Freshman’s threes help carry Auburn

SEC/TOP 25 MEN

NO. 2 AUBURN 94, VANDERBILT 80

AUBURN, Ala. — Freshman forward Jabari Smith scored a season-high 31 points and made seven three-pointers to lead No. 2 Auburn to a 94-80 victory over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.

Walker Kessler added 22 points to help the Tigers (242, 12-1 SEC) overcome a slow start against the Commodores (13-12, 5-8).

It was close most of the way but Vandy had no answer for Auburn’s two star big men.

The 6-10 Smith was 7 of 10 from three-point range while Kessler handled much of the work inside. Kessler blocked seven shots and had seven rebounds while shooting 8 of 10.

Auburn also got 12 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds from Wendell Green Jr.

Scotty Pippen Jr., the SEC’s leading scorer, almost kept pace with Smith. He led Vandy with 29 points and made 14 of 16 free throws. Jordan Wright scored 15.

The Commodores got off to a great start, scoring the first 11 points — with a technical against Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl as a bonus. The Tigers closed the gap with Smith’s 12 consecutive points.

The Tigers made 17 of 24 shots in the second half, a torrid 70.8%.

In other top 25 games Wednesday, Zach Edey had 14 points and eight rebounds, and No. 5 Purdue moved into first place in the Big Ten with a 70-64 victory over Northwestern. Capping a stretch of eight games in 21 days, the Boilermakers (23-4, 12-4) shot 45% from the floor and committed 14 turnovers — a sluggish performance by one of the country’s most efficient teams. But they held the Wildcats to 35% shooting and controlled the glass with a 39-34 rebounding advantage. … Kevin Obanor scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half and finished with 13 rebounds, as 11th-ranked

Texas Tech beat No. 7 Baylor 83-73, completing a regular-season series sweep of the reigning national champion Bears. Bryson Williams added 17 points for Tech (20-6, 9-4 Big 12). James Akinjo had 18 points and seven assists for Baylor (21-5, 9-4). … Cliff Omoruyi had 15 points, 13 rebounds and a reverse alley-oop dunk in Rutgers’ game-breaking run as the Scarlet Knights beat No. 12 Illinois 70-59 for their fourth consecutive win over a ranked team. The run is the longest in school history for the Scarlet Knights (16-9, 10-5 Big Ten). … Adama Sanogo had 20 points and 16 rebounds, and No. 24 UConn beat Seton Hall 70-65. Tyrese Martin had 16 points and 10 rebounds for UConn (187, 9-5 Big East), while R.J. Cole added 16 points. Seton Hall (15-9, 6-8) had won three of its last four games. … Jahvon Quinerly had 21 points and eight assists to lead No. 25 Alabama (17-9, 7-6 SEC) to a 80-75 win over Mississippi State

(14-11, 5-7). Iverson Molinar led the Bulldogs (14-11, 5-7) with 22 points.

WOMEN’S TOP 25

In women’s top 25 games Wednesday night, Rori Harmon scored 20 points and No. 14 Texas (18-6, 8-5 Big 12) beat No. 6 Iowa State 73-48, snapping the Big 12 leading Cyclones’ five-game win streak. … Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith both had double-doubles for the second game in a row and No. 7 Baylor extended its three-decade winning streak over

TCU with a 80-55 victory. Egbo had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and also had three blocked shots. Smith had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Lewis added 14 points for the Bears (20-5, 10-3 Big 12) and Ja’Mee Asberry had 11 points. TCU (6-16, 2-11) has lost 32 consecutive games against the Bears since 1990, and plays them again Saturday. … Vivian Gray scored 35 points to reach 2,000 in her career, Taylah Thomas had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Texas Tech beat No. 7 Oklahoma 97-87 to snap a seven-game losing streak.