Derrick Walker recorded 22 points and eight rebounds and Sam Griesel added 18 and 12, respectively, to fuel visiting Nebraska to a 63-53 victory over No. 7 Creighton on Sunday in Omaha, Neb.
Walker made 11 of 16 shots from the floor to send the Cornhuskers (6-3) to their third straight win and first in Omaha since the 2003-04 season. Griesel, who was born in Lincoln, Neb., added seven assists and Juwan Gary collected 12 points and nine rebounds.
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Bluejays reserve Francisco Farabello sank five 3-pointers to highlight his 16-point performance off the bench. Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman each had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Creighton (6-3), which has dropped three in a row.
Walker took over with just over five minutes to play in the second half. He had three straight layups and answered Gary’s layup with another bucket to stake Nebraska to a 57-45 lead with 2:22 to play.
No. 4 Arizona 81, Cal 68
Azuolas Tubelis had 25 points and 12 rebounds as the host Wildcats survived poor 3-point shooting and struggled to put away the winless Bears before posting a double-digit victory.
The Wildcats (7-1, 1-1 Pac-12) mostly relied on Tubelis and Ballo to control the paint. Ballo had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, although he struggled from the free-throw line, hitting only 3 of 10 attempts.
Devin Askew scored 25 points for the Bears (0-9, 0-2), who posted a season high in scoring but continued the worst start to a season in school history. Lars Thiemann added 18 points.
No. 5 Purdue 89, Minnesota 70
Zach Edey piled up career highs of 31 points and 22 rebounds to guide the Boilermakers to a victory over the Golden Gophers during a Big Ten opener in West Lafayette, Ind.
The 7-foot-4 junior recorded a double-double in each half for the Boilermakers (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten), who used a 15-0 run late in the first half to assert their dominance. Fletcher Loyer added 20 points and eight assists and Brandon Newman posted 13 points off the bench.
Jamison Battle drilled 5 of 10 3-point attempts to finish with 21 points for Minnesota (4-4, 0-1). Ta’Lon Cooper notched 15 points and eight assists, but the Gophers were outrebounded 41-21 overall — and 22-21 by Edey alone.
No. 13 Tennessee 94, Alcorn State 40
Balanced scoring and a tenacious defensive effort helped the Volunteers overwhelm the Braves in Knoxville, Tenn.
Six players scored in double figures for Tennessee, including Olivier Nkamhoua, who dominated to the tune of 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. He also dished out six assists and was 7-for-7 from the line as the Vols (7-1) won their sixth consecutive game.
Julian Phillips poured in 18 points while Uros Plavsic made all six of his shots from the field on his way to 12 points. Jahmai Mashack racked up 13 points to go along with seven rebounds and four steals in his first career start for Tennessee, which made 33 field goals off 27 assists. Dominic Brewton led the Braves (3-6) with 10 points.
Virginia Tech 80, No. 18 North Carolina 72
Justyn Mutts scored 27 points as the Hokies upset the Tar Heels in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams in Blacksburg, Va.
Mutts shot 12 of 16 from the floor and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Hokies (8-1, 1-0 ACC), who won their third straight game. Sean Pedulla added 14 points for Virginia Tech, while Hunter Cattoor tallied 13 and Grant Basile chipped in 12.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Tar Heels (5-4, 0-1), who could fall out of the next AP Top 25 poll after being ranked No. 1 to start the season. The Tar Heels were led by RJ Davis, Caleb Love and Pete Nance, who had 18 points apiece. Nance also had 10 boards.
No. 19 Kentucky 73, Michigan 69
Cason Wallace and Jacob Toppin each scored 14 points to lead five players in double figures as the Wildcats edged the unranked Wolverines in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase game at London.
Oscar Tshiebwe battled foul problems but still posted his 44th career double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Sahvir Wheeler and Antonio Reeves scored 11 points each for the Wildcats (6-2).
Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines (5-3) with 23 points and added nine rebounds with three blocked shots. Jett Howard also was in double figures with 16 points, getting 10 of those in the second half after he played just over seven minutes of the opening half after picking up two early fouls. Kobe Bufkin had 11 points.
Northwestern 70, No. 20 Michigan State 63
Boo Buie scored 20 points to lead the Wildcats to a win over the Spartans in a Big Ten opener in East Lansing, Mich.
It was the first time Northwestern (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) recorded back-to-back wins over Michigan State (5-4, 0-1) since 1962. Chase Audige added 15 points for the Wildcats.
A.J. Hoggard and Mady Sissoko each scored 12 points for the Spartans, who lost their second straight.
No. 21 UCLA 65, Oregon 56
Amari Bailey and Jaylen Clark each scored 14 points and the Bruins rattled off eight straight points down the stretch to knock off the Ducks in a Pac-12 Conference contest in Los Angeles.
Jaime Jaquez added 12 points for the Bruins (7-2, 2-0 Pac-12) despite playing just 23 minutes after running into quick foul trouble in the first half. Tyger Campbell finished with 10 points despite making only 4 of 15 shots from the field.
Quincy Guerrier scored a game-high 15 points for the Ducks (4-5, 1-1) and Will Richardson added 13, but it wasn’t enough. Oregon committed 15 turnovers and was also dominated on the boards, getting outrebounded 36-25.
No. 23 Iowa State 71, St. John’s 60
Jaren Holmes scored 14 points and the Cyclones lived up to their defensive reputation in a wire-to-wire victory over the Red Storm in a Big East-Big 12 Battle in Ames, Iowa.
The Cyclones (7-1) entered fourth nationally in turnover margin (plus-8.1) and ninth in steals (11.4 per game) and excelled in both areas. The Cyclones forced 20 turnovers and notched 13 steals, marking the fourth time they forced at least 20 giveaways and the sixth time they registered double-digit steals.
Aljaz Kunc added 12 points and eight rebounds as Iowa State shot 42.9 percent and scored 34 points in the paint. Reserve Robert Jones added 11 while Osun Osunniyi contributed eight. Posh Alexander led the Red Storm (8-1) with 14 points but also committed eight turnovers, while Montez Mathis and Rafael Pinzon added 13 apiece.
–Field Level Media
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