Agbaji leads No. 3 KU to win
NEW YORK — Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 29 points and No. 3 Kansas beat Michigan State 87-74 on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on the opening night of college basketball.
Remy Martin added 15 points and David Mccormack had 10 for the Jayhawks, who returned four starters from last season’s squad that lost to USC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
A.J. Hoggard scored 17 points and Julius Marble added 13 for the Spartans, who received the most votes outside the Top 25 in the preseason poll.
No. 4 Villanova 91, Mount St. Mary’s 51
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Collin Gillespie scored 13 points in his first game since suffering a torn MCL in his left knee, and Villanova beat Mount St. Mary’s.
Justin Moore hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 27 points for the Big East favorite Wildcats. Brandon Slater and Jermaine Samuels each added 17.
Malik Jefferson led the Mountaineers with 13 points.
No. 7 Purdue 96, Bellarmine 67
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Sasha Stefanovic made 5 of 6 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead Purdue past Bellarmine.
Zach Edey added 16 points, Isaiah Thompson had 15 points, Brandon Newman 14 and Jaden Ivey 11 for the Boilermakers.
C.J. Fleming and Dylan Penn each scored 14 points for Bellarmine.
No. 13 Oregon 83, Texas Southern 66
EUGENE, Ore. — Will Richardson scored 20 points to lead Oregon past Texas Southern.
De’vion Harmon added 15 points and Jacob Young had 14 for the Ducks, who led by as many as 23 points in the second half.
John Walker III led the Tigers with 19 points and PJ Henry had 10.
No. 15 Houston 83, Hofstra 75 (OT)
HOUSTON — Marcus Sasser scored 25 points, Taze Moore added 12 and No. 15 Houston rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat Hofstra in overtime.
No. 16 Arkansas 74, Mercer 61
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — JD Notae scored 30 points as Arkansas rallied past Mercer.
Arkansas was down eight points at halftime but went on a 14-2 run to start the second half.
Kamar Robertson and James Glisson III scored 12 points each for Mercer.
No. 17 Ohio State 67, Akron 66
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Zed Key hit a layup with less than a second left to lift Ohio State past Akron.
Ali Ali hit a step-back 3-pointer and a foul shot to put Akron up 66-65 with 6 seconds left in a game that was tied six times in the second half.
The Buckeyes inbounded the ball after a timeout, and freshman Malaki Branham got it inside to Key, who banked it in to seal the win.
E.J. Liddell led Ohio State with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but fouled out on Ali’s late 3-pointer. Key had a career-high 14 points.
No. 18 Tennessee 90, Tenn.-martin 62
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi each scored 20 points, leading Tennessee past Tennessee-martin.
Chandler, regarded as the top high school point guard in the country last year, shot 7 for 10 from the field and had four assists.
KK Curry scored 15 points to lead the Skyhawks.
No. 19 N. Carolina 83, Loyola (Md.) 67
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Caleb Love scored 22 points and North Carolina led the whole way in Hubert Davis’ coaching debut.
No. 21 Maryland 83, Quinnipiac 69
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Eric Ayala scored 13 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, and Maryland beat Quinnipiac.
No. 22 Auburn 77, Morehead State 54
AUBURN, Ala. — Wendell Green Jr. scored 19 points and fellow transfer K.D. Johnson added 12 points off the bench to lead Auburn past Morehead State.
No. 23 St. Bonny 75, Siena 47
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes scored 17 points apiece and No. 23 St. Bonaventure overcame a sluggish start to beat Siena.
No. 24 Uconn 99, Central Conn. 48
STORRS, Conn. — Adama Sanogo scored 20 points and Uconn routed Central Connecticut.
WOMEN No. 1 S.carolina 66, No. 5 N.C. State 57
RALEIGH, N.C. — Zia Cooke scored 17 points and top-ranked South Carolina never trailed in its win over No. 5 North Carolina State on Tuesday night, earning an impressive road win in a marquee season-opening matchup of Final Four contenders.
No. 7 Baylor 77, Texas State 70
WACO, Texas — Preseason AP All-america forward Nalyssa Smith scored 23 points, Queen Egbo had a double-double and Baylor beat Texas State in the Bears’ first game with new coach Nicki Collen.
No. 9 Iowa 93, New Hampshire 50
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark had 26 points and Monika Czinano added 14 points as Iowa opened the season with a win over New Hampshire.
No. 11 Michigan 67, IUPUI 62 (OT)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Naz Hillmon scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Leigha Brown added 18 points and Michigan held off IUPUI in overtime.
No. 13 Kentucky 81, Presbyterian 53
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Dre’una Edwards scored 20 points, Treasure Hunt added 18 off the bench and Kentucky overcame a slow start to defeat Presbyterian.
No. 16 Florida St. 78, North Florida 50
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Bianca Jackson scored 13 points, freshman Makayla Timpson added 10 in her collegiate debut and Florida State beat North Florida.
No. 17 Ga.tech 74, Central Michigan 40
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Digna Strautmane and Derea Hermosa combined for 37 points on 17-of20 shooting and Georgia Tech rolled over Central Michigan.
No. 22 Arizona 87, CS Northridge 44
TUCSON, Ariz. — Cate Reese and Aaronette Vonleh both scored 14 points as Arizona coasted over Cal State Northridge.
No. 24 Va. Tech 76, Davidson 57
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Aisha Sheppard hit 7-of-10 3-pointers and scored 25 points to lead Virginia Tech over Davidson.
No. 25 Texas 131, New Orleans 36
AUSTIN, Texas — Kydall Hunter hit seven 3-pointers in her collegiate debut as Texas routed New Orleans.