TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Koa Peat, Jaden Bradley and Motiejus Krivas each had a double-double as No. 1 Arizona continued its string of blowout victories in a 99-71 win over South Dakota State on Monday night.
The Wildcats (13-0) are off to their best start since 2013-14, when they began 21-0. It is the fourth time they’ve started a season with at least 13 consecutive victories.
Peat had 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Bradley had 13 points and a career-best 10 assists and Krivas went for 13 points and 11 rebounds as Arizona won by at least 20 for the eighth consecutive game, tying a school record set in 1928-29.
Arizona had six players in double figures for the third time this season.
Kalen Garry had 20 points and Jaden Jackson scored 18 for South Dakota State, which fell to 1-23 against ranked opponents. The Jackrabbits shot 40.6% and made 10 3-pointers, but their 14 turnovers led to 18 points for Arizona.
Arizona made 14 of its first 21 shots to build a 43-25 lead with 5:58 left in the first half but then missed 13 of 16. The Wildcats made up for the inconsistent shooting from the field by going 24 of 31 from the foul line.
NO. 2 MICHIGAN 112, MCNEESE STATE 71
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. had 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead Michigan to a victory over McNeese State.
The Wolverines (12-0) are off to their best start since they opened the 2018-19 season 17-0, a school record. It’s just the fourth time Michigan has won its first 12 games.
The Cowboys (10-3) had won four straight overall and two consecutive road games before being overmatched by one of college basketball’s top teams.
The 24 points matched a career high for Johnson. He also scored 24 this season against Oakland.
Yaxel Lendeborg added 16 points for the Wollverines, and Trey McKenney and Aday Mara each had 13. Nimari Burnett scored 12 and Roddy Gayle Jr. finished with 10.
Garwey Dual led McNeese State with 15 points. Larry Johnson scored 14, Tyshawn Archie had 12 and DJ Richards Jr. added 11 for the Cowboys.
The Wolverines scored the first seven points and led 22-7 before the seven-minute mark of the first half. McNeese State was never able to close the gap to less than 10 the rest of the game. Michigan led 60-29 at halftime.
Michigan scored 100 points for the third straight game and sixth time in seven games. The Wolverines have reached the 100-point plateau seven times already this season. That’s three games shy of the school record set in 1988-89.
NO. 3 IOWA STATE 89, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 61
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Joshua Jefferson scored a season-high 23 points, Blake Buchanan had five dunks and 16 points and Iowa State beat Houston Christian.
The Cyclones (13-0) led by 14 points in the first half and 31 in the second.
Milan Momcilovic added 13 points for Iowa State. Killyan Toure had 11.
Demari Williams led Houston Christian (5-8) with 19 points. Ryan Bartley and D’Aundre Samuels each had 14.
NO. 5 PURDUE 101, KENT STATE 60
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Freshman Jack Benter came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 20 points, and Fletcher Loyer added 19 points to lead Purdue to a rout of Kent State.
Trey Kaufman-Renn had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Braden Smith had 12 points and eight assists for the Boilermakers (12-1) in their nonconference finale. Reserve Daniel Jacobsen converted all seven of his free throws and added 11 points as Purdue converted 17 of 19 shots from the free throw line.
Morgan Safford and Jahari Williamson scored 10 points apiece for the Golden Flashes (10-3). Delrecco Gillespie, who led the nation in rebounding average at 12.6 and led Kent State with a 19.3 points scoring average entering the game, was limited to nine points and four rebounds.
The Boilermakers shot 56% from the field, including 39% (12 of 31) from 3-point range. The Golden Flashes shot 34% overall, and were 7 for 27 from long distance.
Purdue held a 40-28 rebounding edge and a 45-21 advantage in points off the bench. The Boilermakers committed just eight turnovers compared to 15 for Kent State.
Purdue led by as many as 48 points at 94-46 with 6:03 left before going deeper into its bench.
NO. 8 HOUSTON 69, MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE 60
HOUSTON (AP) — Kingston Flemings had 15 points and five assists, Joseph Tugler added 13 points and six rebounds and Houston pulled away in the second half for a win over Middle Tennessee State.
Emanuel Sharp scored 10 points before leaving with 8:53 remaining in the second half after taking a hard fall on the floor on a drive. He had a heating pad on his lower back while sitting on the bench.
