Top 25 roundup: SMU halts No. 12 UNC’s 7-game win streak

No. 1 Arizona 97, Utah 78

Jaden Bradley scored 18 points and Koa Peat added 17 to lead the unbeaten Wildcats over the Utes in the teams’ Big 12 opener in Salt Lake City.

Tobe Akawa tallied 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench to help Arizona (14-0) win its ninth straight game by double figures. Brayden Burries chipped in 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds while Ivan Kharchenkov added 13 points. The Wildcats shot 53.6% from the floor and went 7 of 18 from 3-point range.

Terrence Brown led Utah (8-6) with 26 points and six assists. Keanu Dawes added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Utes while Don McHenry chipped in 15 points as the Utes lost at home for just the second time this season.

No. 5 Purdue 89, Wisconsin 73

Braden Smith shattered the Big Ten’s career assists record and the Boilermakers shattered the Badgers’ will with an extended second-half spree to earn a Big Ten victory in Madison, Wis.

Smith, who needed nine helpers to tie the 890 assists handed out by Michigan State’s Cassius Winston from 2017-20, finished with 14 points and 12 assists to lead the Boilermakers’ balanced attack. Fletcher Loyer led Purdue (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten) with 20 points while C.J. Cox posted 14 points and Oscar Cluff notched 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Wisconsin (9-5, 1-2), which tried to become the first team to beat Purdue three times in a row since Smith and Loyer joined the program in the summer of 2022, was paced by Nick Boyd’s 24 points. Nolan Winter added 18 points and 10 rebounds, but the Badgers finished 4 of 25 (16%) on 3-point attempts.

No. 6 Duke 91, Florida State 87

Isaiah Evans made six 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 28 points to help the Blue Devils come away with a win over the upset-minded Seminoles in Tallahassee, Fla.

Evans scored 18 of his points in the second half and was 6-of-14 from 3-point range to become the first Duke player besides Cameron Boozer to lead the team in scoring since Nov. 21 vs. Niagara. Boozer still made his presence felt with 17 points, a career-high nine assists and five rebounds for the Blue Devils (13-1, 2-0 ACC).

Chauncey Wiggins tied his career high with 22 points for Florida State (7-8, 0-2), making 4 of 5 shots from outside the arc. Robert McCray V added 22 points and made 3 of 4 threes with five assists. Kobe MaGee added 17 points, hitting four 3s.

No. 8 Houston 67, Cincinnati 60

Kingston Flemings scored 19 points and Milos Uzan added 16 of his 18 points in the second half, lifting the Cougars to a victory over host Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Uzan sank 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range and Flemings added six assists and five steals. The Cougars (13-1) have won seven in a row overall and extended the nation’s longest active road winning streak to 15 despite a tough outing by leading scorer Emanuel Sharp, who missed all nine of his shots and scored two points.

Cincinnati’s Day Day Thomas highlighted his 15-point performance by scoring his team’s last 12 points of the first half. Moustapha Thiam scored 13 points and Baba Miller added 11 for the Bearcats (8-6).

No. 10 BYU 83, Kansas State 73

AJ Dybantsa scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals to lead No. 10 the Cougars to a win over the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kan., in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams.

Robert Wright III added 18 points, Richie Saunders pitched in 13 points and Keba Keita had a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds for BYU (13-1), winners of 10 straight games.

PJ Haggerty led Kansas State (9-5) with 24 points. Abdi Bashir Jr. scored 16 points, David Castillo chipped in 13 points off the bench and Khamari McGriff added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

No. 11 Vanderbilt 83, South Carolina 71

Tyler Tanner scored 19 points and tied a single-game school record with 14 assists as the Commodores knocked off the Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C.

With two of Vanderbilt’s three primary ball-handlers out (Duke Miles and Frankie Collins), Tanner logged 37 minutes and turned the ball over just once in the SEC opener for both teams. AK Okereke added a season-high 17 points for the Commodores (14-0), Tyler Nickel scored 16, Devin McGlockton notched 15 and Jalen Washington added 10. Vanderbilt shot 51% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and 83% from the foul line.

South Carolina (9-5) shot just 25% from 3-point range while being out-rebounded, 37-25. Elijah Strong led the Gamecocks in scoring with 17. South Carolina’s leading scorer, Meechie Johnson with 14.0 points per game coming in, had just nine on 2-of-9 shooting.

No. 14 Alabama 89, Kentucky 74

Aden Holloway made six 3-pointers and tied his career high of 26 points to lead the Crimson Tide to a solid win over the Wildcats in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Labaron Philon Jr. returned from a one-game absence due to a leg injury to register 17 points and three steals for Alabama (11-3). Houston Mallette drained four 3-pointers while scoring 14 points, Amari Allen had 11 points and nine rebounds and Noah Williamson added 10 points.

Otega Oweh recorded 22 points and eight rebounds and Jaland Lowe added a season-best 21 points for Kentucky (9-5), which fell to 1-5 against ranked foes this season.

No. 15 Texas Tech 102, Oklahoma State 80

While there was plenty of offense, the Red Raiders’ defense was what turned the tide in a triumph over the Cowboys as the teams opened the Big 12 Conference season in Lubbock, Texas.

Balanced scoring and 21 assists on 37 made shots were keys for Texas Tech (11-3) and J.T. Toppin helped his team control the backboards 48-36. All five Red Raider starters finished in double figures, with Toppin leading the way with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Christian Anderson logged a double-double with 19 points and a career-best 13 assists and LeJuan Watts also scored 19 and grabbed nine boards.

