16.
■ No. 6 Wichita State 95, South Dakota State 85: Landry Shamet had 21 points and eight assists and Shaquille Morris added 20 points as the Shockers (7-1) overcame the Jackrabbits (7-4) for their 23rd consecutive victory at home.
■ Arizona 67, No. 7 Texas A&M 64: Deandre Ayton had 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Wildcats (6-3) held on to hand the Aggies (7-1) their first defeat at Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix.
■ Ball State 80, (at) No. 9 Notre Dame 77: Tayler Persons hit 3-pointer from the left wing with 1.7 seconds remaining as the Cardinals (5-4) shocked the Fighting Irish (7-2). Persons scored 24 points as Ball State beat a nationally ranked opponent for the first time since upsetting No. 4
UCLA 91-73 more than 16 years ago.
■ No. 10 Miami 69, Boston University
54: Freshman Lonnie Walker IV scored a season-high 26 points as the Hurricanes (8-0) beat the Terriers (3-4). Walker, in his first career start, went 5 for 7 from 3-point range and added seven rebounds in a season-high 28 minutes.
■ No. 14 Minnesota at Nebraska: Late
■ No. 18 West Virginia 68, No. 15 Virginia 61: Jevon Carter had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Lamont West scored 22 points as the host Mountaineers (8-1) got past the Cavaliers (8-1).
■ No. 20 TCU 94, SMU 83: Kenrich Williams had 27 points to lead five players in double figures as the Horned Frogs (9-0) defeated the Mustangs (7-3) to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 14 games. ■ Texas Tech 82, No. 22 Nevada 76 (OT): Keenan Evans scored 25 of his careerhigh 32 points in the second half and overtime to lead the Red Raiders (7-1) past the Wolf Pack (8-1), who played their first game as a ranked team since 2007.
UCLA coach Steve Alford said he was caught by surprise when he learned through media reports that suspended freshman guard LiAngelo Ball was leaving the basketball team and withdrawing from school.
“I’m not angry. I try not to get angry,”Alford said.“This is a tough business. It’s about what I can control. LiAngelo has been, since coming back (from China), he’s been tremendous as far as (he’s) been to all his classes. He’s gone to all his tutors, all his mentors. He’s done exactly what’s been asked of him. I don’t think it’s angry. I think it’s more surprised if you’re looking for one word, it’s surprised because it’s nothing we saw coming.”
Ball’s father, LaVar Ball, has said he’s withdrawing his son from school so he can prepare to play in the NBA. LiAngelo Ball did not play in any of the Bruins’ eight games this season after being suspended indefinitely by UCLA for his involvement in a shoplifting incident during the team’s season-opening trip to China.
Monday’s Games Tuesday’s games
Devils 4, (at) Blue Jackets 1: Stefan Noesen, Taylor Hall and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and an assist, and Cory Schneider stopped 41 shots for New Jersey. Schneider earned his 100th win with New Jersey.
(At) Lightning 6, Islanders 2: Yanni Gourde scored two of Tampa Bay’s three goals late in the second period. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves as the Lightning improved to 112-1 at home.
Rangers 4, (at) Penguins 3: Ondrej Pavelec stopped 41 shots while filling in for late scratch Henrik Lundqvist in New York’s victory. Boo Nieves, Jesper Fast, Mats Zuccarello and Pavel Buchnevich scored in support of Pavelec, who drew the spot start because Lundqvist had the flu.
(At) Red Wings 5, Jets 1: Justin Abdelkader and Gustav Nyquist scored in a dominant first period for Detroit, which ended a seven-game losing streak. The Red Wings outshot Winnipeg 16-3 in the opening period and took a 2-0 lead.
Blues 4, (at) Canadiens 3: Brayden Schenn had his third career hat trick in St. Louis’ victory. Schenn had gone five games without a point for the Blues, who ended a three-game winless streak.
Predators 5, (at) Stars 2: Juuse Saros made a careerhigh 43 saves and his Nashville teammates scored four times in the second period. The Predators have won three in a row and are 8-1-1 in its last 10 games.
Sabres at Avalanche: Late
Ducks at Golden Knights: Late
Wilds at Kings: Late
Hurricanes at Canucks: Late
NHL notes
Rangers: The franchise is worth an NHL-high $1.5 billion as team values continue to rise, according to the latest estimate by Forbes. In its annual list of franchise valuations, Forbes said the average NHL team is now worth $594 million, up 15 percent from a year ago. The Rangers lead the NHL for the third straight year. The Toronto Maple Leafs are second at $1.4 billion, the Montreal Canadiens third at $1.25 billion and the Chicago Blackhawks fourth at $1 billion.