Aztecs

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; A magical journey put San Diego State in its first Final Four.
A thrilling buzzer-beater by Lamont Butler landed the Aztecs one win away from a national title.
Hot early shooting Monday night helped them race to an early lead against the mighty UConn Huskies.
Then things fell apart.
For more than 11 tortured minutes in the title game, no matter what they tried, the Aztecs could not make a field goal in their 76-59 loss.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult to play like that,&rdquo; Butler said.
Fighting against a stifling defense, they missed hook shots, had layups blocked, badly missed wide-open 3s and saw easy jump shots fall short.
The Aztecs (32-7) took shot after shot after shot &mdash; 14 in all as the clock ticked, ticked and ticked &mdash; but no matter what they tried nothing would fall.
&ldquo;We were talking about it for sure,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;And we were trying to figure out what we can do to stop the scoring drought and create advantages for ourselves. We tried but things weren&rsquo;t working.&rdquo;
By the time Darrion Trammell mercifully made a jump shot with about 5 &frac12; minutes left in the first half, the Aztecs had seen a four-point lead turn into a 26-17 hole.
A team that got here on the strength of its vaunted defense was in the end done in by an offense that went cold at the worst possible moment.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the national championship game, a lot of things had to go right on our end in order to win,&rdquo; guard Matt Bradley said. &ldquo;And when you&rsquo;re missing shots and turning the ball over and even when you&rsquo;re playing hard on defense, it&rsquo;s not going to be enough. So we learned that tonight for sure.&rdquo;
The Aztecs rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Florida Atlantic in the national semifinal, with Butler&rsquo;s game-winner at the buzzer marking the first time in Final Four history that a buzzer-beater took a team from trailing to a victory.
This time there would be no such heroics. They did go on a second half run to make it interesting, though.
San Diego State used a 14-4 spurt, with the first four points from Jaedon LeDee, to get within 60-55 with about five minutes to go.
But Jordan Hawkins made a 3-pointer seconds after that to start a 9-0 run that shut the door on any designs the Aztecs had on another remarkable comeback.
Though their defense had been the star of this Cinderella&rsquo;s tournament run entering Monday night, their offense had done plenty to complement it.
Through their first five games in the tournament, the Aztecs shot an average of 42.48%. In the biggest game in school history Monday night, they shot a tournament-low 32% &mdash; a number significantly lowered by a 28.6% first half.
It was their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season, behind the 31.7% they shot in a 62-57 win over Utah State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament title game. Their 24 first-half points was the second-fewest they&rsquo;d managed all season.
There were no tears in San Diego State&rsquo;s locker room after the loss that snapped a nine-game winning streak, but rather a bunch of guys who were proud of how far they got, even if they came up short.
&ldquo;We were the only ones who believed we could get here,&rdquo; Trammell said. &ldquo;We surpassed our expectations honestly.&rdquo;
Added Keshad Johnson, who led the team with 14 points Monday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure we put our school&rsquo;s name on the map and I&rsquo;m proud of that,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;

Hot early shooting Monday night helped the Aztecs race to an early lead against the mighty Huskies. Then, things fell apart.

