Wildcats

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Negativity has dogged the Kentucky basketball program since its disappointing loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.
Heading into Saturday&rsquo;s 63-56 win over No. 5 Tennessee, Wildcats coach John Calipari did his best to insulate his players while absorbing as many bullets as possible himself.
&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t lost faith in any of these guys,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a good team. (Friday night), I collected all the (players&rsquo; cell) phones and iPads and everything else.&rdquo;
Antonio Reeves scored 18 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (11-6, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) over the Volunteers. The victory ended a 25-game home win streak for Tennessee (14-3, 4-1) that dated back to the end of the 2020-21 season.
Kentucky led 58-50 with 3:28 left in the game. Two free throws by Santiago Vescovi and two buckets by Uros Plavsic closed the gap to two with less than a minute to play.
A Wildcat turnover gave Tennessee a shot to tie or take the lead, but Zakai Zeigler and Plavsic missed down low.
&ldquo;Both coaches made it a slugfest,&rdquo; said Calipari. &ldquo;Nobody backed down.&rdquo;
The Wildcats showed a physical presence and dominated the Volunteers on the boards, 43-23. Tennessee came into the game leading the SEC in rebounding margin (+9.94).
&ldquo;Our frontline&rsquo;s gotta do a better job rebounding,&rdquo; said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. &ldquo;On the defensive end, we have to get everyone involved.&rdquo;
The Tennessee big man Plavsic, who scored 19 points, was the only Vol to match Kentucky&rsquo;s physicality.
Calipari said the strategy was to focus on the Vols&rsquo; perimeter play, while letting Plavsic have his way.
&ldquo;They can beat us with 3s,&rdquo; said Calipari. &ldquo;They won&rsquo;t beat us with 2s.&rdquo;
CJ Fredrick scored eight in a row and had 10 of his 13 points in the first half as Kentucky led at the break, 33-26.
Vescovi, who tweaked his shooting (left) shoulder in a collision early in the game, had seven in the first half for Tennessee. He finished with 13 points.
&ldquo;We had some uncontested looks at the rim,&rdquo; Barnes said. &ldquo;Point-blank layups &mdash; you&rsquo;ve gotta make them.&rdquo;
POLL IMPLICATIONS
During his 36 seasons as a head coach in college basketball, Rick Barnes has led his teams into the AP Top 25 a total of 299 weeks. That includes 131 weeks in the Top 10.
BIG PICTURE
Kentucky: Besides the frustration that comes with six losses this early in the season, the Wildcats have had to deal with injury problems. G Cason Wallace (back) and F Jacob Toppin (shoulder) have been sidelined. Both started against the Vols. &hellip; Big man Oscar Tshiebwe leads the SEC with 10 double-doubles this season. &hellip; Sahvir Wheeler leads the SEC with 6.3 assists a game. This is his third straight year on top. &hellip; John Calipari coached his 36th game against Tennessee. No other coach has led his team against the Vols in as many games.
Tennessee: Senior G Santiago Vescovi has been hot lately. He came into the Kentucky game averaging 16.5 points over his last five games while shooting 60% from the field and 57% from 3-point. &hellip; Zakai Ziegler, who has gotten used to his role as a point guard coming off the bench, had 27 assists in his last three games heading into Saturday. &hellip; Chris Lofton (2004-08), the SEC&rsquo;s all-time leader in 3-point baskets made (431), had his No. 5 hoisted into the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena.
UP NEXT
Kentucky: Hosts Georgia on Tuesday.
Tennessee: Visits Mississippi State on Tuesday.

Antonio Reeves scored 18 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats over the Volunteers.

