Purdue rallies past North Carolina State in OT
No. 1 Purdue 82, North Carolina State 72 (OT): Trevion Williams had a season-high 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and a career-best nine assists to help Purdue (9-1) rally past North Carolina State (7-3) in overtime Sunday in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational in New York.
Jaden Ivey added 22 points for the Boilermakers, who had to rally from 13 down midway through the second half to win this one. And Purdue never led in regulation, taking its first lead Sasha Stefanovic’s 3-pointer 15 seconds into the extra period.
Stefanovic also hit a driving layup with 21.5 seconds left to force the overtime, ultimately helping Purdue bounce back from a last-second loss at Rutgers in the program’s first-ever week atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.
Freshman Terquavion Smith scored a season-high 21 points for the Wolfpack, who had a prime chance to earn the program’s first win against a top-ranked opponent in nearly nine years.
Dereon Seabron added 18 points, including a driving basket over Williams that pushed N.C.
State to a 66-64 lead with 31.7 seconds left in regulation – only to see Stefanovic answer with the OT-forcing basket.
No. 2 Baylor 57, No. 6 Villanova 36: James Akinjo had 16 points with seven rebounds and host Baylor (9-0) defensively dominated Villanova (7-3) for a victory that’s likely to put the defending national champion Bears in the top spot in the new poll.
The Bears never trailed in their first nonconference home game ever against a top-six opponent, this one a rematch of an NCAA Sweet 16 game last March in Indianapolis. This Big East/Big 12 Battle matchup featured the teams that won three of the last five NCAA titles.
Villanova shot only 22% (12 of 54) and had several extended scoring droughts while being held to its fewest points in 689 games under coach Jay Wright, who is in his 21st season. Wright has won two NCAA titles, both in Texas – in Houston in 2016 and San Antonio in 2018.
Adam Flagler had 10 points as Baylor, which won its 15th game in a row dating to last season, shot 39% (22 of 56) and was held under 69 points for the first time this season. Jeremy Sochan had nine points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Justin Moore had 15 points for the Wildcats.
No. 16 USC 73, Long Beach State 62: Isaiah Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and host Southern California (10-0) pulled away at the beginning of the second half on its way to a victory over Long Beach State (3-7).
The Trojans continued their best start since the 2016-17 season, when they opened 14-0. Drew Peterson added 15 points and Max Agbonkpolo had 11 points for USC, and Mobley had his fourth double-double in five games.
Joel Murray led the Beach with 14 points. Colin Slater added 12 points and Romelle Mansel had 10 points, including three dunks in the second half, and seven rebounds. USC opened the second half on a 14-0 run, with six points from Mobley and five by Chevez Goodwin, to take a 52-38 lead.
Long Beach State missed its first six shots of that half before Slater hit a jumper. Mobley then dunked off Peterson’s assist, and Agbonkpolo tossed in consecutive 3-pointers that stretched USC’s lead to 13 points.
No. 17 Iowa State 47, Jackson State 37: T.J. Otzelberger became the first Iowa State coach to win his first 10 games with the team, guiding the host Cyclones past Jackson State (2-7).
The Cyclones improved 10-0 after ending last season with 18 straight losses. Iowa State beat Jackson State last Dec. 20, then didn’t win again in finishing 2-22.
Aljaz Kunc led Iowa State with 12 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 11.
Otzelberger saw a difference in the Cyclones coming off their emotional 73-53 win over Iowa on Thursday.
“That certainly wasn’t the game offensively we hoped it would be. We’re not going to apologize or worry about the things we didn’t do offensively,” he said. “I didn’t think we had the same hop in our step that we normally do.”
Jonas James scored 11 points for Jackson State.
Maryland 70, No. 20 Florida 68: Donta Scott scored on a leaning shot in the post with 16.8 seconds left, No. 20 Florida missed its final-play 3-pointer and Maryland (6-4) beat the Gators (7-3) in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational in New York.
Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell each scored 19 points for the Terrapins, who shot 49% and hit 8 of 13 3-pointers to snap a three-game skid. It also marked Maryland’s first win in two tries under interim coach Danny Manning, who took over Dec. 3 after the school announced Mark Turgeon had stepped down in what it described as a mutual decision.