No. 18 Baylor keeps focus in beating No. 12 Arizona
WACO — MaCio Teague heard the crowd with No. 18 Baylor at home and tipping off about the same time the Bears’ football team started the Big 12 championship game 100 miles north of campus.
It wasn’t hard for the sophomore guard to figure out which squad many of those fans were there to watch: 12th-ranked Arizona.
“It felt like a road game,” Teague said after scoring 19 points in the Bears’ 63-58 victory Saturday. “Especially when they did the, ‘U of, U of A,’ whatever they were doing. I heard it. It was pretty loud in there.”
Freddie Gillespie had 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Bears handed the Wildcats their first loss.
Admission was free at Baylor’s campus arena because of the Big 12 title game against Oklahoma at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
It was supposed to be the first true road game for the Wildcats (9-1), but their fans might have outnumbered the Baylor contingent. As Teague heard, they loudly chanted “U of A” before the Baylor introductions but had a hard time getting into the game early, with Arizona giving up a 15-0 run and shooting 33 percent in the first half.
“We hung in there,“Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “To have an opportunity late in the game … that’s what you really hope can happen on the road. It was just bizarre how we got to that point because it certainly wasn’t because of our offense.
The Bears (7-1) started hot in the fourth-ever Top 25 matchup in Waco but cooled off as well. Baylor shot 30 percent while the Wildcats, who came in fourth in the nation in scoring at 87.1 points per game, finished 18 points shy of their previous season low.
“We couldn’t buy many from deep and they couldn’t either,” coach Scott Drew said. “I credit the defense for really making it tough. When you got the looks, you weren’t in a rhythm.”
KANSAS 72, COLORADO 58
Ochai Agbaji scored 20 points and Devon Dotson added 18 points to lead the No. 2 Jayhawks at Lawrence, Kansas, and snapping the Buffaloes’ seasonopening seven-game winning streak
Holding leading scorer Tyler Bey scoreless from the field through the first half, Kansas (7-1) used a 9-0 run to build a 19-9 lead.
Colorado (7-1) shot 26.9 percent from the field in the first half.
TEXAS SOUTHERN 85 CONCORDIA 47
Yahuza Rasas had 17 points and 15 rebounds off the bench and the host Tigers defeated Concordia (Texas).
Reserves Chris Baldwin and Bryson Etienne had 16 and 10 points, respectively, for Texas Southern (3-6).
LAMAR 73, RICE 60
T.J. Atwood had 22 points as the host Cardinals beat the Owls.
V.J. Holmes had 13 points for Lamar (5-4), which earned its fourth consecutive home victory. Ellis Jefferson contributed 11 points and three steals for the Cardinals.
Drew Peterson had 19 points for the Owls (6-4). Ako Adams added 15 points.
SAMFORD 113 HOUSTON BAPTIST 90
Josh Sharkey had 18 points, 15 assists and five steals to lead the Bulldogs to a win at Houston.
Jalon Gates led the Huskies (0-7) with 20 points.
Samford improved to 6-5.
MARYLAND 59, ILLINOIS 58
Anthony Cowan Jr. made a free throw with 2.1 seconds left and the No. 3 Terrapins erased a 15-point deficit in the second half to rally past the Illini in the Big Ten opener for both teams at College Park, Md.
The Terrapins (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) matched their best start since winning 10 straight to open the 199899 season.
UTAH ST. 77, FRESNO ST. 70
Sam Merrill had 24 points and Abel Porter scored seven of his 13 in overtime as the No. 25 Aggies won at home.
KENTUCKY 83
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 52
EJ Montgomery scored a career-high 25 points, forward Keion Brooks added 15 off the bench and the No. 8 Wildcats won at Lexington, Ky., for the program’s 600th victory at Rupp Arena.
OHIO ST. 106, PENN ST. 74
Kaleb Wesson scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds, and the No. 6 Buckeyes won at home.
The Buckeyes scored 100 points against a Big Ten rival for the first time since 1991.
VILLANOVA 78, ST. JOSEPH’S 66
Saddiq Bey scored 22 points, Collin Gillespie had 20 and the No. 23 Wildcats won at Philadelphia.
MEMPHIS 65 ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM 57
Precious Achiuwa scored eight of his 14 points in the final 4 minutes to rally the No. 15 Tigers to a win at Birmingham, Ala.
Memphis (8-1) trailed 17-0 early and 40-26 at halftime before the second-half rally.
UAB’s own sensational freshman, Jalen Benjamin, scored 17 points, but the Blazers lost their third consecutive game.
OREGON 89, HAWAII 64
Payton Pritchard had 20 points and a season-high 11 assists, and the No. 13 Ducks won at home.
Eddie Stansberry led Hawaii (6-3) with 24 points, including a careerhigh seven 3-pointers.
BUTLER 76, FLORIDA 62
Aaron Thompson and Sean McDermott each scored 16 points to lead the No. 24 Bulldogs to a win over the Gators at Indianapolis.
Thompson made 6 of 7 shots and delivered seven assists for Butler (9-0).
Kerry Blackshear Jr. led Florida (6-3) with 17 points.
Women TEXAS SOUTHERN 63 RICE 56
Ciani Crylor scored 20 points to lead the host Tigers over the Owls.
Nancy Mulkey had a season-high 20 points for the Owls (4-4).
TEXAS A&M 74 OKLAHOMA ST. 62
Chennedy Carter scored a season-high 31 points, Kayla Wells added a season-best 22, and the No. 12 Aggies defeated the Cowgirls at College Station.
SOUTH CAROLINA 78 TEMPLE 71
Tyasha Harris scored 21 points as the No. 6 Gamecocks won at Philadelphia.
HOUSTON BAPTIST 72 LOUISIANA-MONROE 65
Megan Valdez-Crader scored 21 points to lead the Huskies to a win at Monroe, La.
UCLA 58 CAL. ST.-NORTHRIDGE 44
Michaela Onyenwere scored 23 points to lead the unbeaten No. 11 Bruins in a win at home.