Calipari, Kentucky silence doubters, beat No. 5 Tennessee

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 25 points, Tramon Mark added 16 and No. 1 Houston routed Norfolk State 100-52 Tuesday night in the Cougars&rsquo; first game as the top-ranked team in nearly 40 years.
Sasser finished 7 of 12 on 3-pointers, rebounding nicely after making only one of 10 from behind the arc in Houston&rsquo;s win over Kent State on Saturday.
Houston (7-0) was 17 of 33 on 3s, including 10 of 18 in the first half. The Cougars went on a 42-7 first-half run.
Jamal Shead finished with 12 points and 11 assists, J&rsquo;Wan Roberts had 10 points and Ja&rsquo;Vier Francis had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Kris Bankston scored 14 points and Cahiem Brown added 11 points for Norfolk State (5-3).
NO. 3 VIRGINIA 70, MICHIGAN 68
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Jayden Gardner made a go-ahead jumper with 39.9 seconds left and blocked Jett Howard&rsquo;s 3-point shot just before the buzzer, allowing Virginia to hold on and beat Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The Cavaliers (6-0) trailed by 11 points at halftime, rallied to go ahead with 7:25 left and built a five-point lead that didn&rsquo;t last.
The Wolverines (5-2) went ahead 66-65 at the 1:42 mark when Hunter Dickinson made one of two free throws, but the standout center missed a hook shot in the final minute. Dickinson scored 23 points and Howard had 15.
Reece Beekman finished with 18 points for Virginia. Gardner, Kihei Clark and Kadin Shedrick scored 12 apiece and Ben Vander Plas had 10.
MARQUETTE 96, NO. 6 BAYLOR 70
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 24 points and Marquette capitalized on a dominant start from its defense to roll past Baylor in the Big 12-Big East Battle.
Marquette (6-2) raced to a 51-25 halftime lead thanks to a 24-0 edge in points off turnovers. This was the highest-ranked team Marquette has beaten under second-year coach Shaka Smart.
Kam Jones had 20 points and David Joplin added 19 as Marquette shot 58.3% overall to win its third straight.
LJ Cryer scored 19 points, Adam Flagler 16 and Keyonte George 12 for Baylor (5-2).
NO. 16 ILLINOIS 73, SYRACUSE 44
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Coleman Hawkins had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Illinois thumped Syracuse.
Illinois (6-1) hit six of its 15 3-point attempts in the second half to send the Orange (3-4) home with their third straight loss.
Terrence Shannon Jr. had 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting for the Illini. All of his makes were 3s. RJ Melendez scored 15 points.
Jesse Edwards had nine points and 17 rebounds to lead Syracuse, and Judah Mintz also scored nine.
Hawkins sent a lively crowd into a frenzy by securing his 10th rebound to complete the triple-double with 1:34 to go and Illinois up 68-44.
NO. 19 KENTUCKY 60, BELLARMINE 41
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Antonio Reeves scored 18 points to lead Kentucky past Bellarmine.
Jacob Toppin had 12 points and CJ Fredrick finished with 11 as the Wildcats (5-2) overcame a slow start. Trailing 32-28 with 15 minutes left, Kentucky used a 23-3 run to pull away.
Curt Hopf led Bellarmine (2-6) with 15 points.
NO. 22 MARYLAND 79, LOUISVILLE 54
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Donta Scott scored 18 points and Maryland made five consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half and run away from Louisville.
The Terrapins (7-0) led throughout, including 37-26 at halftime, before Don Carey sank the first of two from long range during the 15-6 surge that featured two 3s from Scott and one from Hakim Hart.
Maryland shot 50% overall while posting its seventh consecutive double-digit win under new coach Kevin Willard.
El Ellis scored 15 points for the Cardinals (0-7), whose nightmarish start continued as they shot 34% against their third ranked opponent in four games.
NO. 24 SAN DIEGO STATE 72, UC IRVINE 69
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Micah Parrish hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2.4 seconds left and San Diego State rallied to beat UC Irvine.
Nathan Mensah scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs (5-2).
DJ Davis scored 28 points for the Anteaters (6-2), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

A recap of Monday evening's men's college basketball slate includes a number of interconference battles and the No. 1 Cougars' rout.

