No. 3 UConn tops Columbia 89-62 behind Ball and Karaban

Miles Franklin and Blair Thompson had 10 points each for Columbia (1-1).

UConn missed five of its first six shots, but missed consecutive field-goal attempts only twice for the rest of the first half.

Columbia only trailed by a point with 12:39 left in the first half, but the Lions missed their next 10 shots and the Huskies capitalized by hitting three 3-pointers — two by Ross — in a 16-2 run.

UConn made 10 of its last 12 shots to take a 50-27 lead at halftime. Karaban had 14 points and Ball added 13 in the first half.

Columbia outscored UConn for much of the second half before Ball, Karaban and Reed got going. The Huskies were not seriously challenged, but coach Dan Hurley made frequent substitutions.

NO. 15 UCLA 83, WEST GEORGIA 62

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tyler Bilodeau scored 21 points and UCLA overcame the absence of star guard Donovan Dent and West Georgia’s strong 3-point shooting to beat the Wolves.

Dent was held out in a precautionary move because of a muscle strain. The New Mexico transfer averaged 16.5 points, 6.5 assists and three rebounds in the Bruins’ first two wins of the season.

Bilodeau shot 7 of 12 from the field and made all six of his free throws. Trent Perry added 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 points.

Sheldon Williams-Dryden scored 16 points to lead West Georgia (1-2), which lost to Big Ten opponent Nebraska 86-53 in its season opener. The Wolves shot 13 of 25 from 3-point range, led by Brady Hardewig with four.

The Wolves’ first five made baskets were 3-pointers around an 11-0 spurt by the Bruins. From there, the Wolves outscored UCLA 23-17 to trail 37-32 at halftime.

Perry scored five of UCLA’s first seven points in the second half, extending the lead to 44-34. The Wolves hit three 3s in a row — two by Chas Lewless — to close within five.

That’s when UCLA scored 10 in a row, including five by Bilodeau and a 3-pointer from Jamar Brown, for a 58-43 lead. The Bruins picked up their shooting in the second half, making 15 of 25 from the floor.

NO. 16 IOWA STATE 96, SANFORD 80

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Tamin Lipsey scored 14 of his 25 points in the second half to lead Iowa State to a win over Mississippi State in a neutral-site game that was the 100th Division I basketball contest played at the Sanford Pentagon.

Joshua Jefferson scored 18 points and Blake Buchanan had 13 points and six rebounds for the Cyclones (3-0).

The game was a homecoming of sorts for Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger, who coached South Dakota State from 2016-19.

Lipsey, a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2024, also helped the Cyclones on the defensive end with a game-leading three steals.

Iowa State forced 26 Mississippi State turnovers that resulted in 29 points. The Bulldogs committed just seven turnovers in their season-opening win over North Alabama on Nov. 5.

Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs (1-1) with 25 points on 8-for-17 shooting, including 4-for-10 sniping from 3-point distance. Achor Achor finished with nine points and eight rebounds.