Top 25 roundup: No. 3 UNC handles No. 7 Duke
League: NCAA Basketball 
Posted on: 04 Feb, 2024 at 05:28 AM
Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Armando Bacot had one of his bigger games of the season with 25 points, and it came at an ideal time for No. 3 North Carolina as the host Tar Heels picked apart No. 7 Duke for a 93-84 victory Saturday night at Chapel Hill, N.C.
Harrison Ingram poured in 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first game against Duke, Atlantic Coast Conference scoring leader RJ Davis finished with 17 points and Seth Tremble had 10 points off the bench for the Tar Heels, who had a 10-game winning streak snapped earlier in the week in a one-point loss at Georgia Tech.
North Carolina (18-4, 10-1 ACC) stretched its conference lead by defeating the second-place team.
Jared McCain scored 23 points and Kyle Filipowski had a solid second half to end up with 22 points for Duke (16-5, 7-3). Jeremy Roach had 20 points and Mark Mitchell added 11 points.
No 1. UConn 77, St. John's 64
Cam Spencer scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half as the Huskies pulled away to defeat the host Red Storm in a matinee in New York.
Spencer had 10 points during a decisive run in the second half for UConn (20-2, 10-1 Big East), which extended its winning streak to 10 games despite playing without Alex Karaban. He was sidelined with an ankle injury sustained during Wednesday's 74-65 win over Providence.
Stephon Castle scored 21 points and Tristen Newton collected 18 points, 10 rebounds and a team-leading seven assists. Daniss Jenkins recorded 19 points, six assists and three steals for St. John's (13-9, 5-6), which has lost five of its last six games.
No. 5 Tennessee 103, No. 10 Kentucky 92
Zakai Zeigler matched his career best of 26 points and recorded a career-high 13 assists to help the Volunteers notch a victory over the Wildcats in Southeastern Conference play at Lexington, Ky.
Josiah-Jordan James also scored 26 points to set a career high for Tennessee (16-5, 6-2 SEC), which set a season best for points scored during the wire-to-wire victory.
Rob Dillingham established career highs of 35 points and six 3-pointers off the bench before fouling out for Kentucky (15-6, 5-4), which lost for the third time in four games.
No. 8 Kansas 78, No. 4 Houston 65
Hunter Dickinson recorded 20 points and eight rebounds to help the Jayhawks notch a victory over the Cougars in a Big 12 showdown at Lawrence, Kan.
Kevin McCullar Jr. had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and collected seven rebounds in his return from a one-game absence due to a bruised knee for Kansas (18-4, 6-3 Big 12). Johnny Furphy also had 17 points for the Jayhawks, who shot a stellar 68.9 percent from the field against the nation's top defensive team.
L.J. Cryer scored 24 points and made six 3-pointers for Houston (19-3, 6-3), which had a five-game winning streak halted. The Cougars entered Saturday allowing 52.9 points per contest while holding opponents to 35.5 percent shooting from the field.
No. 9 Marquette 91, Georgetown 57
The Golden Eagles welcomed Kam Jones back to the lineup and the junior left-hander delivered seven 3-pointers and a career-high 31 points in a victory over the Hoyas in Washington, D.C.
Tyler Kolek recorded 17 points and eight assists while David Joplin scored 15 points as the Golden Eagles (17-5, 8-3 Big East) won their sixth straight in completing a regular-season sweep of the Hoyas.
Oso Ighodaro added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Marquette, which outscored Georgetown 35-5 on points off turnovers, including 21-0 in the first half.
No. 18 Baylor 70, No. 12 Iowa State 68
Jayden Nunn scored 16 points and knocked down a game-winning jumper with two seconds left as the Bears survived a thriller over the Cyclones in Waco, Texas.
RayJ Dennis finished with 18 points while Jalen Bridges scored 14 for Baylor (16-5, 5-3 Big 12), which had lost its past three games to Iowa State.
Keshon Gilbert poured in a game-high 24 points to help fuel the rally by Iowa State (16-5, 5-3), which was down 54-41 with 13:17 left in the game before putting together a 20-0 run.
Cincinnati 75, No. 15 Texas Tech 72
In a contest that was never separated by more than five points over the last 31 1/2 minutes, the Bearcats snatched a victory in Lubbock, Texas, for their second road win against a ranked Big 12 Conference opponent this season.
