Isaiah Evans connected on a go-ahead 3-point shot with 21 seconds remaining and Cameron Boozer scored 29 points as No. 4 Duke won its first high-profile home game of the season, topping No. 15 Florida 67-66 in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.
After Evans’ basket, his first made 3-pointer of the night on eight attempts, teammate Caleb Foster came up with a steal. While Foster missed a free throw in the final seconds, the Gators never got off another shot.
Evans finished with 13 points for the Blue Devils (9-0), who were 7-for-26 on 3-pointers and watched the Gators collect 20 offensive rebounds. Duke held a 15-point lead in the final minute of the first half.
Thomas Haugh poured in 24 points for Florida, which overcame horrific first-half shooting to pull even down the stretch eventually. Boogie Fland hit clutch shots late in the game to finish with 16 points and Alex Condon added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 1 Purdue 81, Rutgers 65
Trey Kaufman-Renn recorded 19 points and 13 rebounds to help the Boilermakers cruise to a victory over the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten opener for both teams at Piscataway, N.J.
Braden Smith made four 3-pointers and had 16 points and eight assists for the Purdue (8-0). Fletcher Loyer scored 12 points and Gicarri Harris added 11 points.
Dylan Grant and Harun Zrno scored 13 points apiece for Rutgers (5-4), which has dropped four of its past five games.
No. 5 UConn 61, No. 21 Kansas 56
Solo Ball and Braylon Mullins scored 17 points apiece to lift the Huskies to a victory over the Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan.
Ball and Mullins each sank three 3-pointers while sending the Huskies (7-1) to their third straight win. Eric Reibe collected 12 points and eight rebounds while making the start in place of Tarris Reed Jr (ankle).
Kansas’ Melvin Council Jr. scored 12 points and Flory Bidunga added 11 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Elmarko Jackson had 11 points off the bench for the Jayhawks (6-3), who saw their three-game overall winning streak and 23-game nonconference home winning streak come to a halt.
No. 7 Michigan State 71, Iowa 52
Coen Carr scored 15 points to lead the Spartans to a win over the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten conference opener for both teams in East Lansing, Mich.
Jeremy Fears Jr. went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line and scored 14 points, and Jaxon Kohler had 12 points and 11 rebounds to help Michigan State (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten) stay unbeaten. Michigan State dominated the boards, outrebounding Iowa 37-18.
Bennett Stirtz was the only player in double figures for Iowa (7-1, 0-1), scoring 14 points in 37 minutes of action. The Hawkeyes shot 37.8% from the field overall (17 of 45), 30.4% from 3-point range (7 of 23).
Syracuse 62, No. 13 Tennessee 60
William Kyle III made a free throw with 13.8 seconds left and Sadiq White Jr. made another with 0.7 seconds to go as the host Orange upset the Volunteers.
Nate Kingz scored 19 points for Syracuse (5-3), which snapped a three-game losing streak. White contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.
Jaylen Carey led all scorers with 22 points and added nine rebounds for Tennessee (7-2). The game featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes.
No. 16 North Carolina 67, No. 18 Kentucky 64
Freshman Derek Dixon became the star of the night as his driving layup with 16 seconds left lifted the Tar Heels to a victory over the Wildcats in Lexington, Ky.
The signature matchup of the ACC/SEC Challenge didn’t disappoint, as the contest featured 14 lead changes and nine ties. Henri Veesaar led the Tar Heels (7-1) with 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Caleb Wilson contributed 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and Luka Bogavac added 12 points.
Kentucky’s Collin Chandler missed a potential game-tying layup with four seconds left. The Wildcats (5-3) were led by Otega Oweh’s 16 points. Chandler finished with 12 points while Denzel Aberdeen added 10.
No. 24 Southern California 82, Oregon 77
Chad Baker-Mazara capped his 25-point night by sinking a step-back 3-pointer with 66 seconds remaining and the Trojans beat the Ducks in the Big Ten opener for both teams at Eugene, Ore.
USC (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten), playing its second consecutive game without injured Rodney Rice, rallied around key contributions from Baker-Mazara, Jacob Cofie and Ezra Ausar. Cofie scored 16 of his 17 points in the first half to buoy the Trojans against a strong start for Oregon (4-4, 0-1), while Ausar scored all 13 of his points in the second half.
The Ducks took their fourth consecutive loss despite getting 23 points and nine rebounds from Kwame Evans Jr.