Long drought seals SDSU’s fate in title game against UConn

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Lamont Butler hit the biggest shot in San Diego State history, putting the Aztecs in the national championship game for the first time.
The next step, in Monday&rsquo;s title game, will be a difficult one.
UConn has been the dominant team all through the bracket, delivering one beatdown after another while showing no weaknesses &mdash; even on a short turnaround.
The Huskies snatched the euphoria right out of Gonzaga last week in the Elite Eight, ruining the Zags&rsquo; vibes after their last-second win over UCLA two days earlier. Baylor did the same thing to Gonzaga in the 2021 national title game, bullying the Zags two days after Jalen Suggs&rsquo; miracle shot.
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t stop,&rdquo; UConn guard Jordan Hawkins said after scoring 13 points against Miami on Saturday night. &ldquo;We keep putting our foot on their neck. We have a really tough team.&rdquo;
The Huskies got to the title game by breaking their opponents&rsquo; will.
UConn won its first four NCAA Tournament games by at least 15 points and wrecked Miami&rsquo;s first Final Four appearance by dominating the Hurricanes at both ends in a 72-59 win.
The Aztecs have done it with defense.
San Diego State shut down four straight NCAA Tournament opponents and leaned on its D in the second half to overcome a 14-point deficit to ruin Florida Atlantic&rsquo;s first Final Four. Butler provided the heroics, hitting a buzzer-beater in the 72-71 win that had all of San Diego celebrating.
The first buzzer-beating game-winner by a trailing team in Final Four history now puts the Aztecs within a win of the Mountain West Conference&rsquo;s first national title.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t consider ourselves a mid-major,&rdquo; San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re a high-major program.&rdquo;
UConn (30-8) will be vying for its fifth national title since 1999, but first since Dan Hurley was hired to bring back the program after its fall from grace.
UConn won its fourth title under Kevin Ollie in 2014, but spiraled downward in the wake of recruiting violations and Ollie&rsquo;s ugly departure.
When Hurley took over in 2018, UConn was 170th on the KenPom analytics rankings and low on the national relevance scale.
The knock on Hurley&rsquo;s Huskies then turned to UConn&rsquo;s meager Marches; two first-round NCAA Tournament burnouts, including to No. 12 seed New Mexico State last year.
UConn had an uneven 2022-23 season, climbing to No. 2 in the AP Top 25, tumbling back toward irrelevance with six losses in eight games.
The Huskies turned into the best team in the maddest of Marches that culminated in the most unexpected Final Four, putting them in position to tie Duke and Indiana for fourth on the all-time championships list.
&ldquo;The group has shown their quality so many times in terms of the level that we could play at,&rdquo; Hurley said. &ldquo;And I think we experienced everything in that month of January, it&rsquo;s a battle-tested team.&rdquo;
For San Diego State (32-6), Monday&rsquo;s title game will be the culmination of the program building Steve Fisher started and Dutcher pushed forward.
Fisher had built San Diego State into a mid-major power, leading them to six straight NCAA Tournaments. When he retired in 2017, the reins were handed to Dutcher, his assistant back to Michigan&rsquo;s national championship with the Fab Five in 1989.
Dutcher kept many of the same principles Fisher had, adding an extra dash of defensive devilry.
San Diego State appeared ready to break through in 2020, on its way to a likely No. 1 seed before the pandemic wiped out the NCAA Tournament.
The Aztecs suffered first-round NCAA Tournament flameouts the next two seasons before becoming defensive dominators this year.
San Diego State was fourth in the KenPom.com defensive efficiency ratings while winning 27 games during the regular season. The Aztecs took it to new lows in the NCAA Tournament, holding their first four opponents to 57 points per game and 17% shooting from the 3-point arc.
Upstart FAU appeared to have solved San Diego State&rsquo;s defense in the first half of Saturday night&rsquo;s first semifinal, stretching its lead to 14 midway through the second half.
The Aztecs got back to being dirty (in a good way) to get back in it and Butler finished if off with one of the most memorable shots in NCAA Tournament history.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to the national championship,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not things many people do.&rdquo;

The fifth-seeded Aztecs will meet the red-hot, fifth-seeded Huskies in the national championship game Monday.

March Madness: San Diego State to meet UConn in title game

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Darrion Trammell converted a go-ahead free throw after he was fouled on a floater with 1.2 seconds left, and San Diego State muscled its way into its first Final Four, grinding out a 57-56 victory over Creighton on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament&rsquo;s South Region final.
Lamont Butler scored 18 points and Trammell had 12 for the fifth-seeded Aztecs (31-6), who slowed down the high-scoring, sixth-seeded Bluejays (24-13) and became the first Mountain West Conference team to reach the national semifinals.
The experienced Aztecs, in their sixth season under coach Brian Dutcher, will play the surprising East Region champion, ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic, on Saturday in Houston for a spot in the national title game.
With the game tied at 56-all on San Diego State&rsquo;s final possession, Trammell drove toward the free-throw line, elevated for the shot and was fouled by Creighton&rsquo;s Ryan Nembhard. Trammell missed the first free throw but converted the second.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been dreaming this my whole life, grateful to be here and thankful to everyone who believed in me,&rdquo; Trammell said.
Creighton&rsquo;s Baylor Scheierman threw the ensuing inbound pass the length of the floor. San Diego State&rsquo;s Aguek Arop and Creighton&rsquo;s Arthur Kaluma both jumped for it and the ball deflected out of bounds. Officials reviewed the play and determined that time had expired, and the celebration was on for the Aztecs.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t given an explanation other than there was no time on the clock,&rdquo; Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. &ldquo;They made no call on the floor but officiating is part of the game and we&rsquo;re not gonna go there.&rdquo;
Scheierman had tied the game at 56-all when he stole an inbounds pass and converted a layup with 34 seconds remaining.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 17 points and Scheierman and Kaluma had 12 apiece for the Bluejays, who went 2 of 17 from 3-point range.
The Aztecs, who got this far thanks to defense and physical play, held the Bluejays to 23 second-half points on 28% shooting as they won for the 14th time in 15 games. Creighton shot 40% overall.
San Diego State shot 38% but got clutch baskets from Nathan Mensah, whose jumper gave the Aztecs a 56-54 lead with 1:37 left, and Arop, who made two straight shots for a 54-50 advantage with 3:03 remaining.
Creighton, which beat San Diego State in overtime in the first round of last year&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament, fell just short of joining Big East rival UConn in the Final Four.
The teams didn&rsquo;t appear to share any hard feelings from last year&rsquo;s meeting. They shared a round-trip flight to Hawaii last fall for the Maui Invitational, and there were no dustups during a tight, physical game in which no team led by more than eight points.
DIVIDED LOYALTIES
Kaluma played against his brother, San Diego State&rsquo;s Adam Seiko. Their parents sat a few rows up at midcourt, sitting quietly before joining Seiko to celebrate.
BIG PICTURE
Creighton&rsquo;s offense started well enough as the Bluejays built a 33-28 halftime lead and extended their advantage to seven in the second half. But Creighton didn&rsquo;t make a single 3-pointer after halftime.
San Diego State proved again that defense matters, especially since the Aztecs also scuffled for points. Their experience as depth showed as Mensah and Arop, who averaged just 6.1 and 4.5 points per game respectively, converted the last three baskets.

