WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Freshman sensation Zion Williamson scored a season-high 30 points with 10 rebounds, and No. 1 Duke won its first road game of the season by beating Wake Forest 87-65 on Tuesday night.
RJ Barrett finished with 21 points and matched a season high with seven assists, and Cameron Reddish added 10 points during his best game in a month, helping the Blue Devils (13-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) win their eighth in a row.
The high-flying Williamson was 13 of 16 from the field with three 3-pointers — he entered with four all season — in surpassing the 28 points he scored in his debut against No. 2 Kentucky.
Freshman forward Jaylen Hoard scored 13 points, and Sharone Wright Jr. and Brandon Childress had 12 apiece for the Demon Deacons (7-7, 0-2), who have lost three of four to fall to .500 for the first time since November.
No. 3 TENNESSEE 87, MISSOURI 63
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Kyle Alexander had 14 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as third-ranked Tennessee beat Missouri, the Vols' second straight blowout victory in Southeastern Conference play.
Jordan Bowden came off the bench to score 20 points, Jordan Bone added 17 and Admiral Schofield finished with 16 for the Volunteers (13-1, 2-0 SEC), who beat Georgia by 46 points in their conference opener Saturday.
Freshman Xavier Pinson scored 13 points and Jordan Geist had 12 — all in the first half — for Missouri (9-4, 0-1 SEC).
No. 6 MICHIGAN STATE 77, PURDUE 59
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Cassius Winston shook off a slow start and finished with 23 points to help Michigan State beat Purdue.
The Spartans (14-2, 5-0 Big Ten) have won nine straight.
The Boilermakers (9-6, 2-2) won their previous three games by a combined total of 55 points.
Purdue got off to a strong start, rattling Michigan State with pressure defense and took a 9-2 lead a few minutes into the game.
The Spartans cut down on their turnovers and held together as Winston, their leading scorer, made his first shot with 3:52 left in the first half. The junior point guard closed the half with nine points, giving Michigan State a 39-26 lead.
Purdue's Carsen Edwards had a season-low 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting, including 2 of 13 from the 3-point line.
No. 8 TEXAS TECH 66, No. 23 OKLAHOMA 59
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Jarrett Culver had his first double-double of the season and scored seven straight Texas Tech points to break a tie late in the second half, leading the Red Raiders to a win over Oklahoma.
The sophomore, who finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, put his hometown Red Raiders (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) ahead for good with a layup for a 53-51 lead with 4:22 remaining, then converted a three-point play to push the lead to five.
After Aaron Calixte hit a 3-pointer to get the Sooners back with two, Culver muscled through a crowd to rebound his own miss of a short bank shot and powered up over two defenders for a bucket and a 58-53 lead.
Christian James scored 14 points for the Sooners (12-3, 1-2) and Brady Manek added 13, but second-half shooting struggles caught up with Oklahoma in a second Big 12 loss to a Top 10 opponent.
No. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 90, No. 15 N.C. STATE 82
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Luke Maye scored 21 points to help North Carolina hold off North Carolina State in the longtime rivals' latest meeting.
Freshman Coby White added 19 points for the Tar Heels (12-3, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who scored the game's first 12 points and never trailed. But UNC had to turn away a series of pushes from the Wolfpack, who twice tied the game after halftime but never managed to push in front.
The Tar Heels went 6-for-6 at the line in the final 32.1 seconds to seal the win, their sixth straight in Raleigh. UNC also won despite playing the last 12-plus minutes without leading scorer Cameron Johnson, who exited with leg cramps.
Braxton Beverly scored 21 points to lead N.C. State (13-2, 1-1), which had won seven straight games.
SOUTH CAROLINA 87, No. 14 MISSISSIPPI STATE 82
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Freshman A.J. Lawson stole the ball and finished with an emphatic dunk with 13 seconds left in overtime to seal South Carolina's upset of Mississippi State.
Maik Kotsar scored a career-high 25 points and had nine rebounds for the Gamecocks (7-7, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), who were the only SEC team with a losing record in nonconference play but now sit atop the league.
Lawson, who came in as the team's leading scorer, averaging 13 points a game, scored just six points on 3-of-11 shooting. But he may have turned around what appeared to be a lost season for South Carolina with his steal and dunk as the Bulldogs (12-2, 0-1) tried to get a potential game-tying 3.
No. 18 KENTUCKY 85, TEXAS A&M 74
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Tyler Herro had 21 points, Ashton Hagans scored a career-high 18 and Kentucky overcame a 10-0 deficit before holding off Texas A&M for a victory.
The Wildcats (11-3, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) started badly on both ends with four missed shots, turnovers and defensive breakdowns the Aggies seized upon for a pair of 10-point leads. Kentucky quickly regrouped with a 19-6 run over 5:21. Hagans had a pair of steals during the spurt.
The Wildcats led 46-34 at the break before having to withstand a second-half comeback by the Aggies (6-7, 0-2), who got within 66-64 with 7:55 left. Immanuel Quickley answered with a 3-pointer and PJ Washington eventually followed with a three-point play for an 11-point cushion that held up.
Jay Jay Chandler and TJ Starks each had 18 points for Texas A&M, which shot above 50 percent for much of the game.
AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) — Jeremy Harris scored a career-best 34 points in leading Buffalo to a rout of Toledo.
Harris scored 20 points in the first half alone and finished hitting a career-best six 3-point baskets for the Bulls (14-1, 2-0 Mid-American Conference). Buffalo celebrated its first home game in 3 1/2 weeks by putting up 110 points for the second time this season. The Bulls last scored that many in a 110-71 win over Dartmouth on Nov. 21.
Nick Perkins scored 21 and Jayvon Graves had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Buffalo, which won its 18th consecutive home game in a streak dating to a 103-85 loss to St. Bonaventure on Dec. 2, 2017.
Marreon Jackson scored 20 and Chris Darrington added 21 for Toledo (12-3, 0-2). The Rockets' leading scorer Jaelan Sanford hit just 1 of 10 for 3 points.
BAYLOR 73, No. 20 IOWA STATE 70
WACO, Texas (AP) — Makai Mason scored 25 points, including five free throws in the final 38 seconds as Baylor held on to beat Iowa State.
Iowa State (12-3, 2-1 Big 12) was coming off a 17-point home win over then-No. 5 Kansas three days earlier. The Cyclones had won five in a row and entered the AP Top 25 on Monday for the first time since the end of the 2016-17 season.
Devonte Bandoo made two free throws with five seconds left for Baylor (9-5, 1-1), and Iowa State had one more shot to tie the game but Nick Weiler-Babb's defended 3-pointer from the right side was not even close.
VILLANOVA 76, No. 24 ST. JOHN'S 71
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Phil Booth hit a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the game and scored 23 points to help Villanova rally to beat St. John's.
Eric Paschall scored 25 points for the defending national champion Wildcats (12-4, 3-0 Big East), who shook off four losses in nonconference play and are rounding into form as the team to beat in the conference.
The upstart Red Storm seemed poised to snag that title with their best start since 1985-86 and a possible upset win (they were six-point underdogs) in their grasp. St. John's led by 13 in the first half and by 11 early in the second before a 3-point-happy offense went cold and rushed shot selection gave the Wildcats time needed to storm back and win.
Shamorie Ponds had 23 points for St. John's (14-2, 2-2), the last on two free throws with 59 seconds left that got the Red Storm within 72-69. The Wildcats, who dropped two home games early to fall out of the Top 25, sealed their fourth straight victory at the free-throw line.
