Hoosiers up to challenge
OG Anunoby scored 16 points and James Blackmon Jr. had 14 Wednesday night, leading No. 13 Indiana past No. 3 North Carolina, 76-67 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers (5-1) have won two in a row since last week’s stunning loss to Fort Wayne.
The curse of No. 3 continues. With Kansas losing on opening night, Indiana’s upset last week and now the Tar Heels falling, three of the four teams ranked No. 3 this season have lost in their first appearance in that spot.
Blackmon injured his knee and Anunoby tried to play through an illness against Fort Wayne. This time, they helped Indiana start fast and fend off the Tar Heels’ second-half charges to close it out, though Anunoby was injured at the end of the game and needed help to get to the locker room.
North Carolina (7-1), which trailed for a total of 16 seconds during its fourgame trip to Hawaii, never led and spent most of the game trailing by double digits.
The Tar Heels were led by Justin Jackson with 21 points.
at No. 14 Louisville 71, No. 15 Purdue 64: Donovan Mitchell contributed seven critical points down the stretch to help the Cardinals escape with their first win since 1996 over the Boilermakers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Seeking a rebound from a second-half collapse against Baylor in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship when they lost a 22point lead, the Cardinals held Purdue to a season-low 36% shooting but needed key baskets in the final minutes as the Boilermakers cut a 51-33 deficit to four with 14.4 seconds left.
at No. 6 Virginia 63, Ohio State 61: London Perrantes scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and the Cavaliers overcame a sloppy performance and rallied for the victory in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Devon Hall added 12 points for the Cavaliers (7-0), who trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and didn’t take the lead for good until Marial Shayok’s baseline runner made it 59-57 with 1:58 remaining. The Buckeyes (6-1) trailed 63-61 when Shayok missed two free throws with 10.5 seconds left. Coach Thad Matta called a timeout with 6.5 seconds to play, but JaQuan Lyle couldn’t find an open teammate as the clock ran down and he launched a three-point try that missed badly.
at No. 16 Arizona 85, Texas Southern 63: Freshman Lauri Markkanen scored 19 points and made five three-pointers, helping the Wildcats bounce back from their first loss of the season. Arizona (6-1) was up 19 by halftime, cruising to its 37th straight nonconference win at McKale Center, but Wildcats guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright suffered a high right ankle sprain.
at No. 23 Oregon 93, Western Oregon 54: Preseason All-American Dillon Brooks scored 21 points and the Ducks (6-2) made nine of their first 12 shots and toyed with the Division II Wolves (4-4). Oregon scored the first seven points of the second half to cap an 18-0 run and pushed its lead to 51 with five minutes to play.
at No. 9 Baylor 79, Sam Houston State 45: The Bears remained unbeaten, jumping to a 10-0 lead as Sam Houston State missed its first 13 shots.