With a clutch Darrion Trammell free throw with 1.2 seconds left to go, the Aztecs ended up grinding out a 57-56 victory over Creighton.

San Diego State muscles past Creighton, makes first Final Four

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher has insisted throughout the NCAA Tournament that if his team plays to its strengths, it doesn&rsquo;t matter what the opposition does.
The Aztecs certainly played the way they wanted to against the top overall seed in March Madness.
Darrion Trammell and San Diego State used a dominant defensive performance to knock Alabama out of the tournament, bottling up All-America freshman Brandon Miller in a 71-64 victory in the Sweet 16.
Trammell scored 21 points while Miller, whose outstanding season was marred by off-the-court complications, was held to nine points on 3-of-19 shooting and had six turnovers.
The fifth-seeded Aztecs (30-6) will face sixth-seeded Creighton on Sunday in the South Region final. Each program is seeking its first Final Four appearance.
Roughly 30 minutes after Alabama fell, the tournament&rsquo;s final remaining No. 1 seed, Houston, lost 89-75 to Miami, leaving March Madness without a single top seed among its final eight teams for the first time since seeding began in 1979. The other top seeds, Purdue and Kansas, lost during the tournament&rsquo;s opening weekend.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just parity,&rdquo; Dutcher said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what it is. There&rsquo;s not a lot of difference between the best team in the country and the worst team in the country. You&rsquo;re seeing that on this stage.&rdquo;
San Diego State trailed 48-39 midway through the second half before going on a 12-0 run and controlling the game from there. The Aztecs finished with eight blocked shots &mdash; five by Nathan Mensah &mdash; and forced 14 turnovers.
Trammell scored the first eight points of SDSU&rsquo;s big run. He made a 3-pointer, stole the ball from Miller and converted a layup, and then buried another 3.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to go on our run,&rdquo; Trammell said, &ldquo;and I just took the opportunities they gave me. I took my shot, and I just made a play on defense. From there, our team was in it. That&rsquo;s when the momentum changed.&rdquo;
So did the Crimson Tide&rsquo;s season.
The March Madness run of Alabama (31-6) was clouded by its response to the Jan. 15 fatal shooting of a 23-year-old woman in Tuscaloosa, which led to capital murder charges against a then-Crimson Tide player, Darius Miles.
Miller was at the scene of the shooting and has not been charged, but police have said in court documents that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun. Authorities have said Miller is a cooperating witness, and he did not miss any playing time. Miller received armed security protection during the tournament.
Mark Sears had 16 points and Jahvon Quinerly and Charles Bediako scored 10 each for Alabama, which shot 32% overall and a miserable 3 of 27 (11.1%) from 3-point range. The Crimson Tide fell short of the second Elite Eight berth in school history.
&ldquo;We came to this game prepared as much as we could possibly,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I think our shot-making could have been better. Our shot choices could have been better, but it&rsquo;s just that San Diego&rsquo;s a good group of guys. They&rsquo;re vets, so they have a lot of experience. I feel like they came out and played hard.&rdquo;
San Diego State&rsquo;s players knew they had to impose their will on Alabama&rsquo;s deep and gifted roster.
&ldquo;Alabama&rsquo;s a great team. They have a lot of talented players and individuals,&rdquo; Trammell said. &ldquo;We knew it was going to be hard. It was a dogfight. Very physical.&rdquo;
Sears&rsquo; layup got Alabama within 66-64 with 46 seconds remaining, but Matt Bradley made two free throws and Micah Parrish followed by making three of four attempts, including two with 17 seconds left.
After the final buzzer sounded, Aztecs players and coaches rushed the court and hugged each other in a joyous celebration.
Jaedon LeDee finished with 12 points for the Aztecs.
San Diego State shot just 38% overall and was outrebounded 52-48, but made clutch shots to rally when Alabama seemed in control behind a faster pace after halftime. A technical foul on Dutcher also seemed to spark his seasoned team, which maintained its physical play and thwarted every attempt by the Tide to rally.
BLOCK PARTY
Mensah and Johnson had emphatic rejections with San Diego State ahead 53-50.
Both blocks came on layup attempts by Quinerly. Mensah swatted the first and Johnson rejected a subsequent attempt seconds later. Trammell followed with a step-back jumper for a five-point cushion.
BIG PICTURE
San Diego State: The Aztecs never seemed fazed by Alabama or Miller. More impressive was their resilience when the game seemed to be slipping away.
Alabama: Other than the second-half run that put them ahead briefly, the Crimson Tide seemed out of sorts in multiple ways. The team&rsquo;s reliance on 3-pointers showed its desperation.

