SPOKANE, Wash. — Sam Dower scored 17 points and No. 25 Gonzaga pulled away in the second half for a win over Santa Clara.
Hawaii defeats San Jose State
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Joston Thomas scored 27 points and Vander Joaquim added 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Hawaii to an 82-69 win over San Jose State on Saturday night.
The Rainbow Warriors (9-6, 1-0 Western Athletic) led the Spartans (6-9, 0-1) from start to finish.
Wil Carter notched career-highs of 19 points and 18 rebounds for San Jose State.
Hawaii led 51-31 early in the second half following a Hauns Brereton 3-pointer. An 18-4 Spartans run, ignited by a Carter jumper and capped by a Calvin Douglas 3-pointer, cut the lead to 55-49 with 11:40 remaining. But San Jose State got no closer.
The Warriors shot 47 percent for the game to the Spartans’ 35 percent.
O’Brien takes reins at Penn St.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Sporting a Nittany Lions pin on the lapel of his dark gray jacket, Bill O’Brien took the podium, looked straight ahead and introduced himself with two quick, no-nonsense sentences.
“I feel like I’m a mentally tough guy right now. I feel like I’m the right guy.”
And with that, the 42-year-old O’Brien, the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator the past four years, was off and running at his first briefing as Penn State’s new head football coach, the school’s first in nearly a half century.
It is his first head-coaching job.
“This is unbelievable,” he said.
Actually, for many Penn State fans and former players all over the country, how this all came to be is exactly that — unbelievable.
Until Nov. 9, the Nittany Lions had been directed by the same person for 46 seasons — Joe Paterno, who was fired that day in the aftermath of a child sex abuse scandal involving retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. The case also forced the school president to resign.
Not only is O’Brien replacing Division I’s winningest coach, he is joining a still-reeling school attempting to steer its way through federal, NCAA and Big Ten inquiries — not to mention criminal proceedings against former administrators. Sandusky, meantime, is awaiting trial after waiving a preliminary court hearing last month. He has denied the charges.
No. 1 Syracuse goes to 17-0
Kris Joseph scored 17 points, Brandon Triche added 16, and top-ranked Syracuse remained unbeaten with a gritty 73-66 victory over No. 20 Marquette on Saturday.
Syracuse (17-0, 4-0 Big East) is two wins away from matching the school’s best start, established a decade ago.
Marquette (12-4, 1-2) entered the game 1-7 against the top-ranked teams. The Golden Eagles’ lone triumph was 83-69 over Kentucky in the 2003 NCAA tournament, which earned them a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans, where Carmelo Anthony led Syracuse to its lone national championship. The Golden Eagles lost 82-77 to Duke in November 2010 in their previous try.
C.J. Fair had 13 points and Dion Waiters added 12 to go with seven assists and three steals.
No. 2 KENTUCKY 79,
SOUTH CAROLINA 64
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Terrence Jones hit his first eight shots to finish with 20 points and No. 2 Kentucky beat South Carolina 79-64 on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
No. 3 NORTH CAROLINA 83, BOSTON COLLEGE 60
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Harrison Barnes scored 25 points and No. 3 North Carolina won its eighth straight.
No. 4 BAYLOR 73,
TEXAS TECH 60
LUBBOCK, Texas — Pierre Jackson scored 19 points and No. 4 Baylor beat Texas Tech.
No. 5 DUKE 81,
GEORGIA TECH 74
ATLANTA— Ryan Kelly scored 21 points, Seth Curry added 15 and No. 5 Duke beat Georgia Tech.
No. 6 OHIO STATE 76, IOWA 47
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Jared Sullinger scored a season-high 28 points and Deshaun Thomas added 10 points for the Buckeyes, who won for the second time on the road.
No. 23 KANSAS STATE 75, No. 7 MISSOURI 59
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Rodney McGruder scored 20 points and No. 23 Kansas State encountered surprisingly little resistance from No. 7 Missouri.
RUTGERS 67,
No. 8 CONNECTICUT 60
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Freshman Eli Carter continued his scoring streak with 19 points and Rutgers beat a Top Ten team for the second time this season, defeating Connecticut in coach Jim Calhoun’s return from a three-game NCAA suspension.
WEST VIRGINIA 74,
No. 9 GEORGETOWN 72
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Truck Bryant scored 25 points and West Virginia ended No. 9 Georgetown’s 11-game winning streak.
NOTRE DAME 67,
No. 11 LOUISVILLE 65
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Eric Atkins scored six points in the second overtime and the Fighting Irish got their first road win of the season.
TENNESSEE 67,
No. 13 FLORIDA 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kenny Hall scored a season-high 13 points and Tennessee upset No. 13 Florida.
The Gators, who have lost all four of their true road games this year, came in averaging 85.4 points this season, best among SEC teams and fifth in the nation. The Volunteers held them to 35.7 percent shooting while hitting 51 percent of their own attempts.
No. 14 KANSAS 72,
OKLAHOMA 61
NORMAN, Okla. — Travis Releford scored 28 points to set a career best for the second straight game and Thomas Robinson added 18 points.
ARKANSAS 98,
No. 15 MISS. STATE 88
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Julysses Nobles scored a career-high 24 points as Arkansas opened Southeastern Conference play with a win over Mississippi State.
No. 19 MURRAY STATE 87, AUSTIN PEAY 75
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Isaiah Canaan scored 35 points to keep Murray State unbeaten with a victory over Austin Peay.
No. 21 VIRGINIA 52,
MIAMI 51
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va — Mike Scott scored 23 points and No. 21 Virginia held off a rally and hung on for its 12th consecutive win.
No. 22 HARVARD 63,
DARTMOUTH 47
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Oliver McNally scored 17 points, hitting a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run that gave the Crimson the lead for good, and No. 22 Harvard pulled away with a dominant second half.
No. 25 GONZAGA 80,
SANTA CLARA 58
SPOKANE, Wash. — Sam Dower scored 17 points and No. 25 Gonzaga pulled away in the second half for a win over Santa Clara.