Top 25 roundup: No. 23 Nebraska off to best start in school history

Jamarques Lawrence hit a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left to help No. 23 Nebraska beat No. 13 Illinois 83-80 in a Big Ten Conference game Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Ill.

Lawrence, who had 14 points, extended the Cornhuskers’ school-record win streak to 15 games. Nebraska (11-0, 2-0 Big Ten) is also off to the best start in school history.

Pryce Sandfort had 26 of his career-high 32 points in the first half, going 12 for 18 overall and 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Rienk Mast added 17 points for Nebraska, which shot 51.6% and made 12 of 26 3s to win at Illinois for the first time since 2016.

Illinois (8-3, 1-1) got 20 points from Kylan Boswell, while freshman Keaton Wagler had 19 points and a career-high 10 assists. Andrej Stojakovic added 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Fighting Illini rallied from double-digit deficits in both halves, tying it on a Tomislav Ivisic 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds remaining.

No. 1 Arizona 96, No. 12 Alabama 75

Freshman Brayden Burries scored a career-high 28 points, helping the Wildcats stay unbeaten in a 96-75 victory over the Crimson Tide in Birmingham, Ala.

Burries hit five 3-pointers and added seven rebounds for the Wildcats (9-0), who outscored Alabama 57-34 in the second half in their fifth ranked win of the season. Motiejus Krivas totaled 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Jaden Bradley had 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Labaron Philon Jr. tallied 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to lead Alabama (7-3), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Latrell Wrightsell scored 21 points for the Crimson Tide, who were outrebounded 52-32.

No. 2 Michigan 101, Maryland 83

Yaxel Lendeborg delivered 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as the Wolverines withstood a challenge from the Terrapins in a victory in College Park, Md.

Aday Mara made 8 of 10 shots, scoring 18 points as the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten) continued their perfect start, which includes wins over seven power conference teams. Elliot Cadeau added 12 points and 10 assists, directing a Wolverines offense that made 60.3% of its shots from the floor and 12 of 19 (63.2%) from 3-point range.

David Coit rained eight triples on his way to scoring 31 points for Maryland (6-5, 0-2), which made 14 of 27 (51.9%) of its shots from 3-point range and 49.2% overall. Myles Rice added 15 points for the Terrapins, who were hampered by the loss of top scorer and rebounder Pharrel Payne.

No. 6 Purdue 79, Marquette 59

Oscar Cluff made all nine of his shots, scoring 22 points as the Boilermakers rolled past the Golden Eagles in wire-to-wire fashion in West Lafayette, Ind.

Fletcher Loyer drained four triples, scoring 15 points for the Boilermakers (10-1), Braden Smith delivered seven points and 10 assists guiding a Purdue offense which made 53.6% of its shots from the floor and 7 of 23 (30.4%) from 3-point range.

Royce Parham scored a career-high 19 points and Chase Ross added 10 to pace Marquette (5-6), off to its worst start since 1990-91, when it opened 4-7. The Golden Eagles made 32.8% of their shots from the floor and 8 of 31 (25.8%) from 3-point range.

No. 7 Houston 99, New Orleans 57

Chase McCarty, Kingston Flemings, Chris Cenac Jr. and Mercy Miller scored 15 points each to lead a balanced offensive attack as the Cougars swamped the visiting Privateers.

The Cougars (10-1) led by 25 points late in the first half and by 21 at halftime as they set the table for their runaway victory. Houston pushed its lead to 46in the second half. The Cougars won their fourth in a row after their lone loss to then-No. 17 Tennessee on Nov. 25.

The Privateers’ MJ Thomas led all scorers and rebounders with 17 points and eight boards but was the only New Orleans (3-8) player in double figures.

No. 8 Gonzaga 82, No. 25 UCLA 72

Graham Ike scored 25 points and Braden Huff added 21 to lead the Bulldogs to a victory over the Bruins in Seattle.

Mario Saint-Supery added 12 points as the Bulldogs (10-1) notched their third straight win. Gonzaga is 5-1 against the Bruins over the past six seasons.

Tyler Bilodeau scored 24 points for UCLA (7-3), which had a two-game winning streak halted. Donovan Dent added 12 points, 10 assists, three blocked shots and two steals and Xavier Booker had 12 points for the Bruins.

No. 9 Michigan State 76, Penn State 72

Divine Ugochukwu scored a career-high 23 points in his first start of the season and saved the Spartans with two late 3-pointers in a win over the host Nittany Lions.

Ugochukwu made the most of his opportunity, finishing 5 for 5 from 3-point range to set another career high. Jaxon Kohler added 10 points and 12 rebounds and Carson Cooper had 10 points for Michigan State (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten).

Freddie Dilione V led upset-minded Penn State (8-3, 0-2) with a career-best 23 points. Kayden Mingo contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Nittany Lions and Ivan Juric added 10 points.

No. 10 BYU 100, UC Riverside 53

AJ Dybantsa scored 26 points, dished out seven assists, and collected eight rebounds to lead the Cougars to a victory over the Highlanders in Provo, Utah.