Darrion Trammell and San Diego State used a dominant defensive performance to knock Alabama out of the tournament, 71-64.

San Diego State ousts top seed Alabama from March Madness

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi each scored 15 points and No. 10 Tennessee took down newly minted No. 1 Alabama 68-59 on Wednesday night.
Playing its first game as the top-ranked team since the 2002-03 season, the Crimson Tide (22-4, 12-1 SEC) led just once in the early going and committed 19 turnovers.
Unlike football, when Tennessee fans stormed their home field after beating No. 3 Alabama 52-49 in October, this sellout crowd stayed in the seats when it was over. &ldquo;Rocky Top&rdquo; loudly blared as the Volunteers (20-6, 9-5) ended a two-game skid.
Alabama&rsquo;s loss was the eighth by an AP No. 1 team this season. That ties the most in a regular season with 1993-94 in a stat dating to 1948-49.
Alabama became the last Power 5 men&rsquo;s team to lose a conference game this season. The Tide reached No. 1 in the latest poll by The Associated Press on Monday, but its only lead in this game came at 12-11.
Jonas Aidoo had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Tennessee.
Brandon Miller led Alabama with 15 points, Jaden Bradley added 14 and Nimari Burnett had 11.
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 61, LOUISVILLE 58
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin and Kihei Clark each scored 14 points and Virginia overcame poor foul shooting to win its third straight game.
The Cavaliers (20-4, 12-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 58-50 with 3:47 remaining but missed five free throws down the stretch to give the ACC-worst Cardinals (3-23, 1-14) a chance.
El Ellis had 21 points for Louisville, which has lost four straight since its lone ACC victory.
NO. 11 MARQUETTE 69, NO. 16 XAVIER 68
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Olivier-Maxence Prosper tipped in a putback with 1.6 seconds left and Marquette edged Xavier to extend its slim Big East lead.
Marquette (21-6, 13-3), picked to finish ninth by the league&rsquo;s coaches in the preseason poll, moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Xavier (19-7, 11-4), No. 24 Providence and No. 18 Creighton.
After a layup by Jack Nunge put the Musketeers ahead 68-67 with 8.3 seconds remaining, Marquette raced up the floor. Kam Jones missed his driving layup attempt, but Prosper used his right hand to tip in the offensive rebound and put the Golden Eagles back in front.
Xavier&rsquo;s Jerome Hunter threw a long inbounds pass to Nunge, whose deep 3-point try caromed off the backboard as the buzzer sounded.
NORTHWESTERN 64, NO. 14 INDIANA 62
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Boo Buie scored the tiebreaking basket with two seconds remaining and Northwestern followed up its first win over a top-ranked team by beating Indiana.
After defeating Purdue on Sunday for the program&rsquo;s first victory over an opponent ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, the Wildcats (19-7, 10-5 Big Ten) blew a 19-point halftime lead before topping the Hoosiers (18-8, 9-6).
Northwestern took sole possession of second place in the conference standings with its program-record fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season. Northwestern hadn&rsquo;t beaten Top 25 teams in consecutive games since January 2009.
Buie had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Trayce Jackson-Davis led Indiana with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
NO. 19 IOWA STATE 70, NO. 22 TCU 59
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Aljaz Kunc had career highs of 22 points and five 3-pointers in his first start in nearly two months, and Iowa State never trailed.
The Cyclones won their nation-best seventh game against a Top 25 opponent.
Jaren Holmes added 16 points for the Cyclones (17-8, 8-5). Kunc, playing his fourth game since missing six weeks with a broken finger, made four of his 3s in the first half.
TCU (17-9, 6-7) lost its fourth straight while playing its fifth game without injured conference preseason player of the year and top scorer Mike Miles Jr.
NO. 21 SAN DIEGO STATE 45, FRESNO STATE 43
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Matt Bradley scored 10 points and San Diego State slipped past Fresno State in a defensive struggle.
San Diego State (21-5, 12-2 Mountain West Conference) has won four in a row and eight of nine overall, extending its win streak against the Bulldogs to eight games.
Nathan Mensah had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks for SDSU, and Keshad Johnson added seven points and eight boards.
Isaiah Hill led Fresno State (9-16, 5-9) with 16 points. The Bulldogs shot 31% from the field and went just 2 of 25 from 3-point range.&nbsp;

A recap of Wednesday night's action in men's college hoops includes another top-ranked team falling for the eighth time this season.