Houston debuts at No. 1 by beating Norfolk State 100-52

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jeremy Roach scored 16 first-half points to help seventh-ranked Duke open Jon Scheyer&rsquo;s coaching tenure with a 71-44 win over Jacksonville on Monday night.
Freshman Mark Mitchell had a team-high 18 points for the Blue Devils, who used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to blow the game open.
It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Scheyer taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Duke has 11 new players, including the nation&rsquo;s No. 1-ranked recruiting class and two power-conference transfers. The Blue Devils didn&rsquo;t have top freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead for this one as they recover from preseason injuries.
Mike Marsh scored 15 points to lead the Dolphins, who shot 34% and missed 18 of 19 3-pointers before making two meaningless 3s late.
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 69, UNC WILMINGTON 56
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored 17 points apiece and North Carolina began a season of grand expectations by pulling away from UNC Wilmington.
Armando Bacot added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who were perhaps most impressive at the defensive end. UNCW shot 29.8% from the field.
The Tar Heels, who were the NCAA Tournament runner-up in April, began the new season with the top ranking for the first time in seven years. It&rsquo;s a record 10th time that North Carolina has been ranked No. 1 to start a season &mdash; one more than rival Duke.
Trazarien White scored 19 points for UNCW, which faced a top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
NO. 2 GONZAGA 104, NORTH FLORIDA 63
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 points, Julian Strawther added 16 and No. 2 Gonzaga used a big first-half run to beat North Florida in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Anton Watson had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals for Gonzaga, which won its 68th consecutive home game, the nation&rsquo;s longest such streak.
Carter Hendricksen scored 16 points, Jadyn Parker 13 and Jose Placer 12 for North Florida, a veteran-laden team from the Atlantic Sun Conference that returned its top four scorers from last season.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 83, NORTHERN COLORADO 36
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 21 points, J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 12 points and six rebounds, and Houston opened the season by beating Northern Colorado.
Sasser, a preseason All-American, scored 11 points in the first half. He finished 7 of 14 from the field and made 4 of 8 3-pointers. The senior guard missed the second half of last season and all of Houston&rsquo;s run to the Elite Eight with a toe injury.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson won his 700th career game and 200th with the Cougars.
Matt Johnson II, Riley Abercrombie and Caleb Shaw each scored eight points for the Bears.
NO. 4 KENTUCKY 95, HOWARD 63
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Antonio Reeves scored 22 points, CJ Fredrick had 20 and Kentucky beat Howard with All-American Oscar Tshiebwe and two other players sidelined.
Tshiebwe had a procedure last month on his right knee. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler (right leg) and sophomore forward Daimion Collins (personal reasons) were also out, but the Wildcats still shot 55% against the overmatched Bison.
Jacob Toppin and freshman Cason Wallace each added 15 points for Kentucky.
Kobe Dickson scored 17 points and Elijah Hawkins had 14 for Howard, which shot 34%.
NO. 5 KANSAS 89, OMAHA 64
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Gradey Dick added 23 points in his debut, and Kansas began defense of its national championship without suspended coach Bill Self by routing Omaha.
Bobby Pettiford Jr. added 13 points, Dajuan Harris had 11 points and eight assists, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 10 for the Jayhawks, who broke open a close game in the second half with two big runs.
Self served the first of a four-game punishment along with assistant Kurtis Townsend as part of the fallout from a 2017 federal investigation into college basketball corruption.
Jaeden Marshall scored 13 points and Luke Jungers had 12 for the Mavericks.
NO. 5 BAYLOR 117, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 53
