Jayhawks open with exciting win in battle between top-10 teams
Duke freshmen dazzle in blitz of No. 2 Kentucky
INDIANAPOLIS — Quentin Grimes scored 21 points in his college debut and Dedric Lawson added 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 1 Kansas past No. 10 Michigan State 92-87 in the season-opening Champions Classic on Tuesday.
The Jayhawks won their third straight in one of college basketball’s premier events.
Michigan State was led by Joshua Langford with 18 points and Kenny Goins with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Spartans are now 4-21 all-time against No. 1 teams.
The game pitted two power-conference preseason favorites against each other, and the finish was every bit as intriguing as expected.
After Kansas was in control for most of the game, the Spartans frantically trimmed a 10-point deficit to 90-87 with 34 seconds left. They had a chance to make it a two-point game when Devon Dotson missed the second of two free throws with 15 seconds left.
But Cassius Winston missed a layup for Michigan State, Kansas grabbed the rebound and Grimes sealed it by making 1 of 2 free throws.
NO. 4 DUKE 118, NO. 2 KENTUCKY 84: In Indianapolis, RJ Barrett scored 33 points and Zion Williamson added 28 in their first college games, leading the Blue Devils past the Wildcats in the season-opening Champions Classic.
It was the most lopsided defeat in coach John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky and marked the eighth time in 10 meetings the Blue Devils have beaten the Wildcats.
Both Barrett and Williamson surpassed Marvin Bagley III’s program record for points by a freshman in his debut at 25. Cam Reddish added 22 points and Tre Jones had six, giving Duke’s freshmen a combined 89 points.
The teams set a Classic record for most combined points, set hours earlier in No. 1 Kansas’ 92-87 victory over No. 10 Michigan State. NO. 9 VILLANOVA 100, MORGAN STATE 77: In Villanova, Pa., Eric Paschall scored 26 points, Phil Booth had 17 and the Wildcats opened their national championship defense with a win over Morgan State.
The Wildcats have won 12 straight games dating to last season and won their 16th consecutive season opener.
The new kid on the block that shone the most was the refurbished Pavilion, which closed for a season and forced the Wildcats to play a year in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center. Villanova’s on-campus court underwent a $65 million facelift. NO. 3 GONZAGA 120, IDAHO STATE 79: In Spokane, Wash., Rui Hachimura scored 33 points to help the Bulldogs beat the Bengals.
Zach Norvell Jr. added 23 points for Gonzaga, which has the highest preseason ranking in school history. NO. 5 VIRGINIA 73, TOWSON 42: In Charlottesville, Va., Ty Jerome scored 20 points and De’Andre Hunter had 13 and 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers beat the Tigers in the opener for both teams.
Jerome made six 3-pointers for the Cavaliers (1-0), who were playing for the first time since they made history by becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed in the
NCAA Tournament. NO. 6 TENNESSEE 86, LENOIR-RHYNE
41: In Knoxville, Tenn., Jordan Bone scored 18 points and Kyle Alexander added 16 as the Volunteers opened the season by trouncing the Bears.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes lettered for three seasons at Lenoir-Rhyne. Barnes is a native of Hickory, North Carolina, where Lenoir-Rhyne is located.
The game against the Division II opponent counts on Tennessee’s overall record, but Lenoir-Rhyne counted the game as an exhibition. NO. 8 N. CAROLINA 78, WOFFORD 67: In Spartanburg, S.C., Luke Maye had 24 points, Cameron Johnson provided a huge spark in the second half and the Tar Heels avenged an upset loss to Wofford last year in tipping off the regular season.
Johnson made five 3-pointers and had 17 points along with eight rebounds. Garrison Brooks added 20 as the Tar Heels improved to 15-1 in season openers under coach Roy Williams. NO. 11 AUBURN 101, SOUTH ALABAMA
58: In Auburn, Ala., Jared Harper had 20 points, 13 assists and six 3-pointers to lead the Tigers. NO. 15 SYRACUSE 66, E. WASHINGTON
34: In Syracuse, New York, Oshae Brissett had 20 points and eight rebounds, the Orangemen held Eastern Washington to 22 percent shooting, and the Syracuse overpowered the Eagles.
The Eagles’ output was the lowest since the Carrier Dome opened in 1980. NO. 17 FLORIDA STATE 81, FLORIDA 60: In Tallahassee, Fla., P.J. Savoy scored 20 points with five 3-pointers, Trent Forrest added 13 points and the Seminoles opened the season with a victory over the Gators. NO. 19 MICHIGAN 63, NORFOLK STATE
44: In Ann Arbor, Mich., Jon Teske had 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as the Wolverines gave John Beilein his 800th career coaching victory.
NO. 21 UCLA 96, FORT WAYNE 71: In Los Angeles, Kris Wilkes scored a career-high 27 points, Moses Brown had a double-double in his collegiate debut, and the Bruins routed Fort Wayne to open its 100th season of basketball.
Standing 7-foot-1 — an inch shorter than Bruins great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar —
Brown made an impact with 19 points and 17 rebounds as well as assists on UCLA’s first two baskets and blocked shots. NO. 22 CLEMSON 100, THE CITADEL 80: In Clemson, S.C., Marcquise Reed had 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as the Tigers reached 100 points for the first time in nine years.
Reed led six Tigers in double figures and posted his fourth career double-double. Shelton Mitchell and Aamir Simms scored 16 points each, Elijah Thomas had 15, Clyde Trapp 13 and David Skara 11.
NO. 23 LSU 94, S.E. LOUISIANA 63: In Baton Rouge, La., Naz Reid had 17 points to lead six players in double figures for the Tigers.
NO. 24 PURDUE 90, FAIRFIELD 57: In West Lafayette, Ind., Carsen Edwards scored 30 points and made seven 3-pointers as the Boilermakers rolled past Fairfield. Women NO. 4 BAYLOR 100, NICHOLLS STATE 39: In Waco, Texas , preseason AP All-America post Kalani Brown scored the first four points for the Lady Bears, who opened the season by scoring the first 24 points and had seven players in double figures on the way to a rout of the Colonels. No. 5 LOUISVILLE 102, WESTERN KENTUCKY 80: In Bowling Green, Ky., Asia Durr scored 33 points to help get coach Jeff Walz his 300th career win. No. 6 MISSISSIPPI STATE 88, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 53: In Starkville, Miss., Teaira McCowan scored 24 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked seven shots to lead the Bulldogs.
COLORADO STATE 72, ENMU 46: In Fort Collins, Colo., Eastern New Mexico fell to CSU in the Greyhounds’ exhibition finale.
AMAYA BROWN DEBUT: Amaya Brown made her official debut Tuesday as a member of the Florida State women’s basketball program.
The 2018 Cibola High School graduate scored four points, grabbed four rebounds (all offensive), dished out four assists and committed five turnovers for the Seminoles, who beat Troy (Ala.) 103-67 on Tuesday afternoon.
Brown, a freshman guard for FSU, played 21 minutes.