Freshman Cooper Flagg rang up 42 points and No. 4 Duke held off visiting Notre Dame for an 86-78 victory Saturday afternoon in Durham, N.C.
Flagg made 11 of 14 shots from the field, including a 4-for-6 mark on 3-pointers, and went 16-for-17 on free throws in setting a record for the most points scored by a freshman in Atlantic Coast Conference history. He also became the first Duke player to reach 40 points since J.J. Redick did it twice in January 2006 and marked the most points for any Blue Devil since Danny Ferry’s 58 in 1988. Flagg also distributed a team-high seven assists and pulled in six rebounds.
Duke (14-2, 6-0 ACC), which has won 10 consecutive games, posted the game’s first 14 points to set the tone.
Markus Burton’s 23 points led Notre Dame (7-9, 1-4), which was coming off a pair of one-point losses. The Irish did go 14 of 23 on 3s.
No. 1 Tennessee 74, Texas 70
Zakai Zeigler hit for 16 points, including a basket and four clutch free throws in the final minute, as the Volunteers outlasted the Longhorns in a Southeastern Conference slugfest in Austin, Texas.
After Texas (11-5, 0-3) took a 60-58 lead with little more than four minutes to play, Tennessee (15-1, 2-1) answered with an 8-0 run, capped by Jordan Gainey’s 3-pointer with 2:41 left to jump ahead 66-60. Texas then scored three straight points to get within three, but Ziegler put the game away.
He stoked the lead back to five with a driving layup with 59 seconds to play. He then grabbed a defensive rebound, was fouled and canned two free throws with 32 seconds left.
No. 2 Auburn 66, South Carolina 63
Dylan Cardwell converted the go-ahead dunk with 1:32 remaining as the Tigers withstood an ankle injury to star Johni Broome and escaped with a victory over the Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C.
Auburn (15-1, 3-0 SEC) won its eighth straight despite Broome injuring his left ankle defending a shot under the rim with 13:45 remaining. Broome scored six points on 3-of-11 shooting in 24 minutes before getting hurt when he stepped on teammate Chaney Johnson’s foot defending a basket by Collin Murray-Boyles that gave the South Carolina (10-6, 0-3) a 47-45 lead.
On the SEC network postgame telecast Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Broome has a “significant sprain” and will be getting tests to determine the severity.
No. 3 Iowa State 85, Texas Tech 84 (OT)
Joshua Jefferson swished two free throws with 4.1 seconds left in overtime to lift the Cyclones past the host Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas, for Iowa State’s 11th straight win.
Jefferson threw an inbounds pass with 8.4 seconds left in OT, got the ball back on the left block and got fouled by Darrion Williams on a move to the basket. The last two free throws left Iowa State (14-1, 4-0) 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in overtime after it struggled in regulation (11 of 18).
The Red Raiders (11-4, 2-2) grabbed an 84-83 lead with 15.4 seconds left on the clock when Williams snatched an air-ball and banked in a blind reverse layup. That was the eighth of nine lead changes — seven of those in the closing five minutes of regulation plus overtime.
No. 5 Alabama 94, No. 10 Texas A&M 88
Mark Sears poured in 27 points and sunk four key free throws in the final 21 seconds as the Crimson Tide held off the short-handed Aggies in a key SEC battle in College Station, Texas.
Alabama (14-2, 3-0) led by eight points at halftime and by 15 with eight minutes to play but had to outlast a torrid Texas A&M rally that saw the Aggies get within three with less than 90 seconds to play.
Texas A&M (13-3, 2-1), which was without injured leading scorer Wade Taylor III, dropped its first game this season against a team ranked in the Top 25 after winning its first four contests against ranked teams.
No. 6 Kentucky 95, No. 14 Mississippi State 90
Jaxson Robinson scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Wildcats past the Bulldogs in an SEC battle in Starkville, Miss.
Ansley Almonor, who finished with 11 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers to key the game-winning rally in the second half for the Wildcats (13-3, 2-1 SEC) to answer a big run from the Bulldogs (14-2, 2-1) and give Kentucky coach Mark Pope career win No. 200.
The Wildcats, coming off a loss Tuesday at unranked Georgia, led by as many as 14 points with less than 16 minutes remaining in regulation, only to see the Bulldogs rally to take the lead with eight minutes remaining. With Kentucky down 80-78 with 7 1/2 minutes to play, Almonor hit back-to-back 3s to make it 84-80 Wildcats and Kentucky never trailed again.
No. 8 Florida 71, Arkansas 63
Alijah Martin scored 14 points and Alex Condon notched a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Gators topped the host Razorbacks in SEC play at Fayetteville, Ark.
Will Richard added 12 points and eight boards for the Gators, who led by as many as 12. Walter Clayton Jr. had 12 points and five assists. Condon scored all of his points after halftime. Florida (15-1, 2-1 SEC) overcame two starters fouling out, limiting the Razorbacks to 30 percent from the floor.
Adou Thiero scored a game-high 17 points to pace the Razorbacks. Boogie Fland followed with 15 points and Jonas Aidoo had 11 points and nine rebounds. Arkansas (11-5) is off to an 0-3 start in the SEC for the second straight season.
No. 9 UConn 68, Georgetown 60
Alex Karaban scored 19 points as the Huskies used a strong second-half run to defeat the Hoyas in Washington, D.C.
