Pop Isaacs scored 27 points, Ryan Kalkbrenner added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Creighton beat No. 1 Kansas 76-63 on Wednesday night in Omaha, Neb., for the Jayhawks’ first loss of the season
Isaacs shot 6-for-9 from beyond the arc and added seven rebounds and four assists. His contested layup with 3:14 to play pushed Creighton’s lead to 73-57 as the program notched its second win over a No. 1 team in school history. (The Bluejays beat UConn 85-66 last season.)
Steven Ashworth contributed 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Bluejays (6-3) defeated Kansas for the first time since 1949. Kalkbrenner, Creighton’s star center, was back after missing one game due to a lower-body injury.
Dajuan Harris Jr. scored 15 points for Kansas (7-1). AJ Storr and Zeke Mayo each scored 12 in the loss.
No. 9 Duke 84, No. 2 Auburn 78
Freshman phenom Cooper Flagg scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, helping the Blue Devils beat the visiting Tigers in Durham, N.C., in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Flagg also had 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils (6-2), who won their second straight game despite trailing by 11 in the opening minutes. Isaiah Evans added 18 points for Duke, while Tyrese Proctor chipped in 12 and Caleb Foster 11.
Johni Broome had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Auburn (7-1), which allowed a season high in points. Tahaad Pettiford also scored 20 for the Tigers, followed by Chad Baker-Mazara’s 17. Miles Kelly added 14 points and three steals.
No. 6 Iowa State 81, No. 5 Marquette 70
Keshon Gilbert scored 24 and Joshua Jefferson added 15 to lead the Cyclones past the Golden Eagles in Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State (6-1) also got 14 off the bench from Curtis Jones. Gilbert dished out a team-high seven assists while Jefferson grabbed 12 boards.
Marquette (8-1) was led by 17 from freshman Royce Parham. Kam Jones added 14 along with nine assists and eight rebounds despite shooting just 6-of-21 from the field.
No. 10 Alabama 94, No. 20 North Carolina 79
Mark Sears scored 20 points to lead six Alabama players in double figures as the Crimson Tide recorded a runaway victory over the Tar Heels in the SEC/ACC Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C.
It was a rematch of a Sweet 16 matchup last season, which was also won by Alabama, but this one didn’t live up to the billing. Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway both had 15 points, Clifford Omoruyi and Derrion Reid had 11 apiece and Grant Nelson provided 10 for the Crimson Tide (7-2).
Freshman Ian Jackson scored a season-high 23 points for North Carolina (4-4), which has lost three games in a row. RJ Davis racked up 18 points, and Seth Trimble had 12 points.
No. 12 Oregon 68, Southern California 60
Jackson Shelstad scored 21 of his 24 points in the second half and Keeshawn Barthelemy provided pivotal plays down the stretch as the Ducks rallied to top the Trojans in Los Angeles in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Oregon (9-0, 1-0 Big Ten) went on a 14-2 run late in the second half to flip a game it trailed most of the way. Shelstad kicked off the Ducks’ key stretch, which lasted 3:01 and extended past the final media timeout, with the first six points.
USC (5-4, 0-1) took its third consecutive loss, a byproduct of the Trojans’ poor shooting. USC went 19-for-55 (34.5 percent) from the floor and just 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from 3-point range. Oregon shot 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from deep and 21-for-55 (38.2 percent) overall.
No. 13 Florida 87, Virginia 69
Walter Clayton Jr. scored 27 points as the Gators remained undefeated with a victory over the Cavaliers in the SEC/ACC Challenge in Gainesville, Fla.
Alex Condon contributed 19 points and eight rebounds while Alijah Martin added 16 points for the Gators (9-0). Florida is off to its best start since the 2005-06 season, when it won its first 17 games and captured the NCAA championship.
San Diego State transfer Elijah Saunders scored a career-high 19 points and Isaac McKneely added 12 points, all on treys, for Virginia (5-3).
No. 25 UConn 76, No. 15 Baylor 72
Liam McNeeley recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks to lift the Huskies past the Bears in a Big 12-Big East Battle in Storrs, Conn.
Samson Johnson scored 13 points before fouling out and Solo Ball added 11 for UConn (6-3), which has won two in a row following a three-game skid. Huskies star Alex Karaban sat out his second straight game due to a head injury.
Robert Wright III scored 22 points off the bench, Langston Love had 16 and Norchad Omier added 14 before fouling out for Baylor (5-3).
No. 16 Memphis 81, Louisiana Tech 71
PJ Haggerty produced 23 points, seven steals, six assists and five rebounds as the Tigers held off the visiting Bulldogs.
Tyrese Hunter added 20 points and Colby Rogers scored 13 points for the Tigers (7-1), who bounced back from their first loss of the season, 90-76 against then-No. 4 Auburn in the championship game of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 27.
Al Green scored 18 points, making 5 of 7 3-point attempts, Sean Newman Jr. had 13 points and 11 assists, Daniel Batcho scored 12, and Kaden Cooper and Amaree Abram added 10 points each to lead Louisiana Tech (7-2).
Mississippi State 90, No. 18 Pittsburgh 57
KeShawn Murphy came off the bench to score 20 points, leading five Mississippi State players in double figures during the Bulldogs’ blasting of the Panthers in Starkville, Miss.
Michael Nwoko added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Mississippi State (7-1), which led by as many as 35 points. The Bulldogs carved out a 49-27 rebounding advantage and canned 57.8 percent of their field-goal attempts.
Jaland Lowe scored 19 points to pace Pittsburgh (7-2) but shot 7 of 21 from the field. Brandin Cummings added 12 off the bench for the Panthers, who hit a measly 31.3 percent of their field-goal tries.
No. 24 San Diego State 84, Fresno State 62
Freshman Magoon Gwath notched career highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Aztecs overcame a slow start to earn to beat the host Bulldogs in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
BJ Davis scored 13 points, Wayne McKinney III added 12 and Miles Byrd grabbed 10 rebounds for San Diego State (5-2), who entered the rankings for the first time this week following an overtime victory over No. 6 Houston on Saturday.
Mykell Robinson scored 20 points with 10 rebounds and Zaon Collins added 10 points for Fresno State (3-5).
–Field Level Media
