Tennessee sends Arizona to first loss

John Fulkerson had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 19 Tennessee overpowered No. 6 Arizona early and held on for a 77-73 win Wednesday night, sending the visiting Wildcats to their first loss.

Santiago Vescovi had 15 points, Josiah-Jordan James added 12 and Justin Powell scored 11 for the Volunteers (9-2).

Bennedict Mathurin had 14 of his 28 points in the first half. He was the only Arizona (11-1) starter to score in the first 20 minutes as Tennessee took a 34-21 lead. Kerr Kriisa scored 11 points for Arizona.

Tennessee hit seven of its first 11 shots and opened with a 16-2 advantage in the first five minutes. It took the Wildcats until the first four minutes of the second half to get back in the game. Arizona hit seven of nine shots to start the second half to cut the Volunteers’ lead to 44-40.

at No. 2 Duke 76, Virginia Tech 65:

Paolo Banchero, who scored 17 points in the second half, had 23 points and Duke (11-1) shot 62% after halftime to win its ACC opener.

at No. 12 Auburn 71, Murray State 58:

Wendell Green Jr. and Jabari Smith had double-doubles and Auburn won its eighth straight. Auburn (11-1) held Murray State to 28 points below its season average and outrebounded the Racers 48-33.

at No. 16 Texas 68, Alabama State 48:

Dylan Disu scored 14 points and made three blocks and Texas pulled away in the second half. Marcus Carr scored 13 for Texas, Andrew Jones had 12 and Timmy Allen produced 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

No. 20 Kentucky 95, at Western Kentucky 60:

Kellan Grady made six threepointers and scored a season-high 23 points, Oscar Tshiebwe grabbed a Rupp Arena-record 28 rebounds and Kentucky (9-2) used an 18-2 second-half run to blow out Western Kentucky.

at No. 25 Texas Tech 78, Eastern Washington 46:

Kevin Obanor had 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists without a turnover for Texas Tech. Adonis Arms and Bryson Williams each had 12 points for the Red Raiders (9-2), who rebounded from their loss Saturday to fourth-ranked Gonzaga. Kevin McCullar had 10 points and five assists.