Men’s College Basketball | T25 | Wednesday
No. 3 Houston 75, Rice 39
HOUSTON — L.J. Cryer scored 15 points, Emanuel Sharp added 12 and No. 3 Houston beat Rice.
Cryer, who hit five 3-pointers, has scored in double-figures in eight straight games. Sharp had nine points in first half, all in a 22-4 run that gave the Cougars (9-0) a 30-13 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. Houston led 34-18 at halftime.
Ja’Vier Francis and Damian Dunn each scored 10 points for Houston, which shot 47% and 8 of 22 on 3-pointers.
Houston won its 10th straight home game dating to last season and opened 9-0 for the second straight season.
Alem Huseinovic scored 10 points, and Keanu Dawes added seven points for Rice (3-6). The Owls shot 29% and were 5 of 21 on 3s.
No. 8 Marquette 86, No. 12 Texas 65
MILWAUKEE — Tyler Kolek had 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Marquette drubbed Texas in a Big East-Big 12 Battle matchup.
Kam Jones added 17 points for Marquette (7-2), which rebounded from a 75-64 loss Saturday at in-state rival Wisconsin and gave coach Shaka Smart an emphatic win against his former team. Smart faced the Longhorns for the first time since spending six seasons at Texas, where he went 109-86 from 2015-21 but did not win an NCAA Tournament game.
Max Abmas led Texas (6-2) with 25 points.
No. 13 Colorado St. 90, Denver 80
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Patrick Cartier scored 19 points, Nique Clifford started a pivotal run late in the second half and Colorado State rallied past Denver to remain unbeaten.
The Rams (9-0) never could gain much separation from the pesky Pioneers (6-4). Clifford paced a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer and a thunderous dunk that fueled the frenzied crowd at Moby Arena. Denver was called for a late intentional foul on a fast-break and a late technical that allowed the Rams to stretch the lead.
Isaiah Stevens overcame a sluggish start to finish with 18 points and nine assists.
Tommy Bruner, the Summit League peak performer of the month, had 28 points and eights assists for Denver. The Pioneers, who led by as many as four in the second half, haven’t beaten a ranked team on the road since knocking off No. 13 Oregon in 1971.
No. 15 Miami 97, LIU-Brooklyn 49
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Norchad Omier had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Matthew Cleveland scored 15 and Miami posted its largest margin of victory since 2016.
The Hurricanes (7-1) scored 21 straight points to start the game and led 53-18 at halftime.
Poplar finished with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and Pack had 13 for the Hurricanes, who scored 21 points off turnovers in the first half.
It was the Hurricanes’ largest margin of victory since they beat Western Carolina 92-43 in November 2016.
Tai Strickland and Andre Washington finished with 14 points apiece for the Sharks (1-7).
No. 21 Texas A&M 89, DePaul 64
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Jace Carter scored 14 points and Wade Taylor IV and Henry Coleman III added 13 each as Texas A&M raced to a 32-point halftime lead and cruised past DePaul.
The Aggies made 14 3-pointers, which is tied for second-most in school history.
Texas A&M (7-2) led 62-30 at halftime for its most points in a first half since scoring 65 against Grambling in 2006.
Hayden Hefner added 10 points and Andersson Garcia scored nine for the Aggies.
DePaul (1-7) was led by Chico Carter Jr., who had 21 points. The Blue Demons lost their fifth straight and for the seventh time in eight games this season.
No. 24 Clemson 72, South Carolina 67
CLEMSON, S.C. — Chauncey Wiggins scored 13 of his career high 15 points in the second half and Ian Schieffelin had 12 points and 12 rebounds in Clemson’s win.
The game marked the first time in the 173-game series between the instate rivals — dating to the 1912-13 season — that both teams went in 7-0.
Schieffelin hit a 3-pointer, grabbed a rebound on the other end and then threw down a contested two-hand dunk in a 29-second span to give Clemson a 59-56 lead with 4:53 to play. Schieffelin’s steal led to a Chase Hunter layup with 3:04 left. After PJ Hall missed the second of two free throws, Schieffelin sent the offensive rebound to Hunter who gave the Tigers a 65-59 lead with 1:52 remaining.
Hall had 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, Joseph Girard III added 12 points for Clemson (8-0) and Hunter scored all of his 10 points in the second half.
Meechie Johnson hit 6 of 10 from 3-point range and led South Carolina with 26 points. B.J. Mack had 10 points and seven rebounds and Stephen Clark — who left the game due to an injury with about 7 minutes to play and did not return — also scored 10.