IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
1. No. 3 Virginia 61, N.C. State 51: The Wolfpack gave the Pack-Line a fight, with Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner hitting enough threes over the top of the defense to keep things close for the first 30 minutes. But the Cavaliers remained undefeated, overpowering N.C. State down the stretch. Justin Anderson led the way with 16 points while Malcolm Brogdon added 14, 12 of which came in the first half.
2. No. 12 Kansas 56, Baylor 55: Baylor had multiple chances to pull this one out in Waco but couldn’t get the job done, resulting in the Jayhawks winning their Big 12 opener. Jamari Traylor played well for the Jayhawks, accounting for a team-high 13 points and grabbing five rebounds. Kenny Chery scored 25 for Baylor but no other player reached double figures, with the Bears shooting 34 percent from the field. Given how tight the Big 12 race is expected to be, a road win like this is of high value to Kansas.
3. Illinois 64, No. 11 Maryland 57: No Rayvonte Rice? For Illinois that meant buckling down defensively, as they limited Maryland to just over 36 percent shooting from the field. The Fighting Illini didn’t shoot much better from the field, but they did get a 28-point, seven-rebound performance from sophomore Malcolm Hill to move to 1-2 in Big Ten play. Melo Trimble scored 17 to lead the Terrapins, who suffered their first conference loss as a member of the Big Ten.
STARRED
1. Dee Davis, Xavier: The Musketeers picked up a massive win over No. 19 Seton Hall at the Cintas Center, and Davis led the way, finishing with 14 points and six assists. The Musketeers have now beaten both Seton Hall and Georgetown at home in league play, but somehow managed to lose at DePaul as well. It’s tough to know what to make of this team, but beating a good Seton Hall team on a night where Matt Stainbrook was ineffective and they shot 3-for-15 from three is a really good sign.
2. Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse: How good has Christmas been this season? He had 18 points, eight boards, three assists, two blocks and two steals in a 46-45 (seriously) win at Georgia Tech. The Orange are now 2-0 in the ACC.
3. Malcolm Hill, Illinois: Hill shot 9-for-18 from the field, 4-for-7 from three, scoring 28 points and grabbing seven rebounds to lead Illinois to a 64-57 win over No. 11 Maryland.
4. Mike Myers, UMES: Myers scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Hawks’ 69-60 loss at NJIT.
STRUGGLED
1. Jack Gibbs, Davidson: Gibbs has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the country this season, developing a rep as one of the best shooters on the east coast. He wasn’t that on Wednesday night, going 1-for-10 from the floor as the Wildcats lost at No. 20 VCU, 71-65. Treveon Graham had 15 points and 10 boards to lead the Rams.
2. Georgia Tech: Charles Mitchell had 17 points and 11 boards. Every other Yellow Jacket combined for 28 points on 10-for-47 shooting as GT lost to Syracuse at home, 46-45. They had two looks at the rim in the final six seconds that would have won the game.
3. Jonathan Stark and Louis Dabney, Tulane: Stark, who was named Player of the Week in the American on Monday, and Dabney combined to shoot 5-for-27 in the Green Wave’s 64-56 loss to Temple.
THE REST OF THE TOP 25
- No. 2 Duke made the big plays they needed to make late, with Matt Jones knocking down a three and Tyus Jones converting a three-point play to push the Blue Devils past Wake Forest 73-65.
- Frank Kaminsky scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds to help Wisconsin hold off Purdue, 62-55.
- Two days after blowing UCLA out by 32 points, No. 9 Utah whipped Colorado 74-49 in Salt Lake City.
- Treveon Graham posted a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds to help lead No. 20 VCU to a 71-65 win over Davidson in Richmond.
- Darius Carter (19 points, seven rebounds) led the way offensively as No. 15 Wichita State awoke from its first-half slumber to beat Bradley, 63-43. The Braves scored just 15 points in the second half.
- No. 5 Louisville managed to beat Clemson, 58-52, but the Cardinals spent too much time firing away from three (6-for-24) against a team they likely would have beaten by more with greater discipline on the offensive end.
NOTABLES
- Quenton DeCosey had 15 points to lead five players in double-figures as Temple knocked off Tulane, 64-56. The Owls are now 3-0 in the American.
- Indiana State moved to 3-0 in the Missouri Valley with a win over Missouri State.
- Florida won its SEC opener, beating South Carolina 72-68 with Dorian Finney-Smith accounting for 22 points and seven rebounds and Michael Frazier II adding 15.
- Guess who sits alone in first place in the Big East? DePaul. The Blue Demons moved to 3-0 in conference play with a 70-60 win at Creighton.
- Wyoming moved to 3-0 in Mountain West play with a 60-54 win over Colorado State in Fort Collins. Larry Nance Jr. led three Cowboy starters in double figures with 15 points.
- Marcus Foster’s back? The Kansas State sophomore scored 23 in the Wildcats’ 58-53 win over TCU.
- Marqueze Coleman’s jumper with 5.2 seconds remaining gave Nevada a 64-62 win over UNLV. The Wolf Pack are now 2-0 in Mountain West play, while the Runnin’ Rebels are 0-2.