Azubuike leads Kansas’ surge past West Virginia
Udoka Azubuike had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Devon Dotson and Marcus Garrett made crucial plays down the stretch, and third-ranked Kansas rallied to beat No. 16 West Virginia 60-53 in its Big 12 opener Saturday in Lawrence, Kan.
Dotson added 16 points and Garrett finished with 12 points and six assists for the Jayhawks (11-2), who won their 28th straight conference opener by overcoming a sluggish first half. Kansas trailed by as many as 10 before leaning on defense and dunks to beat the Mountaineers (11-2) for the seventh time in their last eight meetings.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 17 points and 17 rebounds for West Virginia, though almost all his production came during a big first half. Fellow freshman Miles McBride added 13 points, most of that coming as the Mountaineers tried to close the gap in the final minutes of their eighth consecutive loss in Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas won despite shooting 3 of 17 from beyond the arc — mostly because West Virginia wasn’t any better. The Big 12’s best defensive team couldn’t solve the Jayhawks’ own defense in the second half, when the Mountaineers shot 28 percent from the field and missed all of their 3-point attempts.
Villanova can’t stop Howard: Markus Howard scored 29 points and Marquette started the new year with a 71-60 upset of 10th-ranked Villanova in Milwaukee.
Howard, who entered the day as the nation’s top scorer at more than 25 points a game, added eight rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles (10-3, 1-1 Big East).
Cole Swider and Justin Moore each had 14 points for the Wildcats (10-2, 1-1), who had won their last six games.
The difference came at the foul line — Marquette made 26 of 30, Villanova 3 of 5.
Georgia stuns Memphis: Tom Crean and Georgia finally grabbed a win over an AP Top 25 team despite the Bulldogs’ two leading scorers struggling with their shot.
Rayshaun Hammonds had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Anthony Edwards added 13 points (with the duo hitting just 11 of 35 shots), as Georgia ended No. 9 Memphis’ 10-game winning streak, beating the host Tigers 65-62.
It was the first time the Bulldogs had defeated a top-10 team since 2011 and their first road win over a top-10 team since 2004.
Precious Achiuwa led the Tigers (12-2) with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
FSU earns key road win: M.J. Walker scored 23 points as 18th-ranked Florida State beat No. 7 Louisville 78-65 on the road.
The Seminoles (13-2, 3-1 ACC), who were 6 1⁄2-point underdogs, survived 32 points from Louisville’s Jordan Nwora.
But the Cardinals (11-3, 2-1) could not overcome 55.2% shooting by the Seminoles in losing their second straight.