Anthony Roy topped the Cowboys (12-2) with 22 points, and big man Parsa Fallah chimed in with 20.

UCF 81, No. 17 Kansas 75

Jordan Burks drained a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 42 seconds left, Riley Kugel converted a three-point play and the Knights opened Big 12 play with an upset of the Jayhawks in Orlando, Fla.

After Burks broke a 72-all tie, the Jayhawks (10-4) — also playing their Big 12 opener — got three free throws from Tre White (14 points, 11 rebounds) to trim it to 76-75 with 16.2 seconds remaining. Kugel (19 points) iced it with a layup and was fouled on the play, making the free throw for the 11th straight win for the Knights (12-1), whose fans stormed the court after the second home victory over the Jayhawks in three seasons.

The Knights’ Themus Fulks totaled 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Burks scored 14 as UCF held a 38-30 edge in points in the paint. The Jayhawks welcomed the return of Darryn Peterson, who netted a career-high 26 points — all in the first half — in 23 minutes Melvin Council Jr. scored 20 points but it was not enough as Kansas lost for the first time in five games.

No. 18 Arkansas 86, No. 19 Tennessee 75

Darius Acuff Jr. scored a career-high 29 points, reserve Meleek Thomas added 18 points and the Razorbacks pulled away from the Volunteers for a win in Fayetteville, Ark., in the SEC opener for both schools.

Reserve center Malique Ewin had 12 points, six rebounds and four of Arkansas’ 10 blocked shots. The Razorbacks (11-3), who had lost eight of the previous 10 in the series, had a big advantage at the free throw line, making 29 of 33 attempts. Arkansas has won six of their last seven games.

Amari Evans had 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting, Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 14 points and Nate Ament had 13 for Tennessee (10-4), which had a three-game winning streak broken.

No. 20 Illinois 73, Penn State 65

Kylan Boswell scored 18 points, and Keaton Wagler added 16 as the Fighting Illini secured a win over the Nittany Lions in Big Ten play in Philadelphia.

David Mirkovic added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Andrej Stojakovic had 12 points for Illinois (11-3, 2-1) in a contest played at The Palestra, the famed facility that opened in 1927. The Illini never trailed while winning for the fifth time in six games. Backup Zvonimir Ivisic collected 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Kayden Mingo recorded 16 points, five assists and four steals and Eli Rice added 11 points for Penn State (9-5, 0-3), which lost for the fourth time in five games. The Nittany Lions made just 34.8% of its attempts, including a shaky 8 of 38 from behind the arc.

No. 21 Virginia 76, NC State 61

Sam Lewis poured in 23 points and the Cavaliers never trailed in a win over the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C.

Virginia (12-2, 1-1 ACC) led by as many as 27 to give first-year head coach Ryan Odom his first conference victory. Thijs De Ridder added 14 points, Malik Thomas posted 13 and reserve Devin Tillis provided 10. Lewis connected on five 3-pointers — the same as NC State’s total (5 of 20). He began the day averaging 8.8 points per game but had 15 by halftime, matching the Toledo transfer’s highest total of the season.

Quadir Copeland’s 15 points led the Wolfpack (10-5, 1-1), who were looking to knock off a ranked team for the first time this season (now 0-3). Paul McNeil Jr. added 13 points and Alyn Breed had 12, but NC State shot just 36% (18 of 50) and were outrebounded 36-24.

Missouri 76, No. 22 Florida 74

Anthony Robinson II had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Tigers upset the Gators in Columbia, Mo., in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Mark Mitchell scored 14 points and Jacob Crews added 13 for the Tigers (11-3). Trent Pierce added 10 points after missing the first 13 games with an injury. Jayden Stone proved he was fully recovered from his broken hand while scoring Missouri’s first eight points on two 3-point jumpers and a transition dunk in his first game since Nov. 20.

Thomas Haugh led the Gators (9-5) with 24 points. Alex Condon had 14 points and six assists and Xaivian Lee added 11 points.

No. 23 Georgia 104, Auburn 100

Jeremiah Wilkinson scored a season-high 31 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in overtime, to help the Bulldogs outlast the Tigers in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams at Athens, Ga.

The victory ended Georgia’s five-game losing streak to Auburn. The Bulldogs (13-1) posted their school-record seventh 100-point game. They also got a season-high 24 points from Marcus Millender, who had five 3-pointers. Somto Cyril added 15 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.

Auburn pulled off an improbable rally in the final second of regulation. Trailing 92-88, the Tigers’ Keyshawn Hall was fouled on a 3-point shot with 0.7 seconds remaining. Hall made the first two free throws, intentionally missed the third and Kevin Overton grabbed the rebound and scored to force overtime. Tahaad Pettiford scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half for Auburn (9-5) and Filip Jovic had his first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

No. 25 Iowa 74, UCLA 61

Bennett Stirtz scored 27 points and the Hawkeyes rode a strong start to hold off the Bruins’ second-half rally in a win at Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) deluged the Bruins early, going on a 14-1 run midway through the first half for a double-digit-point advantage going into the break. Iowa’s advantage swelled to 18 by intermission and 21 the first few minutes after the break, but UCLA (10-4, 2-1) battled back with an 18-2 run. Iowa got 13 points from Alvaro Folgueiras, 11 from Isaia Howard and 10 from Tavion Banks.

Donovan Dent fueled the comeback, scoring 20 of his team-high 25 points in the second half. He shot 10 of 16 from the floor and committed no turnovers in the final 20 minutes after going just 2 for 3 with three giveaways through the first 20 minutes. Tyler Bilodeau, the only other UCLA player to score in double figures, added 10 points.

–Field Level Media