Category: NCAA Basketball

Freshman Jack Benter came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 20 points, and Fletcher Loyer added 19 points to lead No. 5 Purdue to a 101-60 rout of Kent State on Monday night. Trey Kaufman-Renn had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Braden Smith had 12 points and eight assists for the Boilermakers (12-1) in their nonconference finale.

Tyler Tanner scored the first five points of the game and finished with 23 as 11th-ranked Vanderbilt never trailed and routed New Haven 96-53 Monday night. The Commodores came into their nonconference finale the Southeastern Conference's only undefeated team and one of only six still unbeaten. Jalen Washington added 21 points off the bench for Vanderbilt.

Alex Condon scored 17 points, Rueben Chinyelu notched his seventh double-double of the season and No. 22 Florida capped its nonconference schedule with a 94-72 victory against Dartmouth on Monday night. The defending national champion Gators (9-4) built a 32-point lead in the second half and cruised from there despite allowing the Big Green (5-7) to make 12 shots from 3-point range. Florida had five players score in double figures and closed 2025 with a fourth consecutive victory, the last one coming in the program’s first meeting with Dartmouth.

Jake Davis hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and Keaton Wagler had 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as No. 20 Illinois closed out its non-conference schedule with a 90-55 win over Southern on Monday.

Bennett Stirtz scored 22 points as No. 25 Iowa finished the nonconference part of its schedule with a 90-62 win over UMass Lowell on Monday. Iowa (11-2), which moved into The Associated Press Top 25 last week for the first time since the third week of the 2022-23 season, is off to its best start since the 2020-21 team opened 12-2. The Hawkeyes went 10-1 in nonconference play.

Oluchi Okananwa scored a career-high 28 points, and seventh-ranked Maryland scored the first 14 points Monday in a 97-59 rout of Wisconsin in its Big Ten home opener. The Terrapins (14-0, 2-0) overwhelmed the Badgers (9-4, 1-1) with their size advantage and secured a 51-28 rebounding advantage. Yarden Garzon and Addi Mack both had 15 points for Maryland, which has won each of its 11 home games by at least 16 points.

Michigan keeps hold of the No. 1 spot in the USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll and Duke rises in the final rankings of the 2025 calendar year.

Tom Izzo and No. 9 Michigan State basketball have one final nonconference game against Cornell on Monday, Dec. 29, before Big Ten play resumes.

As 2025 ends and conference play begins, it's time to assess who has put themselves in a great spot to make the Final Four.

Reserve Tyon Grant-Foster had 18 points and four blocks, and Braeden Smith and Davis Fogle scored 15 points apiece to lead No. 7 Gonzaga to a 96-56 win over Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams Sunday night. Gonzaga (13-1), in its last West Coast Conference season before moving to the Pac-12 next season, displayed the same dominance that helped it win 26 WCC titles. The Bulldogs seemingly dunked and scored at will in winning their sixth straight game since their only loss of the season, against Michigan on Nov. 26.

Reserve Tyon Grant-Foster had 18 points and four blocks, and Braeden Smith and Davis Fogle scored 15 points apiece to lead No. 7 Gonzaga to a 96-56 win over Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams Sunday night. Gonzaga (13-1), in its last West Coast Conference season before moving to the Pac-12 next season, displayed the same dominance that helped it win 26 WCC titles. The Bulldogs seemingly dunked and scored at will in winning their sixth straight game since their only loss of the season, against Michigan on Nov. 26.

Marquette announced Sunday that the junior guard wouldn’t be returning to the team. The 6-foot-5 guard had averaged 8.1 points and 2.9 rebounds this season.

Sarah Strong scored 15 points, Azzi Fudd added 13 and No. 1 UConn extended its winning streak to 29 games with a 94-47 victory over Butler on Sunday. UConn (13-0, 4-0 Big East Conference), the defending national champion, has not lost a game since an 80-76 defeat at then-No. 19 Tennessee on Feb. 6, and has won 51 straight against Big East opponents. The Huskies are off to their best start since 2017-18, when they won their first 36 games before a 91-89 overtime loss to Notre Dame in the national championship game.

Christian Anderson scored 29 points, including Texas Tech’s final 16 in the first half, and the 15th-ranked Red Raiders stretched their non-conference home winning streak to 46 games with an 87-57 victory over Winthrop.

Tessa Johnson and Madina Okot each scored 18 points to lead third-ranked South Carolina over Providence 96-55 on Sunday, but the Gamecocks also lost guard Ta’Niya Latson to injury.