Category: NCAA Basketball

Jalen Leach scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, Nick Martinelli added 20 points and Northwestern beat Pepperdine 68-50 on Friday night. Martinelli scored the final eight points of a 12-0 run at the end of the first half to put Northwestern ahead 31-16 before Pepperdine guard Jaxon Olvera made a 3-pointer to pull within 12 points at the break. Pepperdine twice got within 10 points in the second half, the last on a 3-pointer by Olvera with 14:02 left, but Northwestern scored on the following possession both times.

Joseph Tugler had 17 points off the bench, Emanuel Sharp added 16 points and No. 7 Houston beat Hofstra 80-44 on Friday night. Tugler finished 6 of 6 from the floor, and Sharp was 5 of 5 on 3-pointers as Houston (3-1) shot 47%, including 12 of 24 from 3. Terrance Arceneaux had 12 points off the bench as well for Houston, which won its 25th straight at home.

The U.S. men's basketball team is a step closer to next year’s AmeriCup tournament. Javonte Smart scored 20 points, Jahmi’us Ramsey added 18 and the U.S. rode a huge edge from 3-point range to beat Puerto Rico 108-66 in an AmeriCup qualifying game Friday. The Americans — winners in the debut of Stephen Silas as coach of the qualifying team — outscored Puerto Rico 51-6 on 3-pointers.

Kendall Bostic scored a career-high 31 points, Makira Cook scored 20 and No. 22 Illinois rolled to an 85-66 victory over Oregon State on Friday night. Bostic buried 15 of 18 shots from the floor and her only free throw for the Illini (5-0), who finished off a five-game homestand to begin the season. Cook sank 8 of 13 shots with two 3-pointers and handed out eight assists.

Reserve Caleb Grill scored 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting and Tamar Bates scored 11 points as Missouri overwhelmed Pacific 91-56 on Friday night. Reserve Trent Pierce added 10 points for Missouri (4-1) which made 14 of 30 3-pointers. Elias Ralph scored 19 points and Seth Jones 15 for Pacific (3-4).

Darrion Williams scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half and Texas Tech kept Syracuse at bay for a 79-74 victory in the third-place game of the Legends Classic on Friday. JT Toppin scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, Chance McMillian finished with 13 and Elijah Hawkins had 11 points and six assists for the Red Raiders (5-1). J.J. Starling was 9-of-15 shooting and scored 27 points and Chris Bell 22, making all 11 of his free throws, to lead the Orange (3-2).

Marcus Hill scored 19 points, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had 10 points and nine rebounds, and NC State beat William & Mary 81-58 on Friday night. NC State has started a season 5-0 for the first time since the 2018-19 team began 6-0. NC State was coming off a 72-49 win over Colgate on Monday, marking the first time the program has held an opponent under 50 points since a 65-48 win over Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 9, 2021.

RJ Luis Jr. scored 18 points, Kadary Richmond added 12 and No. 22 St. John’s bounced back from a buzzer-beating, double-overtime loss the night before to rout Virginia 80-55 in the consolation game of the Baha Mar Championship on Friday night. Deivon Smith added 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Red Storm. Elijah Saunders led the Cavaliers with 12 points.

Reserve Koby Brea scored 22 points to lead a hot shooting performance from No. 9 Kentucky in a 108-59 rout of Jackson State on Friday night. Brea, a Dayton transfer who led the country in 3-point shooting percentage last season at 49.8%, went 5 of 8 from long range and 8 of 11 overall. Kentucky shot 57.7% overall and 43.6% from deep.

Alijah Martin had a season-high 32 points with nine rebounds, five assists and two steals, and No. 21 Florida beat Southern Illinois 93-68 on Friday night to extend its home winning streak to 12. Martin went 11 of 19, including 8 of 13 from 3-point range, and drained four consecutive shots from behind the arc midway through the second half. The Gators (6-0) made a season-high 16 shots from 3-point range, their third consecutive game with double-digit treys.

Former Temple basketball standout Hysier Miller sat for a long interview with the NCAA as it looked into concerns about unusual gambling activity, his lawyer said Friday amid reports a federal probe is now under way.

Kyle Hayman scored 14 points and added five assists. Myles Jenkins went 4 of 6 from the field to finish with 10 points. The Hawks (0-7) were led in scoring by Abdi Bashir Jr., who finished with 30 points.

Zek Montgomery had 19 points in Bradley's 77-74 victory over Wright State on Friday night. Montgomery went 7 of 13 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range) for the Braves (5-1). Almar Atlason scored 12 points while shooting 4 for 7 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line.

John Mobley Jr. scored 23 points off the bench and all five Ohio State starters scored in double figures as the Buckeyes easily beat Campbell 104-60 on Friday night. Colin White dunked with 2:44 remaining to put Ohio State above 100 points for the first time since beating Penn State 106-74 on Dec. 7, 2019. Ohio State led 53-27 at halftime after making 11 of 13 from 3-point range (84.6%) and later pulled away on a 22-5 run midway through the second half for a 41-point lead.

John Blackwell scored 17 points, John Tonje added 15 and No. 19 Wisconsin rode a hot start to an 86-70 victory over UCF in the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Friday night. Kamari McGee added 14 points while Nolan Winter had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Badgers (6-0), who are off to their best start in six seasons. Jordan Ivy-Curry led UCF (4-1) with 13 points, and Keyshawn Hall and Dior Johnson scored 11 apiece.