Houston (12-1) won its sixth straight game and 13th straight game at home. The Cougars shot 41% but struggled from long range, going 6 for 20 on 3-pointers. Houston forced 19 turnovers and held a 30-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
Kamari Lands scored 18 points, Alec Oglesby added 12 points, Torey Alston had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Chris Loofe finished with 10 points and six rebounds for Middle Tennessee (7-5).
The Blue Raiders shot 47% and were 11 of 28 on 3-pointers, which kept them in the game, but the turnovers were too much to overcome.
Leading 45-40 with 12 ½ minutes left in the second half, the Cougars went on a 12-3 run to open up a 14-point lead on a dunk by Flemings with seven minutes remaining. Sharp and Flemings each scored four points to pace the run.
NO. 9 MICHIGAN STATE 114, CORNELL 97
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jeremy Fears Jr. scored a career-high 21 points and added 11 assists for Michigan State as the Spartans overcame a sluggish start to beat Cornell.
Coen Carr had 19 points and six rebounds, and Trey Fort scored 14 points. Divine Ugochukwu added 12 points, and Jaxon Kohler had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Fears’ previous high was 19 points against North Carolina on Nov. 27.
Michigan State (12-1) reached a season high for points and also allowed a season high in its final nonconference game. Its final total was the highest output since Dec. 13, 2008, when the Spartans had 118 against Alcorn State.
The Spartans hadn’t given up more than 72 points in any game this season. Their previous season high score was 92 points against Toledo on Dec. 16.
Cooper Noard led Cornell (6-6) with 19 points. Adam Hinton and Jake Fiegen added 15 points apiece.
NO. 11 VANDERBILT 96, NEW HAVEN 53
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tyler Tanner scored the first five points of the game and finished with 23 as Vanderbilt never trailed and routed New Haven.
The Commodores came into their nonconference finale the Southeastern Conference’s only undefeated team and one of only six still unbeaten. They improved to 13-0 for the second time in program history and the first since the 2007-08 season, when Vanderbilt won its first 16 games.
Jalen Washington added 21 points off the bench for Vanderbilt. Devin McGlockton had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyler Harris scored 16.
New Haven (5-8) started its transition to Division I this season joining the Northeast Conference, and President Jens Frederiksen graduated from Vanderbilt, where he also played on the men’s tennis team.
Recommended for you
Jabri Fitzpatrick led the Chargers with 12 points.
NO. 14 ALABAMA 102, YALE 78
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Aden Holloway scored a career-high 26 points and handed out seven assists as Alabama defeated Yale.
Amari Allen, Jalil Bethea and Latrell Wrightsell added 15 points apiece for the Crimson Tide (10-3), who played without star guard Labaron Philon Jr. for the first time this season. Alabama coach Nate Oats said Philon, the team’s leader in points and assists, injured his leg in the previous game Dec. 21 against Kennesaw State but it’s not a long-term concern.
Despite Philon’s absence, Alabama had one of its best offensive games of the season. The Crimson Tide scored a season-high 55 points and made 11 shots from 3-point range in the first half, shooting 50% from the floor overall.
Alabama entered as the fourth-best 3-point shooting team in the nation with 12.8 per game and finished with a season-best 22 from behind the arc.
Houston Mallete had 12 points for the Tide, and Allen grabbed nine rebounds.
Nick Townsend scored 18 points and Isaac Celiscar added 17 to lead Yale (11-2), which had its eight-game winning streak snapped.
NO. 18 ARKANSAS 103, JAMES MADISON 74
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Freshman reserve Meleek Thomas scored a career-high 28 points and Arkansas beat James Madison.
Thomas shot 8 of 16 from the floor and 6 of 10 from 3-point range. He scored 18 points in the first half as Arkansas (10-3) built a 20-point lead at the break and extended its home winning streak to eight games this season.
Freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half. Acuff and Thomas combined for 30 of Arkansas’ 48 points in the opening 20 minutes. D.J. Wagner pitched in with 14 points and Malique added 11.
Bradley Douglas led James Madison (7-7) with 19 points, and Justin McBride added 13. The Dukes fell to 1-7 in road games this season.
James Madison closed within 16 points with 10:43 left in the second half before Arkansas went on a 15-0 run that included two 3-pointers by Thomas.
James Madison tried to keep pace and shot 12 for 32 from long distance, but Arkansas capitalized when mistakes occurred, forcing 14 turnovers and scoring 21 points off the giveaways.
