No. 7 Houston routs Jackson State for third straight victory

Sharp and Harwell combined to shoot 16 of 25 from the field and were 9 of 17 on 3 pointers for the game. Sharp had his second straight game scoring at least 20 points as he had 27 points on six 3 pointers in the Cougars’ 82-67 win over Florida State on Saturday night.

Houston shot 48% and was 11 of 33 on 3-pointers. The Cougars forced 25 turnovers and converted them into 30 points. Houston also held dominant advantages in bench points (40-11), points in the paint (24-4) and second chance points (25-3).

Jayme Mitchell Jr. scored 12 points to lead Jackson State (1-8). The Tigers shot 29.5% and were 9 of 28 on 3-pointers.

Jackson State connected on 5 of its first 6 3-point attempts and trailed 21-16 with 10 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half after a 3-pointer by Mike Williams. Houston finished the half on a 19-0 run, with Sharp scoring 11 points. The Tigers missed their last 13 field goal attempts of the half.

NO. 6 PURDUE 85, MINNESOTA 57

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith had 15 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, and Trey Kaufman-Renn added 14 points and 10 rebounds before departing early as Purdue blew out Minnesota.

The Boilermakers (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten) sent a resounding statement in their first game since tying the record for the largest home loss by a No. 1 ranked team. Purdue lost by 23 points to then No. 10 Iowa State on Saturday.

There was no repeat, thanks largely to a suffocating defense. Purdue still hasn’t lost consecutive home games since February 2020. Oscar Cluff added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer finished with 10 points.

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson led Minnesota with 17 points. Cade Tyson scored 15 as Minnesota shot a dismal 35.7% from the field and was even worse, 6 of 25, on 3-pointers. Purdue also had a 46-23 rebounding advantage.

Purdue sealed the victory by starting the second half on a 31-4 run while limiting Minnesota (5-5, 1-1) to just two baskets over a span of nearly 11 minutes. The spurt left the Golden Gophers facing an insurmountable 66-36 deficit.

It didn’t start that way, though. After Purdue built an early 23-13 cushion, the Gophers charged back by cutting the deficit to 35-32 at the half.

Smith moved within one assist of joining D.J. Cooper as the only Division I players to record 1,500 points, 850 assists and 550 rebounds in their careers. Cooper played at Ohio from 2013-16.

NO. 23 NEBRASKA 90, WISCONSIN 60

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Rienk Mast had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Nebraska took over the game midway through the first half and cruised to a win over Wisconsin.

Ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2018, Nebraska (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) matched its best start in school history. Nebraska also opened the 1977-78 season with 10 straight wins.

Wisconsin (7-3, 1-1) lost its second straight road game, scoring its fewest points of the season.

Tied at 21 midway through the first half, Nebraska outscored Wisconsin 26-10 in the last 10 minutes and shut out the Badgers in the final 3:50, closing out the half on a 10-0 run and going up 47-31.

Wisconsin hit just 33% of its first-half shots and just 21% from 3-point range. Nebraska hit 55% percent of its shots, 40% from 3.

Nebraska went up 61-39 on Mast’s hook shot with 15:39 remaining and took a 33-point lead on Brandon Frager’s 3-pointer that made it 84-51 with 5:25 left.

Wisconsin was just 7 for 32 on 3-point attempts and finished just 34% from the field for the game. Nebraska hit 54% of its shots and was 11 for 30 from 3.