No. 10 Tennessee beats newly crowned No. 1 Alabama

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; D&rsquo;Andre Gholston hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a stunning 86-85 victory over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.
With 4.2 seconds left in the game and the Volunteers (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) leading 85-83, Santiago Vescovi missed a free throw. His second attempt was waived off when Tobe Awaka committed a lane violation, setting up a final chance for the Tigers (19-6, 7-5).
Gholston took the inbounds and dribbled up the court before taking an off-balance contested 3-pointer from about 30 feet that swished through the net at the buzzer for the win. He was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the shot.
Tennessee came back from a 17-point deficit early in the second half and led the last 7:11 of the game.
NO. 3 ALABAMA 77, AUBURN 69
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Rylan Griffen scored 16 points, Mark Sears added 15 and Alabama held off a big challenge from its in-state rival Auburn.
The Crimson Tide (22-3, 12-0 Southeastern Conference) remained the only Power 5 team without a league loss. Sears and Griffen helped Alabama overcome an off shooting performance from star Brandon Miller, who had 13 points but missed all seven 3-point attempts.
Wendell Green Jr. had 16 of his 24 points in the second half for Auburn (17-8, 7-5).
STANFORD 88, NO. 4 ARIZONA 79
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Spencer Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half for Stanford and played a key role in neutralizing Pac-12 leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis, as the Cardinal stunned Arizona.
Stanford (11-14, 5-9 Pac-12) beat a ranked team for the first time this year and a top-five team for the second time in two seasons. Arizona (22-4, 11-4), hoping to stay a half-game behind UCLA for the conference lead, had a seven-game win snapped.
Courtney Ramey scored a season- and game-high 26 points for Arizona. Tubelis was held to four points and did not have any rebounds.
Stanford&rsquo;s Michael O&rsquo;Connell scored a team-high 22 points, helping the Cardinal outshoot the Wildcats 61% to 46% from the field.
NO. 5 TEXAS 94, WEST VIRGINIA 60
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabri Rice scored 24 points in just 17 minutes in Texas&rsquo; win over West Virginia.
Texas (20-5) remained in first place in the Big 12 at 9-3, while West Virginia (15-10, 4-8) lost for the sixth time in its last seven games against the Longhorns.
Rice, a guard who transferred this season from New Mexico State, was nearly perfect. He converted 5 of 6 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 3-pointers and all 10 free throws.
Emmitt Matthews led West Virginia with 13 points.
NO. 8 VIRGINIA 69, DUKE 62, OT
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, to lift Virginia over Duke in overtime.
Kihie Clark added 16 points and Ben Vander Plas 13 for the Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won despite a 9 for 22 performance from the free-throw line.
Duke (17-8, 8-6) seemed poised to win when Kyle Filipowski drove on the final play of regulation and two defenders contested his shot. The officials initially whistled a foul, but waved it off after a lengthy review. Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points.
NO. 9 KANSAS 78, OKLAHOMA 55
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 18 points, and Kansas rolled past Oklahoma.
Wilson, who entered the day leading the Big 12 with nearly 21 points per game, bounced back from a two-point outing against Texas on Monday.
Dajuan Harris scored 16 points and Kevin McCullar added 13 for the Jayhawks (20-5, 8-4 Big 12).
Jalen Hill scored 14 points and Otega Oweh added 11 for the Oklahoma (12-13, 2-10). Grant Sherfield, who leads the Sooners with nearly 17 points per game, was held to 10 on 4-for-14 shooting.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 89, GEORGETOWN 75
WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek each scored 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for Marquette in its win over Georgetown.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 11 points and Chase Ross added 10 for Marquette (20-6, 12-3 Big East), which moved into first place in the conference.
Jay Heath scored 18 points to lead last-place Georgetown (6-20, 1-14), which has lost five straight after ending their league record 29-game conference losing streak on Jan. 24.
OKLAHOMA ST 64, NO. 11 IOWA ST 56
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; John-Michael Wright scored 19 points and Oklahoma State rallied past Iowa State.
The loss was the Cyclones&rsquo; fourth in five games.
Bryce Thompson added 12 points for the Cowboys (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) in their fifth straight win.
Aljaz Kunc scored 13 for Iowa State (16-8, 7-5).
TEXAS TECH 71, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 63
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash;De&rsquo;Vion Harmon scored 20 points, including a crucial driving basket in the final minute, as Texas Tech upended Kansas State.
The Red Raiders (13-12, 2-10 Big 12) held the Wildcats to two field goals in the game&rsquo;s final four minutes.
Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) edged as close as one point throughout the second half, but Tech answered with key baskets to maintain the lead. The Wildcats were led by Markquis Nowell&rsquo;s 18 points. Desi Sills added 12 points.