Simas Lukosius (team-high 16 points) drove around the defense and dropped in a mid-range jump shot with 21 seconds to go for the go-ahead basket for Cincinnati (15-7, 4-5). After Red Raiders guard Pop Isaacs (game-high 22 points) missed a short bank shot with nine seconds to go, John Newman III added an exclamation point on a fast-break slam dunk.
Isaacs gave Texas Tech (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) a 72-71 lead with 35 seconds on the clock when he heaved up a desperation 3-pointer and buried it to beat the shot clock, the last of his 22 points.
No. 16 Auburn 91, Mississippi 77
Johni Broome scored all 15 of his points in the second half and the Tigers surged past the Rebels in Oxford, Miss.
Auburn (18-4, 7-2 SEC) easily overcame a nine-point halftime deficit by outscoring Ole Miss (18-4, 5-4) 56-33 in the second half. Auburn's bench outscored the Rebels' bench 36-8 for the game.
Allen Flanigan scored 20, Matthew Murrell had 18, Jaemyn Brakefield had 15 and Moussa Cisse 12 for Ole Miss, which lost at home for the first time this season after 13 wins.
San Diego State 81, No. 17 Utah State 67
Jaedon LeDee had 16 points and nine rebounds to help the host Aztecs post a win against the Aggies in a Mountain West game.
Jay Pal scored a season-high 16 points and Micah Parrish scored 14 off the bench for San Diego State (17-5, 6-3 MW), which has won 17 straight at home and 10 in a row at home against Utah State.
Great Osobor had a team-high 17 points, Mason Falslev added 16 points and Darius Brown II scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half for the Aggies (19-3, 7-2).
No. 20 Florida Atlantic 102, Tulsa 70
Johnell Davis tallied 24 points and five rebounds, Alijah Martin had 16 points and nine boards, and the Owls blew past the Golden Hurricane Saturday night in Boca Raton, Fla.
Davis, who sank North Texas with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer Sunday in the Owls' previous game, went 8-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-4 from deep, and also drilled all five of his free-throw attempts.
The AAC's second-leading scorer and top-scoring freshman in the nation, PJ Haggerty, produced 25 points, four rebounds and four assists for Tulsa (12-9, 3-6).
No. 22 BYU 86, West Virginia 73
Fousseyni Traore tallied 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Cougars over the Mountaineers in Morgantown, W.Va.
Richie Saunders scored 17 points, Spencer Johnson added 15 and Jaxson Robinson chipped in 12 for BYU (16-5, 4-4 Big 12). Dallin Hall dished out a career-high 12 assists.
Kerr Kriisa led West Virginia (8-14, 3-6) with 23 points. Jesse Edwards tallied 16 points and RaeQuan Battle tacked on 14 as West Virginia lost for the third time in four games.
UCF 74, No. 23 Oklahoma 63
Jaylin Sellers scored 20 points to lead the Knights to a win over the Sooners in Orlando, Fla.
It marked the 300th career Division I victory for head coach Johnny Dawkins, and the Knights (13-8, 4-5 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Sooners (16-6, 4-5) have dropped three of their last four.
No. 24 Alabama 99, Mississippi State 67
Mark Sears scored 21 points and the Crimson Tide remained atop the Southeastern Conference by squashing the visiting Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Aaron Estrada added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Crimson Tide (16-6, 8-1 SEC), while reserves Jarin Stevenson and Mouhamed Dioubate each tallied 14 points.
Tolu Smith III scored a game-high 23 points for Mississippi State (14-8, 3-6), while Shakeel Moore added 13 and Shawn Jones Jr. hit for 10 points.
Texas 77, No. 25 TCU 66
Max Abmas hit back-to-back 3-pointers as part of a personal 11-0 run in crunch time as the visiting Longhorns made all the plays in the final minutes to beat the Horned Frogs in a key Big 12 dustup in Fort Worth, Texas.
Texas (15-7, 4-5 Big 12) led by 11 points at halftime before the Horned Frogs rallied to take a brief lead with nine minutes to play. The game was tied at 64 after a pair of free throws by TCU's Emanuel Miller with 3:53 left.
