Oklahoma wins behind Young’s 44

Trae Young scored 31 of his 44 points in the second half to help No. 12 Oklahoma hold off Baylor 98-96 on Tuesday night in Norman, Okla.

Young, a freshman guard who leads the nation in scoring and assists, made 11 of 20 fieldgoal tries and 16 of 19 foul shots for the Sooners (16-5, 6-3 Big 12). He scored at least 40 points for the fourth time this season and the third time in the past six games.

Manu Lecomte scored 29 points for Baylor (12-10, 2-7).

#6 Xavier 73, St. John’s 68: Trevon Bluiett scored 14 points to lead the visiting Musketeers (20-3, 8-2 Big East) over the Red Storm (10-13, 0-11), who lost despite 31 points from Shamorie Ponds.

#11 Auburn 79, Mississippi 70: Bryce Brown scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to lead the visiting Tigers (20-2, 8-1 SEC), who beat the Rebels (11-11, 4-5) for the second time this season.

#17 Ohio State 71, Indiana 56: Jae’Sean Tate scored 16 points and the host Buckeyes (19-5, 10-1 Big Ten) took control early in cruising to a win. Devonte Green scored 20 for the Hoosiers (12-11, 5-6).

#20 Clemson 82, #19 North Carolina 78: Marcquise Reed had 20 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer after the Tigers wasted a 16-point lead, and Clemson (18-4, 7-3 ACC) ended a 10-game losing streak to the visiting Tar Heels (16-7, 5-5).

#21 Kentucky 83, Vanderbilt 81: Quade Green’s layup with five seconds remaining gave the host Wildcats (17-5, 6-3 SEC) an overtime victory over the Commodores (8-14, 2-7).

#22 Rhode Island 85, Massachusetts 83: Jeff Dowtin had 19 points and 10 assists, and the visiting Rams (18-3, 10-0 Atlantic 10) escaped with a win after the Minutemen (10-13, 3-7) botched an intentional missed foul shot in the final seconds.

Georgia 72, #23 Florida 60: Yante Maten scored 20 points and the host Bulldogs (13-8, 4-5 SEC) recovered after squandering a halftime lead to beat the Gators (15-7, 6-3).