NO. 14 BAYLOR 72, NO. 17 TCU 68
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 28 points, with 16 in a row for Baylor during the stretch when the Bears overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and then held on to beat TCU.
LJ Cryer had 23 points for the Bears (19-6, 8-4 Big 12), who on Jan. 4 at home against TCU blew a 17-point lead in an 88-87 loss. They have won nine of their last 10 games.
Damion Baugh had 16 points and 10 assist for TCU (17-8, 6-6).
NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 81, PORTLAND 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 34 points, six rebounds and six assists as Saint Mary&rsquo;s handled Portland on the road.
Alex Ducas added 18 points and six rebounds for the Gaels (22-5, 11-1 West Coast Conference) and Aidan Mahaney contributed 10 points and five assists.
Kristian Sjolund led the Pilots (13-15, 5-8) with 12 points, and Juan Gorosito and Tyler Robinson each added 10 points.
NO. 18 INDIANA 62, MICHIGAN 61
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 21 points and Indiana held on for a win over Michigan.
Freshman Jett Howard was short on a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, leaving the Wolverines without a point for the final 5:12.
The Hoosiers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) trailed by 11 in the first half and for much of the second, but went ahead for good with 2:58 left when Hood-Schifino made two free throws for their last points.
Michigan (14-11, 8-6) fell to 0-4 against teams in the AP Top 25, losing each game by five or fewer points.
Hunter Dickinson scored 16 points, Kobe Bufkin had 14 points and Howard added 12 for the Wolverines.
NO. 19 MIAMI 93, LOUISVILLE 85
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Nijel Pack scored 22 points in Miami&rsquo;s win over Louisville.
Five days following its dominant 22-point home win over Duke, Miami (20-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) could not shake off the conference&rsquo;s last-place team until Pack&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 2:44 remaining made it 82-72. Pack shot 8 of 14, including 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Isaiah Wong and Norchad Omier finished with 21 points each and Jordan Miller added 10 for the Hurricanes, who are 14-0 at home.
El Ellis scored a career-high 33 points and had five assists while Jae&rsquo;Lyn Withers finished with 18 for the Cardinals (3-22, 1-13).
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 73, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 68
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; David Jones scored 16 points and AJ Storr added 15 for St. John&rsquo;s, which beat Providence.
Joel Soriano had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (15-11, 5-10 Big East).
Bryce Hopkins equaled a career best with 29 points for the Friars (18-7, 10-4).
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, BOSTON COLLEGE 62
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarkel Joiner scored 26 points and D.J. Burns Jr. added 18 with 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina State over Boston College.
Terquavion Smith scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (20-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), giving him 1,000 points for his career.
Quinten Post scored 20 points for Boston College (12-14, 6-9).
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 56, NO. 21 UCONN 53
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Trey Alexander scored 17 points to lead Creighton past UConn after the Huskies had what would have been a tying 3-pointer erased on video review in the final seconds.
Creighton (17-8, 11-3) is a half-game behind Big East-leading Marquette with its eighth straight win. The Huskies (19-7, 8-7) lost for the first time in four games.
Adama Sanogo had 17 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.
ILLINOIS 69, NO. 24 RUTGERS 60
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Coleman Hawkins scored 18 points and Illinois held Rutgers scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the second half to rally for the win.
Illinois (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) trailed 47-41 with 14 1/2 minutes left before Hawkins&rsquo; 3-pointer started a 19-0 run. Hawkins hit four consecutive shots &mdash; including a 3 &mdash; and gave the Illini the lead for good at 48-47.
Rutgers (16-9, 8-6) missed 15 straight shots during its drought.
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE 82, UNLV 71
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Adam Seiko scored all 18 points on 3-pointers and Matt Bradley added 17 points for San Diego, the Mountain West Conference front-runner that beat UNLV for its third straight win and seventh in eight games.
The Aztecs (20-5, 11-2 MWC) buried the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels in a blizzard of 3-pointers and slam dunks, including during a 14-0 run midway through the first half, to sweep the season series and top UNLV the fifth straight time. Keshad Johnson scored 11 of his 14 points in the game&rsquo;s first 6 1/2 minutes and Nathan Mensah had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Elijah Harkless scored 24 for UNLV (16-9, 5-8) before fouling out with 2:05 to go. Keshon Gilbert added 19 for the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels, who didn&rsquo;t get their first assist until two minutes into the second half.