Richie Saunders added 19 points to help the Cougars (9-1) win their sixth straight game. Alexsej Kostic made five 3-pointers for a career-high 15 points and Khadim Mboup added career highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Keba Keita chipped in a game-high 11 rebounds.

Andrew Henderson led UC Riverside (5-6) with 14 points and BJ Kolly added 12.

No. 11 Louisville 99, Memphis 73

The Cardinals rode 12 first-half 3-pointers, including four from Adrian Wooley, to an easy win over the visiting Tigers.

The Cardinals placed three scorers into double digits by intermission after shooting 60.7% from the floor (17 of 28) and 54.5% from 3-point range (12 of 22). Louisville (9-1) was paced by Ryan Conwell, who had 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Mikel Brown Jr. added 16 points.

Memphis (4-5) was led by Hasan Abdul Hakim, who tallied 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting in only his third game this season for the Tigers after battling a quadriceps injury. Leading scorer Dug McDaniel added 16 points, with a dozen points coming in the second half. Sincere Parker tallied 12 points.

No. 14 North Carolina 80, South Carolina Upstate 62

Caleb Wilson’s 20 points and 11 rebounds carried the Tar Heels past the Spartans in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jonathan Powell produced 17 points off the bench, Luka Bogavac tallied 15 points, aided by three 3-point baskets, and Henri Veesaar added 14 points and nine rebounds as the Tar Heels (9-1) improved to 7-0 at home.

Learic Davis scored 14 points and Mason Bendinger posted 13 points for the Spartans (6-6), who had a two-game winning streak end. They shot 37.9% from the field and attempted just three free throws, making two of them.

No. 15 Vanderbilt 83, Central Arkansas 72

Tyler Nickel scored a career-high 30 points for the Commodores in a victory over the Bears in Nashville, Tenn.

Nickel hit eight 3-pointers and was 10-of-18 shooting from the floor. Tyler Tanner had 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Jalen Washington scored 12 for Vanderbilt (10-0), off to its best start since 2007-08.

Camren Hunter (18 points), Ty Robinson (14) and Javion Guy-King (13) paced the Bears (4-7).

No. 17 Arkansas 93, No. 16 Texas Tech 86

Trevon Brazille scored 26 points with 10 rebounds to lift the Razorbacks to a victory over the Red Raiders at Dallas to avenge a loss in the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Darius Acuff Jr. and Karter Knox each scored 20 points as the Razorbacks (8-2) took control with a 50-point second half. Brazile scored 18 points with eight rebounds in the second half and blocked a point-blank layup with 45 seconds remaining.

JT Toppin scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Texas Tech (7-3), which fell to 0-3 against ranked opponents this season. Christian Anderson scored 26 points with 11 assists for the Red Raiders.

No. 18 Florida 80, George Washington 70

Xaivian Lee scored a game-high 24 points and Thomas Haugh added 19, leading the Gators to a neutral-court win over the Revolutionaries in Sunrise, Fla.

Boogie Fland added 12 points for the Gators, who also got five points, a game-high nine rebounds and a game-high seven assists from Alex Condon. The Gators (6-4), the reigning national champs, broke a two-game losing streak, outscoring the Revolutionaries 18-4 on fastbreak points.

George Washington (8-4) lost its second straight game. The Revolutionaries were led by Trey Autry (15 points), Tyrone Marshall Jr. (14 points, three steals), and Rafael Castro (12 points, three steals).

No. 19 Kansas 77, NC State 76 (OT)

Melvin Council Jr. knocked down a career-best nine 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 36 points to lift the Jayhawks over the Wolfpack in overtime in Raleigh, N.C.

Council scored the Jayhawks’ final 13 points during regulation, then drilled a 3-pointer on Kansas’ first possession in overtime. He finished 13 of 27 from the floor and 9 of 15 from the 3-point arc. Kansas (8-3) also got a boost from Darryn Peterson, who finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Darrion Williams led the Wolfpack (7-4) with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Quadir Copeland piled up 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Ven-Allen Lubin had 16 points and 11 boards.

No. 21 Auburn 92, Chattanooga 78

Keyshawn Hall finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead the Tigers to a victory over the Moccasins at Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta.

Hall’s fifth double-double of the season helped the Tigers (8-3) bounce back from a loss last Saturday at then-No. 2 Arizona. Pettiford added 20 points for the Tigers, making 5 of 9 3-pointers.

Jordan Frison continued to pace Chattanooga (5-6) in scoring with 20 points and also had six assists and four rebounds. But it wasn’t enough to score the Mocs a signature win in what was their first game against a ranked opponent in coach Dan Earl’s tenure, which began with the 2022-23 season.

No. 22 St. John’s 91, Iona 64

Oziyah Sellers scored 19 points and the Red Storm pulled away down the stretch following a shaky start in a victory over the visiting Gaels at New York.

Ian Jackson added 14 points in his first start since the season opener for the Red Storm (6-3). Bryce Hopkins finished with 13 points and Josan Sanon had 12 of his 13 in the first half as the Red Storm shot 51.7% for the game.

CJ Anthony led Iona (8-4) with 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting. Toby Harris added 14 points as the Gaels shot 38.0% and stayed with St. John’s into the opening six minutes of the second half.

–Field Level Media