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as Baylor won the opener of its 20th season with coach Scott Drew.
Flagler, a preseason All-Big 12 pick who also was the Bears&rsquo; leading scorer last season, also had eight assists and one of his four 3-pointers started a 24-0 run midway through the first half.
LJ Cryer had 16 points and Dale Bonner, another returning guard, had 14.
Alvin Stredic scored 14 points and Terry Collins 10 for Mississippi Valley State in its first game for new coach George Ivory.
NO. 9 CREIGHTON 72, ST. THOMAS 60
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Baylor Scheierman made back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second half to give Creighton the lead for good.
Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points, Trey Alexander had 12 and Scheierman added 11 as the Bluejays won their 25th opener in 26 years.
St. Thomas, a Summit League member beginning its second season in Division I, gave the Bluejays all they could handle until the last few minutes. Andrew Rohde had 15 points to lead the Tommies.
NO. 10 ARKANSAS 76, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Trevon Brazile had 21 points and 12 rebounds in his debut as Arkansas won its season opener.
Brazile, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, scored six straight points during an 11-0 run early in the second half that gave Arkansas a 16-point lead with 15 minutes left.
Wichita State transfer Ricky Council led the Razorbacks with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Grant Nelson and Boden Skunberg had 17 points apiece to lead North Dakota State.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 75, TENNESSEE TECH 43
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyreke Key came off the bench to score 17 points and Tennessee beat Tennessee Tech in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Key, an Indiana State transfer, connected on 4 of 8 3-pointers to ignite a sluggish Volunteer offense. Zakai Zeigler scored all but two of his 12 points in the second half.
Brett Thompson led the Golden Eagles with 15 points.
NO. 12 TEXAS 72, UTEP 57
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Tyrese Hunter scored 18 points to lead Texas past UTEP in the debut of its new arena.
Hunter, a transfer from Iowa State, was 6-of-8 shooting and added five rebounds. Ze&rsquo;Ri Onyema led UTEP with 10 points.
Texas this season moved to the $375 million Moody Center on the edge of campus, leaving behind the old Frank Erwin Center after 45 years.
NO. 13 INDIANA 88, MOREHEAD STATE 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and freshman Malik Reneau each scored 15 points, helping Indiana beat Morehead State in the season opener for both teams.
The Hoosiers have won all six matchups in the series and are 26-0 all-time against Ohio Valley Conference foes.
Mark Freeman led the Eagles with 14 points, and Drew Thelwell had 11 for the OVC favorites.
NO. 14 TCU 73, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to finally put TCU ahead to stay against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which built an early 20-point lead in the season opener for both teams.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, hit from deep beyond the top of the key for a 71-68 lead.
Emanuel Miller had 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and Miles finished with 15 points for the Horned Frogs. They returned all five starters and five other scholarship players after winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 1987.
Shaun Doss had 25 points with four of Arkansas-Pine Bluff&rsquo;s 13 3-pointers.
NO. 15 AUBURN 70, GEORGE MASON 52
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 16 points while K.D. Johnson and Johni Broome each had 12 to lead Auburn to a season-opening win over George Mason.
The Tigers weren&rsquo;t really challenged much in their first game since losing NBA first-round draft picks Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.
Ronald Polite III led George Mason with 10 points, and Victor Bailey Jr. had nine.
NO. 16 VILLANOVA 81, LA SALLE 68
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Daniels scored 24 points to make coach Kyle Neptune a winner in his Villanova debut.
Neptune replaced Hall of Famer Jay Wright, who retired in the offseason. The Wildcats returned three starters (a fourth, Justin Moore, was injured) from the team that lost a national semifinal game to Kansas. Eric Dixon added 20 points for Villanova.
