NCAA Basketball News
Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 31 points, including two 3-pointers in overtime, and No. 23 Georgia kept up its high-scoring pace as the Bulldogs held off Auburn 104-100 on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for each team. Auburn's Keyshawn Hall made two of three free-throw attempts with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation. Kevin Overton rebounded the missed third attempt and sank a buzzer-beating jumper to send the game to overtime at 92-92.
The Friars trailed by nine in the second half before outscoring the Red Storm 22-7 over the final six minutes.
Stefan Vaaks scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half and Jamier Jones had 15 points and 10 rebounds to help lead Providence to a 77-71 victory against St. John’s on Saturday despite Zuby Ejiofor tying a career-high with 33 points.
JT Toppin had 23 points and 14 rebounds for his 39th career double-double, Christian Anderson had 19 points and a career-high 13 assists, and No. 15 Texas Tech beat Oklahoma State 102-80 on Saturday. LeJuan Watts finished just shy of Tech's third double-double of the game at 19 points and nine rebounds. Donovan Atwell had 15 points on five 3-pointers, and Jaylen Petty had 12 points on four 3s.
Aden Holloway tied a career-high with 26 points, Labaron Philon Jr. added 17 points.
Sam Lewis matched his career high with 23 points, Thijs De Ridder took over after halftime and No. 21 Virginia beat N.C. State 76-61 on Saturday. Lewis had 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting by halftime for the Cavaliers (12-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who never trailed three days after losing in triple overtime at Virginia Tech. Lewis helped Virginia go up 20 by halftime, then De Ridder took charge after the Wolfpack tried to rally.
Nebraska is 14-0 to start the season as it looks for the first NCAA tournament win in program history.
Thornton moved three points ahead of Jay Burson, who scored 1,756 from 1985-89. Jim Jackson (1989-92) is next with 1,785.
Oregon shot 49% from the floor (23 for 47), while Maryland shot 28% (18 for 65).
Nebraska's Rienk Mast and Jamarques Lawrence sent a message to the home fans after their victory Friday night over No. 9 Michigan State: Thanks for the support, but please quit storming the court. Fans poured onto the floor at the final buzzer to celebrate the 58-56 victory that extended the 13th-ranked Cornhuskers' program-best start to 14-0. “If you're the No. 13 against the No. 9 and you’re at home, in my opinion, you’re supposed to win that game,” Mast said.
Rienk Mast hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:51 left and finished with 19 points to lead No. 13 Nebraska to a 58-56 victory over No. 9 Michigan State on Friday night.
Michigan is off to its best start since it won 17 straight games to start the 2018-19 season. Jaden Brownell scored 16 points and Erza Ausar added 15 for the Trojans (12-2, 1-2), whose only previous loss was by eight points against Washington on Dec. 6. Chad Baker-Mazara, who came into the game averaging 21 points, was hampered by early foul trouble and finished with 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Tyon Grant-Foster made three straight baskets in overtime to give No. 7 Gonzaga its first lead since early in the first half, and the Bulldogs rallied for an 80-72 win over Seattle on Friday night in the first meeting between the cross-state programs since 1980. Braden Huff scored 28 points and Graham Ike added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (15-1, 3-0 West Coast Conference), who trailed by eight points at halftime and by 13 early in the second half. Gonzaga won its eighth straight game since being blown out by current No. 2 Michigan in the Players Era Festival in late November.
Milan Momcilovic made eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points, Joshua Jefferson had a triple-double and No. 3 Iowa State beat West Virginia 80-59 in its Big 12 opener Friday night. The Cyclones' 14-0 start matched the 2013-14 team for the best in program history. Iowa State broke open a close game late in the first half, going on a 20-7 run that Blake Buchanan started and finished with dunks.
Morez Johnson Jr. scored a career-high 29 points, including 17 in the first half, and No. 2 Michigan beat No. 24 Southern California 96-66 on Friday night.