NO. 20 ILLINOIS 90, SOUTHERN 55
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Jake Davis hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and Keaton Wagler had 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as Illinois closed out its non-conference schedule with a win over Southern.
Zvonimir Ivisic had 13 points and three blocked shots, and his twin brother, Tomislav, added 11 points and seven rebounds for the high-scoring Illini (10-3), who average nearly 90 points and have five players who average in double figures. Illinois ranks third in the nation in that category, behind Baylor and Michigan, each with six. David Mirkovic also scored 11 points.
Michael Jacobs scored 11 points for Southern (4-9), which lost its fifth straight and fell to 1-9 on the road. Jacobs was held nine points under his average and shot 3 for 16 from the floor. Malek Abdelgowad scored 10 points for the Jaguars.
Illinois outrebounded Southern 45-26. The Illini lead the nation with seven players averaging more than four rebounds per game.
The Illini led 46-25 at halftime. They shot nearly 60% from the floor, made eight 3-pointers and were 8 for 8 from the free throw line in the first half. Illinois finished 14 for 34 from long distance and 16 of 18 at the line.
Brad Underwood’s first game as coach at Illinois was a 102-55 victory over Southern on Nov. 10, 2017. With Monday’s win, Underwood’s record in nine seasons in charge of the Illini is 175-104. Underwood is 10-0 in his career against the current 12-team membership of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, 7-0 at Illinois.
NO. 22 FLORIDA 94, DARTMOUTH 72
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Alex Condon scored 17 points, Rueben Chinyelu notched his seventh double-double of the season and Florida capped its nonconference schedule with a victory against Dartmouth.
The defending national champion Gators (9-4) built a 32-point lead in the second half and cruised from there despite allowing the Big Green (5-7) to make 12 shots from 3-point range.
Florida had five players score in double figures and closed 2025 with a fourth consecutive victory, the last one coming in the program’s first meeting with Dartmouth.
The Gators open Southeastern Conference play at Missouri on Saturday. The Tigers should provide a much stiffer test than Dartmouth, which was overmatched at every position and doubled up for part of the game on the scoreboard.
Urban Klavzar hit two 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 12 points off the bench for Florida, which also got double-digit outputs from starters Xaivian Lee (12) and Boogie Fland (10). Chinyelu finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Micah Handlogten chipped in eight points and 12 rebounds for the home team, but he missed all six free throws.
Cameron McNamee led Dartmouth with 16 points.
NO. 23 GEORGIA 89, LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY 74
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Marcus “Smurf” Millender scored 14 points and Georgia rallied in the second half to beat Long Island University.
Georgia (12-1) took its first lead — at 48-47 — on Justin Bailey’s 3-pointer early in the second half. Bailey finished with 13 points. Blue Cain added 12.
Greg Gordon led Long Island (6-7) with 20 points.
Georgia was outscored 48-32 in the paint in its nonconference finale. The Bulldogs shot 46% from the field.
Long Island made 11 of its 16 shots from the field and had an 11-point lead in the first half. The Sharks scored 15 points off 10 Georgia turnovers.
Georgia used a 13-0 run to cushion its lead. The Bulldogs led by 15 points.
NO. 25 IOWA 90, UMASS-LOWELL 62
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored 22 points as Iowa finished the nonconference part of its schedule with a win over UMass Lowell.
Iowa (11-2), which moved into The Associated Press Top 25 last week for the first time since the third week of the 2022-23 season, is off to its best start since the 2020-21 team opened 12-2. The Hawkeyes went 10-1 in nonconference play.
Cam Manyawu had 14 points and nine rebounds, Alvaro Folgueiras also scored 14 and Tavion Banks added 12 points for the Hawkeyes, who won their third consecutive game.
Stirtz, who was 7 of 13 from the field, also had eight assists, giving him 500 for his career.
Iowa took advantage of a size difference to score 54 points inside against the River Hawks. The Hawkeyes shot 58.2% for the game.
The Hawkeyes made eight of their first nine shots and led by 24 before taking a 47-30 advantage into halftime. Iowa shot 69.2% from the field in the period, with 14 assists on 18 field goals.
UMass Lowell pulled to 47-34 with 18:49 left before the Hawkeyes went on a 12-2 run to regain momentum. Iowa led by 33 late in the second half.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.