Daniels made his first five 3-pointers and the Wildcats used an early 10-0 run to put away their city rival and spoiled 74-year-old coach Fran Dunphy&rsquo;s return to the bench.
Josh Nickelberry scored 22 points to lead the Explorers.
NO. 17 ARIZONA 117, NICHOLLS STATE 75
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis scored 23 points and Arizona went on a massive opening run to begin its second season under coach Tommy Lloyd with a rout.
Ballo scored 18 points, helping Arizona set a school record with 71.7% shooting from the floor against the reigning Southland Conference regular-season champions. The Wildcats opened the game with a 30-4 run.
Micah Thomas led Nicholls State with 20 points.
NO. 18 VIRGINIA 73, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman sparked a 15-2 second-half run, and Virginia beat North Carolina Central after blowing a 16-point first-half lead.
Armaan Franklin led Virginia with 21 points in the season opener for both teams, and Francisco Caffaro had 10.
Justin Wright scored 20 and Eric Boone had 18 for the Eagles, who used a 12-0 run just after halftime to go ahead. But Clark hit a 3 and Beekman followed with a steal and a breakaway.
NO. 19 SAN DIEGO STATE 80, CAL STATE FULLERTON 57
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Darrion Trammell hit three 3-pointers during a 29-10 run to open the second half and finished with 18 points as San Diego State beat Cal State Fullerton.
Fellow newcomer Jaedon LeDee and Lamont Butler scored 11 points apiece and Nathan Mensah had 10 for the Aztecs, who won their 10th straight season opener and their 17th in 18 seasons.
Vincent Lee scored 11 and Jalen Harris 10 for the Titans, the defending Big West Conference champions.
NO. 20 ALABAMA 75, LONGWOOD 54
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller had 14 points and 13 rebounds in his debut as Alabama beat Longwood.
Fellow freshman Rylan Griffen also scored 14 for the Crimson Tide, and point guard Mark Sears had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Jaden Bradley added 11 points and six boards.
Alabama held Longwood to 27% shooting and blocked nine shots. Michael Christmas led Longwood with 12 points.
NO. 21 OREGON 80, FLORIDA A&amp;M 45
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; N&rsquo;Faly Dante had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Oregon opened with an easy win over Florida A&amp;M.
Keeshawn Barthelemy added 13 points for the Ducks, ranked to start the season for the ninth straight year. Will Richardson scored 11.
Jordan Tillmon and Jordan Chatman had eight points apiece for the Rattlers, who have 11 new players. Florida A&amp;M coach Robert McCullum was on Oregon coach Dana Altman&rsquo;s staff from 2014-17.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN 75, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 56
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Dickinson had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Jett Howard added 21 points in Michigan&rsquo;s season-opening win.
After Purdue Fort Wayne opened an 8-4 lead, Michigan went on a 20-0 run to take control.
Quinton Morton-Robertson scored 15 points and Bobby Planutis added 13 for the Mastodons.
NO. 23 ILLINOIS 87, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points and Coleman Hawkins had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Illinois cruised past Eastern Illinois.
Dain Dainja added 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Illini, who outrebounded the Panthers 53-30 in the opener for both teams.
Kinyon Hodges scored 14 points and Yaakema Rose added 10 for Eastern Illinois.
NO. 24 DAYTON 73, LINDENWOOD 46
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Mustapha Amzil scored 14 points, DaRon Holmes II and R.J. Blakney each had 13 and Dayton beat Lindenwood in a sluggish opener for both teams.
Dayton was without injured point guard Malachi Smith and didn&rsquo;t play particularly well until late, but it had a large margin for error against Lindenwood, which was playing its first game after moving up to Division I.
Chris Childs had 15 points for the Lions, who shot 33% from the field.
NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 73, NORTHWESTERN STATE 49
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; Daniel Batcho had 12 points and 10 rebounds as Texas Tech rolled past Northwestern State in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Texas Tech broke it open late in the first half and led 42-23 at halftime.
Isaac Haney led Northwestern State with 16 points.

