Category: NCAA Basketball

Purdue set a trap for Texas Tech and had its most impressive surge of the season. Heck, maybe anyone’s most impressive surge of the season thus far.

The Minnesota Timberwolves had an eight-point lead with less than minute to go Friday night, talking a little smack to their opponents as a hard-fought, chippy game between Western Conference rivals came to a close. There was one problem: The Phoenix Suns weren't done. Backup guard Collin Gillespie hit the go-ahead jumper with 6.4 seconds left and the Suns rallied to stun the Timberwolves 114-113 for their seventh win in eight games.

Skyy Clark scored a season-high 22 points and Donovan Dent added 14 plus five assists as No. 19 UCLA remained perfect on its home court with an 86-46 victory over Presbyterian on Friday night. Brandon Williams had 11 points and seven rebounds as the Bruins (5-1) dominated without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, who sprained his left knee in practice this week. UCLA shot 62.7% from the floor, its best mark in seven seasons under coach Mick Cronin.

Pryce Sandfort scored 21 points and Reink Mast added 20 for Nebraska in an 86-85 victory over Kansas State on Friday night, winning the Hall of Fame Classic for the first time in program history.

Oscar Cluff had 15 points and 15 rebounds as No. 1 Purdue remained unbeaten with an 86-56 win over No. 15 Texas Tech on Friday night in the final of the Baha Mar Championship. Trey Kaufman-Renn had 12 points, Omer Mayer and Daniel Jacobsen each scored 11, and Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith and CJ Cox had 10 points apiece for the Boilermakers (6-0).

The Blue Devils continued to pour it on in the second half, scoring the first 10 points and pushing the lead to 58. NO. LOUISVILLE 74, CINCINNATI 64 CINCINNATI (AP) — Ryan Conwell scored 17 of his season-high 25 points in the second half, and Mikel Brown Jr. had 22 points as Louisville beat Cincinnati.

Deyton Albury scored 13 points for New Mexico, including the go-ahead layup with 30 seconds left in an 80-78 win over Mississippi State in the Hall of Fame Classic consolation game on Friday night.

Malique Ewin scored 21 points in 14 minutes off the bench to lead seven Arkansas players in double figures, and the 21st-ranked Razorbacks routed winless Jackson State 115-61 on Friday night. It was the most points Arkansas has scored in a game since 2015. Karter Knox had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Razorbacks (5-1), who shot 64% from the field and held Jackson State (0-5) to 34%.

Patrick Ngongba II had 17 points and eight rebounds, Cameron Boozer contributed 14 points, and No. 5 Duke routed Niagara 100-42 on Friday night. Isaiah Evans and Nikolas Khamenia both added 12 points for Duke, which shot 58% from the field to score 100 or more points for the third time this season. The Blue Devils (6-0) sank 17 of 33 3-pointers, including the first of Ngongba's career.

Collin Chandler and Kam Williams each scored 13 points to lead No. 12 Kentucky to an 88-46 win over Loyola of Maryland on Friday night. Coming off an 83-66 loss to No. 17 Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, the Wildcats (4-2) had little trouble with the Greyhounds (2-5). Kentucky opened with a 21-5 run and outscored Loyola 20-2 in the final eight minutes of the first half to lead 50-20 at the break.

Rueben Chinyelu had 14 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, Alex Condon recorded 20 points and 11 boards for his third double-double of the season, and No. 10 Florida overwhelmed Merrimack from the opening tip in an 80-45 victory Friday night. The world’s tallest teenager, 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux, got the loudest ovation of the night when he checked in with 2:26 to play. It was final November tune-up for the defending national champion Gators (4-1), who next play a Thanksgiving tournament on the West Coast and then have measuring-stick games against No. 5 Duke and third-ranked UConn.

Lansing State Journal's Graham Couch gives his initial thoughts on Michigan State basketball in a win over Detroit Mercy on Friday in East Lansing.

Coen Carr scored 11 points in the opening seven minutes and finished with 13, and Jeremy Fears had 18 points and 11 assists to lead No. 17 Michigan State to an 84-56 win over Detroit Mercy on Friday night. Michigan State, which beat then- No. 14 Arkansas two weeks ago, will likely play a third game against an AP Top 25 team when it faces No. 18 North Carolina on Thanksgiving in Florida. Carson Cooper scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half and Jaxon Kohler had nine of his 13 points after halftime, helping the Spartans coast to the lopsided win after getting off to a strong start.

The NCAA deemed Miller permanently ineligible after finding he placed 42 parlay bets totaling $473 on Temple games during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

Wisconsin struggled with prolonged shooting droughts, shooting just 32 percent from the field before halftime.