Florida player who collapsed on court improving
Florida forward Keyontae Johnson, who collapsed on the court Saturday during a game at Florida State, continues to make “encouraging progress,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement on Twitter on Thursday.
Johnson, who was voted the preseason SEC Player of the Year, had scored five points to lead his team to an 113 advantage against Florida State. Following a TV timeout, he collapsed as he exited the team huddle.
Johnson soon was carried away on a stretcher and rushed to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where he was said to be in critical but stable condition. He was transferred Monday to UF Health in Gainesville, Fla.
By Tuesday, Johnson — who reportedly had been in a medically induced coma — was communicating with his doctors and his parents and FaceTimed with teammates.
Stricklin told a Gainesville radio station Wednesday that he visited Johnson in the hospital, saying that Johnson’s condition had been “really, really positive in the last 48 hours.”
Florida postponed its next three games while Johnson recovers and undergoes tests.
“This has been an emotionally taxing time for Keyontae’s family, friends and teammates,” Stricklin said on the team’s Twitter account. “Our hope is that everyone impacted will take an opportunity to process those emotions and regroup ahead of the start of the new year.”
Dons fall to Ducks
Eugene Omoruyi scored 19 points, Eric Williams Jr. added 16 and Oregon defeated visiting USF — which missed its first 10 shots in the second half — 7464 on Thursday night.
The Ducks scored the first 11 points of the second half to take a 5231 lead. The Dons used a 90 run to pull within six with 91 seconds to go but didn’t score again.
Chris Duarte and Amauri Hardy scored 11 points apiece for Oregon ( 51).
Raavi Jurkatamm led the Dons ( 54) with 15 points. Khalil Shabazz added 11 points and Jamaree Bouyea and Damari Milstead 10 apiece.
# 5 Kansas 58, # 14 Texas Tech 57:
Ochai Agbaji made the go- ahead layup with 13 seconds left and finished with 23 points as the visiting Jayhawks won their conference opener for the 30th season in a row. Agbaji made four 3- pointers and got the game- winning points for the Jayhawks ( 7- 1, 1- 0 Big 12) when he worked inside and took an inbound pass from Marcus Garrett. The Red Raiders ( 6- 2, 0- 1) had a chance to win, but Jalen Wilson blocked Terrence Shannon Jr.’ s shot to end the game.
# 9 Creighton 94, St. John’s 76: Marcus Zegarowski hit six 3- pointers and scored 20 points, Denzel Mahoney had 16 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 15 as the Bluejays ( 5- 2, 1- 1 Big East) defeated the host Red Storm ( 5- 4, 0- 3) in New York. Julian Champagnie had 17 points for St. John’s.
WOMEN No. 3 UConn rolls
Junior center Olivia Nelson Ododa was 9for9 from the floor en route to a 24point game and No. 3 UConn rolled to an 8047 win over visiting Creighton.
“I think the coaches have made the emphasis on just playing in a more relaxed state, definitely more calm,” Nelson Ododa said. “And I think not only just me, but as a team, that can really help us.”
Christyn Williams added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Huskies ( 30, 20) in their Big East home opener. Anna Makurat scored 12 points and freshman Paige Bueckers finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
UConn was playing its third game in six days after its first four games were postponed or canceled because of a positive coronavirus test in the program.
Emma Ronsiek scored 11 points for Creighton ( 24, 11), which lost starting guard Rachel Saunders to a knee injury in the first quarter.
Bueckers gave the Huskies their first doubledigit lead at 187 by following up her own miss. That was part of a 230 run over just under nine minutes that saw the Huskies take control of the game and stretch their lead to 337. UConn led 3612 at the half.
# 4 North Carolina State 79, Wake Forest 65: Jakia Brown- Turner scored 14 of her 23 points in the first quarter and the Wolfpack ( 7- 0, 2- 0 ACC) defeated the host Demon Deacons ( 4- 2, 1- 1). North Carolina State made 13 of 15 shots, including 6 of 6 from 3- point range, while racing to a 33- 14 lead late in the first quarter.
# 5 South Carolina 103, Temple 41: Zia Cooke scored 23 points as the host Gamecocks ( 5- 1) beat the Owls ( 0- 3). Cooke sparked a 7- 0 run late in the first quarter to break a 14- 14 tie and send the Gamecocks to their second straight victory since falling at home to North Carolina State two weeks earlier.