It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Jon Scheyer taking over Duke's program.

Roach leads No. 7 Duke past Jacksonville in Scheyer’s debut

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; The Purdue Boilermakers are coming off a 29-win season in which they were ranked in the AP top 10 from wire to wire, including the No. 1 spot for one week in December, and drew a No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Still, they finished one game shy of first place in the conference, lost to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament final and were upset by upstart St. Peter&rsquo;s in the Sweet 16. That didn&rsquo;t sit well with coach Matt Painter or anybody else associated with the program.
&ldquo;We thought we had a team that could do more damage than it did. As a coach, you take sole responsibility for that,&rdquo; Painter said Tuesday in Minneapolis at Target Center, where the conference took its basketball media days this year. &ldquo;I thought we should have won our league. I thought we should have won our tournament. I thought we should have gotten to the Final Four. We didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
While the Boilermakers have lost first team All-Big Ten guard Jaden Ivey and stalwarts Trevion Williams and Sasha Stefanovic, they&rsquo;ve still got a team headlined by the 7-foot-4 Zach Edey &mdash; one of three unanimous picks for the 11-player preseason all-conference team &mdash; that ought to be able to contend for the conference title again.&nbsp;
These days, with the transfer portal doing heavy business, picking the favorites is even more of an inexact science. The Boilermakers were pegged for fifth in the Big Ten preseason media poll.
&ldquo;You have some people that are being picked in the top half, and 70 to 80% of their guys didn&rsquo;t play for them last year. Normally when that&rsquo;s the case, they don&rsquo;t get picked in the top half,&rdquo; Painter said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got a good chunk of some of these guys that have had really good careers so far so it&rsquo;s easier to gauge, easier to say this guy averaged 16 points in another high major conference, he&rsquo;s going to be successful here. Having that experience of success together is still important.&rdquo;
FRESH START
Kevin Willard took over the Maryland program after 12 seasons at Seton Hall. A longtime resident of New York and New Jersey, Willard revealed some of the discoveries he&rsquo;s made since moving down the Atlantic coast. The first thing to stand out to him was the quality of recruits playing in the Terrapins&rsquo; backyard &mdash; including the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
&ldquo;High school basketball, AAU basketball in the DMV is by far second to none,&rdquo; Willard said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of cool being there because you get first dibs on a lot of kids that obviously we couldn&rsquo;t get before.&rdquo;
The first player Willard signed upon arriving in College Park was 6-foot-6 swingman Noah Batchelor, a native of Frederick, Maryland, who played last year at the IMG Academy in Florida. He also picked up a graduate transfer in guard Jahmir Young, a product of DeMatha Catholic High School in the D.C. suburbs who averaged 16.7 points per game over three seasons at Charlotte.
But Willard knows there&rsquo;s no such thing as building a fence around the state.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re never going to keep all your local kids home,&rdquo; Willard said. &ldquo;Fan bases love saying that. If you keep everyone home, then you&rsquo;re not going to be able to play everybody and everyone is going to get mad at you anyways.&rdquo;
His steepest learning curve might actually be in the dining room.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to know how to eat crab cakes. I&rsquo;m learning how to crack crabs and eat crabs. It&rsquo;s a new thing for me. Very hard,&rdquo; Willard said with a laugh. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to split the middle, take the legs off, go through the whole process.&rdquo;
THREE-PEAT IN JERSEY?
Rutgers is aiming for a third straight NCAA Tournament berth, a streak the program has never before accomplished. Coach Steve Pikiell&rsquo;s returning players accounted for 64% of the team&rsquo;s minutes played last season. Key among those players is fifth-year guard Caleb McConnell, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
There&rsquo;s also a significant homecourt advantage the Scarlet Knights have developed in recent years at the 8,000-seat building now known as Jersey Mike&rsquo;s Arena, enough to warrant attention in a conference with some of the country&rsquo;s most imposing gyms for visiting teams.
When Indiana&rsquo;s Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson were mulling over the most raucous road-game scenes, they mentioned usual suspects Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue. But also:
&ldquo;Rutgers is pretty lit,&rdquo; Thompson said.
&ldquo;Yeah, Rutgers is awesome,&rdquo; Jackson-Davis said.
Pikiell praised the fan base for the environment.
&ldquo;I think they really like our guys and respect how they play,&rdquo; Pikiell said. &ldquo;They play with a little Jersey grit and excitement and enthusiasm.&rdquo;
DAD JOKES
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery again has two of his sons on the roster, with sixth-year forward Connor McCaffery back for one more ride in a reserve role and fourth-year forward Patrick McCaffery returning to the starting lineup.
There are downsides to playing for dad, of course. Connor told on himself for feeling &ldquo;a little bit more comfortable talking back&rdquo; to the coach than anyone else in authority. Patrick cited the pressure that comes from the family name and the unfounded assumptions of nepotism around status on the team.
The good outweighs the bad, though, like being part of a true family environment. Then there&rsquo;s the credibility that Connor has built up through so much time in the program.
&ldquo;We think alike,&rdquo; Connor said. &ldquo;My suggestions and points a lot of times are on the same page. He gives me the freedom to audible plays and call plays.&rdquo;
___
AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report.