That's when Abmas took charge en route to a 21-point effort as the Longhorns snapped a two-game skid. Miller led TCU (16-6, 5-4) with 15 points while Avery Anderson III scored 13 and JaKobe Coles and Trevian Tennyson added 10 apiece.
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Harrison Ingram poured in 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first game against Duke, Atlantic Coast Conference scoring leader RJ Davis finished with 17 points and Seth Tremble had 10 points off the bench for the Tar Heels, who had a 10-game winning streak snapped earlier in the week in a one-point loss at Georgia Tech.
North Carolina (18-4, 10-1 ACC) stretched its conference lead by defeating the second-place team.
Jared McCain scored 23 points and Kyle Filipowski had a solid second half to end up with 22 points for Duke (16-5, 7-3). Jeremy Roach had 20 points and Mark Mitchell added 11 points.
No 1. UConn 77, St. John's 64
Cam Spencer scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half as the Huskies pulled away to defeat the host Red Storm in a matinee in New York.
Spencer had 10 points during a decisive run in the second half for UConn (20-2, 10-1 Big East), which extended its winning streak to 10 games despite playing without Alex Karaban. He was sidelined with an ankle injury sustained during Wednesday's 74-65 win over Providence.
Stephon Castle scored 21 points and Tristen Newton collected 18 points, 10 rebounds and a team-leading seven assists. Daniss Jenkins recorded 19 points, six assists and three steals for St. John's (13-9, 5-6), which has lost five of its last six games.
No. 5 Tennessee 103, No. 10 Kentucky 92
Zakai Zeigler matched his career best of 26 points and recorded a career-high 13 assists to help the Volunteers notch a victory over the Wildcats in Southeastern Conference play at Lexington, Ky.
Josiah-Jordan James also scored 26 points to set a career high for Tennessee (16-5, 6-2 SEC), which set a season best for points scored during the wire-to-wire victory.
Rob Dillingham established career highs of 35 points and six 3-pointers off the bench before fouling out for Kentucky (15-6, 5-4), which lost for the third time in four games.
No. 8 Kansas 78, No. 4 Houston 65
Hunter Dickinson recorded 20 points and eight rebounds to help the Jayhawks notch a victory over the Cougars in a Big 12 showdown at Lawrence, Kan.
Kevin McCullar Jr. had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and collected seven rebounds in his return from a one-game absence due to a bruised knee for Kansas (18-4, 6-3 Big 12). Johnny Furphy also had 17 points for the Jayhawks, who shot a stellar 68.9 percent from the field against the nation's top defensive team.
L.J. Cryer scored 24 points and made six 3-pointers for Houston (19-3, 6-3), which had a five-game winning streak halted. The Cougars entered Saturday allowing 52.9 points per contest while holding opponents to 35.5 percent shooting from the field.
No. 9 Marquette 91, Georgetown 57
The Golden Eagles welcomed Kam Jones back to the lineup and the junior left-hander delivered seven 3-pointers and a career-high 31 points in a victory over the Hoyas in Washington, D.C.
Tyler Kolek recorded 17 points and eight assists while David Joplin scored 15 points as the Golden Eagles (17-5, 8-3 Big East) won their sixth straight in completing a regular-season sweep of the Hoyas.
Oso Ighodaro added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Marquette, which outscored Georgetown 35-5 on points off turnovers, including 21-0 in the first half.
No. 18 Baylor 70, No. 12 Iowa State 68
Jayden Nunn scored 16 points and knocked down a game-winning jumper with two seconds left as the Bears survived a thriller over the Cyclones in Waco, Texas.
RayJ Dennis finished with 18 points while Jalen Bridges scored 14 for Baylor (16-5, 5-3 Big 12), which had lost its past three games to Iowa State.
Keshon Gilbert poured in a game-high 24 points to help fuel the rally by Iowa State (16-5, 5-3), which was down 54-41 with 13:17 left in the game before putting together a 20-0 run.
Cincinnati 75, No. 15 Texas Tech 72
In a contest that was never separated by more than five points over the last 31 1/2 minutes, the Bearcats snatched a victory in Lubbock, Texas, for their second road win against a ranked Big 12 Conference opponent this season.