Karaban scored 12 in the second half, connecting on 3 of 3 3-point attempts, as UConn (13-4, 5-1 Big East) bounced back from a 68-66 loss at Villanova on Wednesday. Solo Ball added 15 points as the Huskies, who have won nine of their last 10 games overall, have won nine straight over longtime conference rival Georgetown.
Curtis Williams Jr. scored a season-high 15 points off the bench, Micah Peavy added 14 and Thomas Sorber chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds for Georgetown (12-4, 3-2), which has lost two straight.
No. 11 Kansas 54, Cincinnati 40
Hunter Dickinson had 14 points and 12 rebounds and the Jayhawks displayed stifling second-half defense to post a Big 12 win over the host Bearcats.
Kansas (12-3, 3-1) overcame 2-for-21 shooting from beyond the arc to record its third straight win and fifth in six contests. The Jayhawks shot 35.3 percent from the field. Dillon Mitchell had 10 points and was the only player in double figures for Cincinnati (10-5, 0-4), which shot just 3-for-22 from 3-point range and 30.5 percent from the field.
Kansas trailed 25-24 at halftime but turned up the defensive intensity in the second half and outscored Cincinnati 30-15.
No. 12 Houston 87, Kansas State 57
The Cougars used a well-balanced scoring attack, led by Emanuel Sharp’s 15 points, and defeated the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kan. The Cougars had five players in double figures and two others with eight points.
Houston (12-3, 4-0 Big 12) is tied with Iowa State atop the Big 12 standings and has won eight straight. Kansas State (7-8, 1-3 Big 12) has lost six of its last seven games.
Besides Sharp, the Cougars got 13 points from Joseph Tugler, 11 each from LJ Cryer and Ja’Vier Francis and 10 from J’Wan Roberts. The Wildcats were led by Brendan Hausen with 15 points. Max Jones added 13 points. The Wildcats shot 40 percent (10-of-25) from 3-point range.
Southern California 82, No. 13 Illinois 72
Desmond Claude scored a season-high 31 points and the Trojans took control in the second half for a victory over the Fighting Illini in Champaign, Ill.
Wesley Yates III added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting as Southern California (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten) shot 52.3 percent from the field.
Ben Humrichous paced Illinois (12-4, 4-2) with 15 points while Tre White and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added 11 apiece.
Georgia 72, No. 17 Oklahoma 62
Asa Newell and Dakota Leffew scored 15 points apiece to lead the host Bulldogs to their second straight win over a ranked team, taking down the Sooners in SEC play in Athens, Ga.
Silas Demary Jr. added 10 points and eight rebounds for Georgia (14-2, 2-1 SEC), which won beat No. 6 Kentucky on Tuesday.
Jalon Moore led Oklahoma (13-3, 0-3) with 17 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Kobe Elvis and Duke Miles scored 14 points apiece and Mohamed Wague chipped in 10 points off the bench as the Sooners dropped their third game in a row.
No. 18 Gonzaga 88, Washington State 75
Graham Ike posted 21 points on Saturday night to lead five Gonzaga scorers in double figures as the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half for a West Coast Conference win over the Cougars in Spokane, Wash.
Nolan Hickman added 19 points, while Ben Gregg stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Khalif Battle and reserve Braden Huff each chipped in 10 points for the Bulldogs (14-4, 5-0).
Nate Calmese scored 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and dished out a game-high eight assists for the Cougars (13-5, 3-2), who lost their second straight game. LeJuan Watts added 17 points, and Eastern Washington transfer Dane Erikstrup chipped in 11.
No. 19 Memphis 74, East Carolina 70
PJ Haggerty scored 25 points and the Tigers offered a definition of an ugly win in defeating the visiting Pirates in an American Athletic Conference matchup.
The Tigers (13-3, 3-0 AAC) built an 18-point lead in the first half and were still ahead by 14 at the break before the Pirates hung around by scoring the first nine points of the second half. Eventually, East Carolina (9-8, 1-3) evened the game at 68-68 with 1:11 to play before Memphis made two free throws, made a defensive stop, then got a Tyrese Hunter layup to put the game away.
Poor shooting and turnovers plagued each team. Memphis finished at 41.0 percent from the floor and had 16 turnovers. East Carolina shot 39.3 percent from the floor and committed 18 turnovers.
No. 23 Ole Miss 77, LSU 65
Malik Dia scored 19 points and the Rebels used a strong second half to pull away from the Tigers in Oxford, Miss.
Jaemyn Brakefield added 16 points, Sean Pedulla scored 11, and Dre Davis and Jaylen Murray scored 10 each for the Rebels (14-2, 3-0 SEC), who outscored the Tigers (11-5, 0-3) 49-39 in the second half.
Cam Carter scored 16 points, Daimion Collins had 14 and Jordan Sears, coming off the bench for the first time this season, had 10 points and six assists for LSU.
No. 25 Utah State 81, Boise State 79
Ian Martinez completed a go-ahead four-point play with 7.3 seconds left, helping the Aggies earn a win over the Broncos in Logan, Utah, in Mountain West Conference play.
Martinez led the Aggies (16-1, 6-0 MWC) with 18 points, while Deyton Albury scored 14. Drake Allen added 13 points, followed by Dexter Akanno’s 12 and Mason Falslev’s 10. Utah State, which won its sixth straight game, shot 61.2 percent from the field and made 11 of its 21 3-point attempts (52.4 percent).
Tyson Degenhart’s 22 points paced Boise State (12-5, 4-2). Alvaro Cardenas had 15 points and eight assists, while Javan Buchanan chipped in 13 and Andrew Meadow scored 12.
–Field Level Media
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