GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 18 points, Will Richard added 14 and No. 2 Florida steamrolled Oklahoma 85-63 on Tuesday night for its fifth consecutive victory.
Alijah Martin chipped in 14 points off the bench for the Gators (23-3, 10-3 Southeastern Conference), who tied a season-low with six turnovers and improved to 13-1 at home.
Clayton, Richard and Martin — Florida’s top three scorers — combined to make 15 of 31 shots, including nine 3-pointers. They scored 25 of the team’s first 37 points as the Gators opened a double-digit lead and never looked back.
NO. 21 MISSISSIPPI ST. 70, NO. 7 TEXAS A&M 54
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Josh Hubbard scored 25 points, reserve Claudell Harris Jr. added 12 of his 15 points in the second half, and No. 21 Mississippi State beat No. 7 Texas A&M.
The Bulldogs (19-7, 7-6 Southeastern Conference) began the second half with a 14-3 run to grab control en route to their first win this season over a top-10 foe. Although Mississippi State was favored by 2 1/2 points according to BetMGM Sportsbook, its fans nonetheless celebrated by storming the court.
Zhuric Phelps scored 13 points for Texas A&M (20-6, 9-4). Wade Taylor IV and C.J. Wilcher each had 11 points, but Wilcher was scoreless after halftime.
The Bulldogs trailed 31-30 at the break. Hubbard opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer and Mississippi State never trailed again.
NO. 8 IOWA ST. 79, COLORADO 65
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Milan Momcilovic and Dishon Jackson scored 13 points each as No. 8 Iowa State beat Colorado for the Cyclones’ third victory of the season against the Buffaloes.
The Cyclones (21-5, 11-4 Big 12) also beat the Buffs 99-71 at the Maui Invitational in November and 79-69 in Boulder in December.
Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey added 12 points each, and Nate Heise scored a season-high 11 points off the bench.
Bangot Dak scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Buffaloes (10-16, 1-14) and Harrison Carrington added 11.
TCU 69, NO. 9 TEXAS TECH 66
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Noah Reynolds scored 16 points, including the last seven for TCU as the Horned Frogs beat ninth-ranked Texas Tech.
Reynolds’ turnaround jumper with 11.6 seconds left was the first field goal in more than four minutes for the Horned Frogs (15-11, 8-7 Big 12), and put them ahead 68-63 before Chance McMillian hit a long 3-pointer for the Red Raiders.
After Reynolds made the second of his two free throws with four seconds left, Texas Tech (20-6, 11-4) had a chance to tie it. But JT Toppin, the reigning Associated Press national player of the week, had his 3-pointer blocked by David Punch and rebounded by Reynolds.
Trazarien White also had 16 points for TCU. Ernest Udeh Jr. had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
NO. 11 WISCONSIN 95, ILLINOIS 74
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — John Tonje scored 31 points and No. 11 Wisconsin beat Illinois to earn its fifth straight victory and end its recent run of futility in this series.
Wisconsin (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) had lost its last nine matchups with the Fighting Illini, including an 86-80 defeat Dec. 10 at Illinois. Wisconsin had won 15 straight meetings immediately before that stretch.
Tonje’s big performance came three nights after he had 32 points in a 94-84 win at No. 13 Purdue, which was ranked seventh at the time. He’s the fourth player in school history to score at least 30 points in consecutive games.
Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl added a season-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. John Blackwell had 16 points.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had 17 points, Ben Humrichous 13 and Will Riley 11 for Illinois (17-10, 9-8).
NO. 14 MICHIGAN ST. 75, NO. 13 PURDUE 66
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jase Richardson had 12 points and Frankie Fidler scored 11, leading No. 14 Michigan State to a win over No. 13 Purdue.
The Spartans (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten) have won three of four to pull within a half-game of conference-leading and 12th-ranked Michigan, heading into the rivals’ matchup on Friday night at Crisler Center.
Trey Kaufmann-Renn scored 24 and Braden Smith added 17 for the defending Big Ten-champion Boilermakers (19-8, 11-5), who have lost three straight for the first time in five years.
Michigan State’s Coen Carr and Jaden Akins each scored 10 points.
NO. 16 MARQUETTE 80, SETON HALL 56
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kam Jones scored 14 points, Chase Ross added 11 points and No. 16 Marquette cruised to a win over Seton Hall.
Ben Gold had 10 points for Marquette (20-6, 11-4 Big East).
Seton Hall (7-19, 2-13) was led by Isaiah Coleman with 13 points and Scotty Middleton with nine.
Marquette’s Stevie Mitchell left the game with what appeared to be an arm injury with just over six minutes left in the first half, but returned. Mitchell entered the game fifth in the nation in steals (2.6 per game).
BYU 91, NO. 23 KANSAS 57
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Richie Saunders scored 22 points to lead BYU to a victory over No. 23 Kansas.
Trevin Knell added 15 points and Mawot Mag had 13 to help the Cougars (18-8, 9-6 Big 12) get their third straight win. Saunders, Knell, and Mag combined to make 11 3-pointers.
Hunter Dickinson led the Jayhawks with 12 points. Kansas (17-9, 8-7) trailed by as many as 38 points in the second half.
Efficient shooting and relentless defensive pressure powered the Cougars. Mag and Keba Keita each scored a pair of baskets to fuel a 14-2 run that gave BYU a 22-7 lead just seven minutes into the game.
The Associated Press