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college hoops includes numerous upsets in the top-15.

Three-pointer at buzzer lifts Missouri over No. 6 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

The Dominican Republic is a place that is mostly known as a hotbed for talent on the baseball diamond, and not the hardwood. However, its basketball talent pedigree, although not as credible as some of the other countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, and lineage of players is still impressive.
Current NBA players such as Al Horford and Karl-Anthony Towns (whose mother was Dominican) -- and former NBA players like Francisco Garcia, Felipe Lopez and Charlie Villanueva, along with others -- are among the top talents the nation has produced. As we head into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, I recently took a deep dive into Chris Duarte of the Oregon Ducks, who will likely be the next player of Dominican descent to play in the NBA.
Hailing from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, then attending high school in Troy, New York and junior college in Niceville, Fla., and now the University of Oregon, in Eugene, Ore., Chris Duarte has not had the typical path of most NBA prospects.
To start, Duarte originally played baseball, and more specifically was a pitcher who threw 90-mile-per-hour fastballs. Of course, being a baseball player by trade is not atypical where he's from. Duarte didn&rsquo;t actually start taking basketball seriously until he was 13 years old, as he sought to emulate his older brother, Michael, whom he noticed had taken a liking to the sport. Despite a late introduction to the game, Chris's talent was apparent even in the early stages of his development.
Once he turned his focus exclusively to hoops, Duarte spent his adolescence dominating his peers in local tournaments, eventually progressing to larger and larger stages. Fortunately for all of the basketball world, Duarte&rsquo;s family moved to New York, in large part because they sought to help cultivate his basketball skills and abilities.&nbsp;
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Duarte attended Redemption Christian Academy in Troy for his junior and senior years of high school. He helped lead Redemption to an 8-8 record his junior year and 5-7 record his senior year, while playing a fairly rigorous national schedule featuring teams like Brewster Academy and Victory Rock Prep. On the grassroots scene, Duarte competed in the Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) with the NY Lightning. He played a feature role in his lone AAU season with the club, playing alongside mid-to-high major talents like Aundre Hyatt (LSU), Nathan Mensah (San Diego State) and Isaac Kante (Hofstra). Over 18 games, Duarte posted 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in just under 23 minutes per contest.&nbsp;
Upon his graduation from Redemption Christian Academy, Duarte was selected to play in the Jordan Brand&rsquo;s New York Regional Game. Separate from the more well-known and more prestigious All-American games that most people are familiar with, the regional game still featured a bounty of high-major talents, with guys like Jordan Nwora (Louisville), Collin Gillespie (Villanova), Darryl Morsell (Maryland), and Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech). Duarte registered 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists for the &ldquo;City&rdquo; team in a 170-162 loss to the &ldquo;Suburban&rdquo; team.&nbsp;
A month after the Jordan Brand game, Duarte committed to Western Kentucky and joined Rick Stansbury&rsquo;s inaugural recruiting class. He enrolled there in June 2017, but never played a minute for the Hilltoppers. (The crown jewel of that recruiting class, Mitchell Robinson, also did not suit up for WKU).
Duarte failed to qualify academically and was faced with two options: sit out a full-year and try to gain eligibility for the 2018-2019 season, or play at the junior college level, where he could hit the floor right away. Duarte opted for the latter, joining well-known JUCO powerhouse Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla.
At Northwest Florida, Duarte played a crucial role for head coach Steve DeMeo&rsquo;s Raiders in the 2017-18 season. Coming off the bench for all but one game, Duarte registered 12.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per contest, playing next to future Illinois Illini guard Andres Feliz. The NWF Raiders made it to the Elite Eight of the NJCAA National Championship, where they were upset by the No. 10 seed College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles, 107-93. For his efforts on the season, Duarte was named First-Team All-Panhandle Conference.
Six games into his sophomore season, Duarte signed his letter of intent to play for the Oregon Ducks under Dana Altman. That year, Duarte was the unquestioned leader of the NWF team, starting all 33 games and leading the team in scoring at 19.3 points per game. With the help of fellow March Madness star Javion Hamlet (North Texas), the Raiders registered a 28-5 regular-season record and a No. 1 overall seed in the 2018-19 edition of the NJCAA National Championship bracket. Northwest Florida State again fell in the Elite Eight, to Ranger College (TX), 66-63. Duarte was named the NJCAA National Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American. 
&ldquo;Chris is everything a coach wants in a student-athlete," DeMeo, now an assistant coach at St. John&rsquo;s, said of Duarte on the team website. "He is a great student, great person and a very special basketball player. Chris has really set the bar high here at Northwest Florida for all of our future Raiders, and I look forward to watching him grow and develop at Oregon and even beyond college.&rdquo;
