Associated Press ADVERTISING Associated Press TUCSON, Ariz. —Nick Johnson had 17 points, Aaron Gordon added 16 and top-ranked Arizona jumped on rival Arizona State early in a 91-68 rout Thursday night. Arizona (18-0, 5-0 Pac-12) raced out to a 21-point
Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. —Nick Johnson had 17 points, Aaron Gordon added 16 and top-ranked Arizona jumped on rival Arizona State early in a 91-68 rout Thursday night.
Arizona (18-0, 5-0 Pac-12) raced out to a 21-point lead in the first half and didn’t let up, extending the best start in school history with a flurry of dunks and 3-pointers.
The Wildcats put seven players in double figures, shot 56 percent and had 21 assists on 34 field goals to beat the Sun Devils for the sixth time in seven games.
Kaleb Tarczewski had 12 points and eight rebounds, and T.J. McConnell added 10 points and six assists for Arizona.
Arizona State (13-5, 2-3) played without second-leading scorer Jermaine Marshall and had trouble with Arizona’s size all night, shooting 34 percent. Jahii Carson had 20 points and five assists, but struggled early and had at least four shots blocked.
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MINNESOTA 63, No. 11 OHIO STATE 53
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Elliott Eliason had 12 points and 13 rebounds to help Minnesota muscle past Ohio State for a victory that stuck the Buckeyes with their third straight loss.
DeAndre Mathieu had 13 points, five assists and three steals for the Golden Gophers (14-4, 3-2 Big Ten), who gave new coach Richard Pitino his first signature win. They did it by backing down the Buckeyes and owning the area around the basket, posting a 38-20 advantage in points in the paint and a 39-24 rebounding edge.
LaQuinton Ross scored 22 points for the Buckeyes (15-3, 2-3), on a three-game losing streak for the first time in almost five years. The other four Ohio State starters combined for only 19 points, and the conference’s second-worst free throw shooting team went 11 for 18 from the foul line.
Minnesota beat Ohio State for the first time in seven meetings dating to 2010.
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UCONN 83, No. 17 MEMPHIS 73
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — DeAndre Daniels had 23 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, Shabazz Napier added 17 points and Connecticut pulled away from Memphis down the stretch.
The Huskies (14-3, 2-2 American Athletic Conference) outscored Memphis 8-2 in the final minute to secure their third straight win. Napier had seven points in the final 5 minutes after the teams were tied at 62.
Daniels was 9 of 15 from the field and UConn shot 57 percent, including 61 percent after halftime. Lasan Kromah finished with 13 points, making all five attempts.
Michael Dixon led Memphis (12-4, 3-2) with 16 points and Austin Nichols scored 13.
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No. 18 LOUISVILLE 91, HOUSTON 52
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Wayne Blackshear scored a career-high 23 points in his first game this season as a reserve, and Louisville used a strong offensive start to blow out Houston.
Recent foul troubles led Cardinals coach Rick Pitino to bring Blackshear off the bench to maximize his effectiveness, and the junior forward responded by shooting 5 of 6 from 3-point range and 8 of 10 overall. Louisville hit 15 of 28 from beyond the arc, its most since making 17 against Morgan State on Dec. 27, 2010.
The Cardinals (15-3, 4-1 American Athletic Conference) put this one away in the first half by hitting 11 of 15 from 3-point range (73 percent) and shooting 70 percent (21 of 30) overall. They cooled off later but still finished 34 of 66 (52 percent).
Russ Smith added 18 points to help hand Houston (10-7, 2-2) its second straight loss. Blackshear grabbed seven rebounds.
It was the Cougars’ most lopsided defeat since a 110-63 loss at No. 12 Washington on Dec. 24, 2004, according to STATS. TaShawn Thomas had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Houston, which shot 31 percent.
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No. 25 UCLA 69, No. 21 COLORADO 56
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Norman Powell matched his season high with 19 points and UCLA pulled away in the second half to beat Colorado, handing the short-handed Buffaloes their first home loss of the season.
Jordan Adams had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and David Wear added 13 points for UCLA (14-3, 3-1 Pac-12), which has won consecutive games since a narrow loss to top-ranked Arizona a week ago.
Askia Booker scored 21 points and Josh Scott 19 for Colorado (14-4, 3-2). The Buffaloes were playing for the first time since guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who was leading the team in scoring, assists and steals, sustained a season-ending knee injury during Sunday’s loss at Washington.
It was the first loss in 12 home games for the Buffaloes, who fell to 0-3 against UCLA since joining the Pac-12 three years ago. Colorado dropped to 1-7 overall against the Bruins, with its lone victory coming 52 years ago.
