Five players scored in double figures Sunday and No. 2 Michigan cruised to its 11th straight win to start the season, routing visiting La Salle 102-50 in Ann Arbor.
Freshman Trey McKenney came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points, canning three of the Wolverines’ 14 3-pointers. Aday Mara had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Eliot Cadeau also had 14 points, while L.J. Cason tallied 13 points and Morez Johnson Jr. contributed 10 points.
The Wolverines guarded a guardable team well, limiting La Salle (4-9) to 17 of 61 shooting (27.9%) from the field and 2 of 21 from the 3-point line. They also forced 19 turnovers that they cashed in for 28 points.
Jaeden Marshall led the Explorers with 15 points, going 10 of 11 at the foul line. La Salle did manage to outrebound Michigan 19-13 in the first half, although the Wolverines ended the day with a 40-35 advantage.
No. 4 Iowa State 91, Long Beach State 60
Milan Momcilovic scored a game-high 27 points as the Cyclones cruised past the Beach in Ames, Iowa.
Momcilovic connected on 7 of 9 3-point attempts for the Cyclones (12-0). Joshua Jefferson added 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and reached the 1,000-point career milestone. Blake Buchanan had a double-double as he scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Tamin Lipsey chipped in 10 points and seven assists.
Gavin Sykes led Long Beach State (3-10) with 19 points and Rob Diaz added 13 points.
No. 5 UConn 72, DePaul 54
Alex Karaban scored 11 of his season-high-matching 21 points in the second half, helping the Huskies down the Blue Demons in their first Big East road game of the season in Chicago.
Karaban was 7-of-12 from the field, made three 3-pointers and added six rebounds. Tarris Reed Jr. (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Silas Demary Jr. (13 points, eight assists) also scored in double figures for the Huskies (12-1, 2-0 Big East), who played without leading scorer Solo Ball due to a wrist injury.
UConn’s halftime lead was just 33-30, as DePaul (8-5, 0-2) used 16 points off nine first-half turnovers to stay in the game. Layden Blocker had 11 points and Kruz McClure 10 to pace the Blue Demons, who had leading scorer CJ Gunn and Brandon Maclin (eight points apiece) foul out in the second half.
No. 7 Gonzaga 91, Oregon 82
Braeden Smith scored 16 of his season-high 21 points in the second half to power the Bulldogs past the pesky Ducks in the Northwest Elite Showdown in Portland, Ore.
Gonzaga (12-1) enters West Coast Conference play next week with a nearly spotless record. Braden Huff supplemented Smith’s work with 20 points for Gonzaga. Graham Ike paired 17 points with 11 rebounds, Steele Venters ended with 14 points and Tyon Grant-Foster added 10.
Oregon (6-6) saw a modest two-game winning streak come to an end. Nate Bittle led all scorers with 28 points and added nine rebounds and five assists for Oregon. Kwame Evans Jr. had 14 points, Takai Simpkins 13 and Jackson Shelstad 12.
No. 13 Vanderbilt 98, Wake Forest 67
Tyler Nickel hit a remarkable 8 of 10 3-point shots on his way to 26 points, and the Commodores steamrolled the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Nickel’s eight triples tied a career high for the senior; six came during a 20-point first half. Vanderbilt (12-0) never trailed and made a season-high 59.3% of its field goals (35 of 59), including half of its 32 shots from the arc.
Nickel alone made twice as many 3-pointers as Wake Forest (9-4) did as a team. The hosts shot a paltry 4 of 21, but went 25 of 32 from the free-throw line. Myles Colvin had 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to pace Wake Forest.
No. 15 Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
Braden Frager scored 17 points and Sam Hoiberg added 15 as the Cornhuskers remained undefeated with a win over the Hawks in Lincoln. Neb.
The Cornhuskers (12-0) were down two points at halftime, but outscored the Fighting Hawks (5-10) 54-29 in the second half to escape a huge upset. Berke Buyuktuncel, a junior from Turkey, had the fourth triple-double in Nebraska history with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Eli King led the Hawks with 13 points and six rebounds.
No. 16 Alabama 92, Kennesaw State 81
Aiden Sherrell finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, helping the Crimson Tide stave off the Owls in Huntsville, Ala.
Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway added 17 points apiece for the Crimson Tide (9-3), who built a 26-point halftime lead before being outscored 53-38 in the second half by the Conference USA member. Jalil Bethea chipped in 11 points off the bench for Alabama, which was outrebounded 46-41.
Simeon Cottle led Kennesaw State (8-4) with 20 points, followed by RJ Johnson’s 16 and Braedan Lue’s 12 points and 10 rebounds. Frankquon Sherman totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Ramone Seals scored 10 for the Owls, who dropped their second straight.
No. 20 Tennessee 94, Gardner-Webb 52
Amaree Abram scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field as the Volunteers shrugged off a slow start and ran away from the Runnin’ Bulldogs in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Volunteers (9-3) saw leading scorer Ja’Kobi Gillespie reach double figures for the 11th straight time with 15 points and nine assists. Jaylen Carey posted 12 points and six rebounds, while fellow big man J.P. Estrella had 10 points and seven boards.
Curtis Williams III scored 14 points and had four rebounds and D.J. Jefferson scored 13 for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (2-13).
No. 23 Florida 90, Colgate 60
Xaivian Lee continued his recent run of strong play with a game-high 19 points to lead the Gators past the Raiders in Gainesville, Fla.
The shooting guard made 6 of 10 shots and all six free throws to lead his team in scoring for the fourth straight game. Thomas Haugh scored 17 points while Rueben Chinyelu (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Alex Condon (16 points, 10 boards) each produced double-doubles.
The Gators (8-4) shot 51.6% (32 of 62) from the floor and held a 48-16 edge in points in the paint while the Raiders (6-6) made 11 of 17 (64.7%) from deep but shot only 41.8% (23 of 55) from the field.