These days, with the transfer portal doing heavy business, picking the favorites is even more of an inexact science.

Purdue back near Big Ten top? Portal makes predictions tough

Baye Fall, a five-star recruit who is widely regarded as the best center in the class of 2023, was recently dismissed from Denver Prep Academy.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Junior center Baye Fall has been dismissed from the Denver Prep Academy national elite basketball team for conduct of concern and violations of team rules," the school announced in a press release. "At DPA, we pride ourselves on providing students and athletes a positive, structured environment designed to promote personal development.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We talk about it all the time: A basketball team is more than just a team. It&rsquo;s a family and an organization, and each and every member is expected to uphold certain standards and expectations. When you don&rsquo;t hold yourself to those standards and expectations, you no longer have a place on this team. We&rsquo;re going to operate at a high level here on and off the court, regardless of wins and losses. Baye is an extremely talented player and we wish him all the best for his future playing career.&rdquo;
In 10 games with Denver Prep Academy, Fall averaged 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. As a sophomore at Lutheran High School in Colorado, he put up 22.1 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, while leading Lutheran to a class 3A state title.
Now, it&rsquo;s possible that Fall will attend his third school in four years.
Fall reportedly has offers from Kansas, Georgetown, Illinois, Memphis, Texas, Oklahoma, UCLA, USC, Georgia, Minnesota, Arkansas, Auburn and Baylor among others.&nbsp;
Fall is from Senegal, and he grew up playing soccer (as a goalie). He moved to the United States at 15 years old and initially wanted to be an architect, but then a dominant performance at the Pangos Junior All-American Camp served as his coming-out party as an elite prospect.&nbsp;
As a sophomore, Fall was named to MaxPreps' Sophomore All-American First Team and earned the Class 3A State Player of the Year award. He was also co-MVP of the 2021 Pangos All-American Camp's Top-30 game.&nbsp;
Our Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock has been impressed with Fall&rsquo;s game and potential.
&ldquo;Although Baye Fall stands 6-foot-11 and possesses a 7-foot-5 wingspan, he is very light on his feet and runs the floor very well,&rdquo; Babcock said. &ldquo;He also has soft touch, considering his size. He needs to add physical strength and functional weight, as he is very thin. However, he certainly has the raw talent to become a legitimate NBA prospect.
"I'm not sure of the details regarding his dismissal from Denver Prep Academy, but I'm hoping it's just a small bump in the road as I'd like to see him make the most of his talent long-term.&rdquo;
A <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/10/24/denver-prep-academy-basketball-education/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent article by Kyle Fredrickson of The Denver Post</a> gives an inside look at Denver Prep Academy and how it was founded last year, with Fall as its first student. With Fall dismissed, the school has nine students who live in a 6,000-square-foot home (as detailed by Fredrickson). The school has earned its accreditation from the NCAA, so each player will graduate with an academic transcript that meets college-admissions requirements.

Fall, a top player in the class of 2023, was dismissed from Denver Prep Academy for "conduct of concern and violations of team rules."