Simas Lukosius (team-high 16 points) drove around the defense and dropped in a mid-range jump shot with 21 seconds to go for the go-ahead basket for Cincinnati (15-7, 4-5). After Red Raiders guard Pop Isaacs (game-high 22 points) missed a short bank shot with nine seconds to go, John Newman III added an exclamation point on a fast-break slam dunk.
Isaacs gave Texas Tech (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) a 72-71 lead with 35 seconds on the clock when he heaved up a desperation 3-pointer and buried it to beat the shot clock, the last of his 22 points.
No. 16 Auburn 91, Mississippi 77
Johni Broome scored all 15 of his points in the second half and the Tigers surged past the Rebels in Oxford, Miss.
Auburn (18-4, 7-2 SEC) easily overcame a nine-point halftime deficit by outscoring Ole Miss (18-4, 5-4) 56-33 in the second half. Auburn's bench outscored the Rebels' bench 36-8 for the game.
Allen Flanigan scored 20, Matthew Murrell had 18, Jaemyn Brakefield had 15 and Moussa Cisse 12 for Ole Miss, which lost at home for the first time this season after 13 wins.
San Diego State 81, No. 17 Utah State 67
Jaedon LeDee had 16 points and nine rebounds to help the host Aztecs post a win against the Aggies in a Mountain West game.
Jay Pal scored a season-high 16 points and Micah Parrish scored 14 off the bench for San Diego State (17-5, 6-3 MW), which has won 17 straight at home and 10 in a row at home against Utah State.
Great Osobor had a team-high 17 points, Mason Falslev added 16 points and Darius Brown II scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half for the Aggies (19-3, 7-2).
No. 20 Florida Atlantic 102, Tulsa 70
Johnell Davis tallied 24 points and five rebounds, Alijah Martin had 16 points and nine boards, and the Owls blew past the Golden Hurricane Saturday night in Boca Raton, Fla.
Davis, who sank North Texas with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer Sunday in the Owls' previous game, went 8-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-4 from deep, and also drilled all five of his free-throw attempts.
The AAC's second-leading scorer and top-scoring freshman in the nation, PJ Haggerty, produced 25 points, four rebounds and four assists for Tulsa (12-9, 3-6).
No. 22 BYU 86, West Virginia 73
Fousseyni Traore tallied 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Cougars over the Mountaineers in Morgantown, W.Va.
Richie Saunders scored 17 points, Spencer Johnson added 15 and Jaxson Robinson chipped in 12 for BYU (16-5, 4-4 Big 12). Dallin Hall dished out a career-high 12 assists.
Kerr Kriisa led West Virginia (8-14, 3-6) with 23 points. Jesse Edwards tallied 16 points and RaeQuan Battle tacked on 14 as West Virginia lost for the third time in four games.
UCF 74, No. 23 Oklahoma 63
Jaylin Sellers scored 20 points to lead the Knights to a win over the Sooners in Orlando, Fla.
It marked the 300th career Division I victory for head coach Johnny Dawkins, and the Knights (13-8, 4-5 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Sooners (16-6, 4-5) have dropped three of their last four.
No. 24 Alabama 99, Mississippi State 67
Mark Sears scored 21 points and the Crimson Tide remained atop the Southeastern Conference by squashing the visiting Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Aaron Estrada added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Crimson Tide (16-6, 8-1 SEC), while reserves Jarin Stevenson and Mouhamed Dioubate each tallied 14 points.
Tolu Smith III scored a game-high 23 points for Mississippi State (14-8, 3-6), while Shakeel Moore added 13 and Shawn Jones Jr. hit for 10 points.
Texas 77, No. 25 TCU 66
Max Abmas hit back-to-back 3-pointers as part of a personal 11-0 run in crunch time as the visiting Longhorns made all the plays in the final minutes to beat the Horned Frogs in a key Big 12 dustup in Fort Worth, Texas.
Texas (15-7, 4-5 Big 12) led by 11 points at halftime before the Horned Frogs rallied to take a brief lead with nine minutes to play. The game was tied at 64 after a pair of free throws by TCU's Emanuel Miller with 3:53 left.
That's when Abmas took charge en route to a 21-point effort as the Longhorns snapped a two-game skid. Miller led TCU (16-6, 5-4) with 15 points while Avery Anderson III scored 13 and JaKobe Coles and Trevian Tennyson added 10 apiece.
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