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In his first season with Oregon, Duarte immediately settled into a role as the wingman to four-year starter and All-American Payton Pritchard, who is now with the Boston Celtics. Duarte was the second leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game while starting all the games he appeared in for the Ducks. He registered three 20-point games on the season, including a 30-point, 11-rebound, and 8-steal eruption in a home win v.s USC.
For most of the final month of that regular season, Duarte battled through a right hand injury, and it was apparent, as his effectiveness dwindled. His points average dipped to 6.2, his field goal percentage plummeted to 30.2% and his three-point percentage slipped to 13.6%. However, his toughness and resilience remained evident consistently. He finally succumbed to his injury, undergoing surgery to repair a broken finger on his shooting hand on Feb. 27, 2020. Altman ruled him out for the Pac-12 Tournament before COVID wiped out the entirety of the NCAA postseason. The pandemic cancellation was especially hard on the Ducks, as they finished 24-7, were the regular-season conference champions and seemed poised to be a potential threat in the big dance.&nbsp;
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Duarte entered this current season with the spotlight more firmly on him, as he was the Ducks leading returning scorer. He was tasked with being the nucleus of a team, featuring four transfers in Eugene Omoruyi (Rutgers), LJ Figueroa (St. John&rsquo;s), Eric Williams Jr. (Duquesne), and Amauri Hardy (UNLV). To further complicate team chemistry, Will Richardson -- the longest-tenured Duck in the rotation -- underwent thumb surgery prior to Oregon&rsquo;s first game in December against Missouri.
Despite the challenges, Duarte was nothing short of sensational coming out of the gates, as he shouldered a massive scoring load while still excelling on the defensive end. He posted averages of 18.4 points, 2.5 steals and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 45.6% from three-point range. Oregon started the season with a 9-2 record, peaking at No. 17 in the polls in that time frame. The Duarte-led Ducks stormed through Pac-12 conference play, finishing 14-4 and narrowly capturing the regular-season conference title over USC.
Duarte finished the regular season with a strong average of 19.2 points per game, while shooting 52% from three-point range over his last five games.
&ldquo;The first time that I saw Chris Duarte was his junior year at Oregon. I thought he was a solid player. I noted that he had good size for a wing, played hard, was super competitive, and he could really shoot the ball," added Matt Babcock, BasketballNews.com's Lead NBA Draft Analyst. "My evaluation of him was certainly positive, but I can&rsquo;t say that I was overly confident that he was going to be a sure-fire NBA player.
"However, fast-forward to this season, and Duarte has played on such a high level all season long and has subsequently changed the narrative for me. I watched him play in person in early January this year, and he was incredible. From there, I watched film on him keenly, and I must say that I was left thoroughly impressed with him as a player. I expect some to be critical of his age, as he is older for a draft prospect, but I think he&rsquo;s worthy of being a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, regardless of his age.&rdquo;
Granted a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament for their regular season performance, the Ducks demolished Arizona State in the quarterfinals by 18 points. In the semifinal game against Oregon State, the team got a nightmarish wake-up call, as the Beavers won by 11 in a wire-to-wire victory that was never in doubt. But this would not be the last we saw of Duarte and the Ducks.
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Altman&rsquo;s squad entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed, slated to play the No. 10 seed VCU Rams in the first round. Last weekend, over a year after he missed out on his first opportunity at a March Madness debut, Duarte was set to take the biggest stage in a matchup against another NBA prospect in Na&rsquo;Shon &ldquo;Bones&rdquo; Highland. His debut, however, would be delayed another 48 hours, as the Ducks&rsquo; first-round matchup was deemed a "no contest," as a COVID breakout ensued within the Rams&rsquo; locker room. The Ducks automatically advanced to the next round of the tournament.
In the second round, the Ducks headed towards a clash with Iowa and consensus All-American Luka Garza. In that game, Duarte wasted no time in making his presence felt, as he scored 23 points and dished out 7 assists against the Hawkeyes. Oregon ultimately ran away with the game, as the team ended the first half strongly and dominated Iowa in the second half.&nbsp;
Sunday night, Chris Duarte and the Oregon Ducks face the USC Trojans, a conference foe they are very familiar with -- and the team they barely edged out for the Pac-12 regular-season title. Another interesting element of this matchup is USC's star freshman, Evan Mobley, a likely top draft pick this summer. This should be a star-studded matchup, and we'll see if Chris Duarte can continue to elevate his stock and perhaps convince the general public to join Matt Babcock in considering him as a worthy first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Grant Aqui details the unique journey of Chris Duarte to college basketball's biggest stage and blossoming into an NBA Draft prospect.