Five-star prospect Baye Fall dismissed from Denver Prep Academy

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for January 6, 2021.
Bragging Rights
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
For the ones who missed it or just simply want to see this exclamation point to the first half over and over. Jarrett Allen packing it over Rudy Gobert. <a href="https://t.co/3ACnz8rS64">pic.twitter.com/3ACnz8rS64</a>
&mdash; Chris Milholen (@CMilholenSB) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMilholenSB/status/1346632638841368576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
In our first week of BasketballNews.com's fantasy basketball league, I have to go toe-to-toe against our very own Alex Kennedy. Luckily for me, I drafted Jarrett Allen and he did not. Sorry, Alex.
Bird&rsquo;s Eye View
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Oh come on Jokic 🃏 <a href="https://t.co/S5Ow1HGoYh">pic.twitter.com/S5Ow1HGoYh</a>
&mdash; George Jarjour (@GeorgeOnTap) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeOnTap/status/1346646211697131522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
What if point-centers are the future of positionless basketball? What if teams realize that being gigantic means you can see over top of everyone else on the court? What if we just&hellip;. cloned Nikola Jokic 30 times and had one on each team?
Every Day is Christmas
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Asked Anthony Edwards where his advanced feel for the game comes from. "I'm smarter than people think, and when teams start to realize that, then they'll start to lock in on me more when I'm coming off the screen. I'm smarter than a lot of people think, I just look like this."
&mdash; jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaceFrederick/status/1346524952896405504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Anthony Edwards is the gift that keeps on giving. Everything he says is so unintentionally hilarious, and if basketball, rapping or football don&rsquo;t work out, he could have a very successful reality TV show where he just&hellip; exists.&nbsp;
New Max Contract, Who Dis?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Just wait til the 4th quarter. That&rsquo;s when Jazz will play with urgency and only lose by 5
&mdash; Hallie-Oop (@hallieg99) <a href="https://twitter.com/hallieg99/status/1346633433305415682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is the realistic kind of hope that Jazz fans need for the rest of the season -- never too high and never too low. (Sidenote: I also have Donovan Mitchell on my fantasy team, making this the only reason I will ever root for the Utah Jazz).
Open For A Surprise
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
He loves his Jazz. Big 2nd Half incoming. LETS GO! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lesolsonit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lesolsonit</a> <a href="https://t.co/xHbY34lJ4R">pic.twitter.com/xHbY34lJ4R</a>
&mdash; 🎉🍻Jay Alexander🥂🎉 (@Jay_Alexander_x) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jay_Alexander_x/status/1346631611475922945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
Look, if it&rsquo;s cute, it&rsquo;s going up here. This kid doesn&rsquo;t realize how lucky he is. I asked for a Lite-Brite every year of my childhood and here he is, happy as a clam, not knowing there are other NBA teams out there.&nbsp;
Gorgui on Wheels
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
from the moment i saw gorgui dieng bicycle past my house one night at 10 PM, i knew he was destined for great things
&mdash; Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) <a href="https://twitter.com/mollyhannahm/status/1346631248710656000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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I have so many questions. Was he wearing a helmet? Did it have a basket? Can he ride with no hands? Molly, please come on "Dishes and Dimes."
Substitute Teacher Vibes
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Spurs are currently going through a layup line where they're each competing against each other to do a between-the-legs windmill. It's nasty.
&mdash; Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlyByKnite/status/1346652900588568581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
I can almost guarantee that Gregg Popovich was not present for this portion of the warmups. The baby Spurs are FUN this year. They might even have conversations for the first time in team history.&nbsp;
In Case You Missed It
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Go crazy then 🔥 Jarrett Allen posterizing Rudy Gobert <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nets</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jazz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jazz</a> <a href="https://t.co/lSBuOcWAE4">pic.twitter.com/lSBuOcWAE4</a>
&mdash; DFS &amp; Plays (@DailyDFSPlays) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyDFSPlays/status/1346634705848963072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is just to rub it in Alex&rsquo;s face one more time.&nbsp;

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for Jan. 6, 2021.