Top 25 roundup Wednesday’s games

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No. 3 Pittsburgh 78, Duquesne 51

PITTSBURGH — Sam Young scored 23 points and DeJuan Blair had 14 points and 17 rebounds to help the Panthers overcome a sluggish start and beat their city rival. Jermaine Dixon scored 12 points as the Panthers improved to 8-0 for the seventh consecutive season, using runs of 9-0 and 11-2 to begin pulling away after the Dukes (4-2) led 20-19 with seven minutes left in the first half. Duquesne, one of the nation’s youngest teams with eight freshmen, has lost consecutive games to current top 5 teams. Duquesne lost 95-72 to now-No. 4 Duke on Friday. Damian Saunders scored 15 points, but the Dukes shot only 36.4 percent (20-of-55), including 7-of-29 (24.1 percent) from 3-point range. They were worse still at the foul line, 4-of-12.

No. 10 Tennessee 87, UNC-Ashville 69

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tyler Smith had the first triple-double in school history, helping Tennessee romp. Smith finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, helping the Vols give coach Bruce Pearl career victory No. 400. Smith, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, got his 10th assist on Scotty Hopson’s 3-pointer with 7:47 left. A minute later, Smith got a standing ovation when the feat was announced to the crowd. Pearl, in his fourth season at Tennessee and 17th overall, joined some legendary company by winning his 400th after coaching 509 games. Only Adolph Rupp, Clair Bee, Jerry Tarkanian, Roy Williams and Henry Iba reached the 400-victory plateau in fewer games. Tennessee (6-1) still had to shake off a sluggish start before its usual up-tempo offense and high-pressure defense provided some breathing room against the Bulldogs (3-4). Reid Augst and John Williams finished with 14 points apiece for UNC-Asheville.

No. 15 Wake Forest 83, Indiana 58

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — James Johnson scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half, and the Demon Decons overcame a sloppy start in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. L.D. Williams added 16 points for Wake Forest (7-0), which continued its best start since 2003, when the Demon Deacons opened with 11 straight wins.

No. 16 Syracuse 88, Cornell 78

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jonny Flynn had 24 points, Paul Harris added 21 points and nine rebounds and the Orange rallied to their 31st straight win over the Big Red. Cornell (4-4), playing its fifth straight road game, hasn’t beaten Syracuse in 40 years, but staged a game fight behind a career-high 33 points from Ryan Wittman.

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No. 1 Connecticut 96, Holy Cross 37

STORRS, Conn. — Freshman Caroline Doty scored 11 points and extended her school-record streak of made 3-pointers to 10 to lead top-ranked Connecticut, its fifth straight game scoring at least 90 points.

No. 6 Oklahoma 69, Creighton 49

NORMAN, Okla. — All-America center Courtney Paris needed a late surge to record her 99th straight double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds, and Oklahoma overcame a lethargic effort to beat Creighton.

No. 14 Auburn 95, Carolina A&T 74

AUBURN, Ala. — Dewanna Bonner had 26 points and 11 rebounds, leading Auburn. Auburn (8-0) led 45-42 at halftime, before outscoring the Aggies (3-3) 50-32 in the second half.

Georgia Tech 70, No. 21 Michigan St. 57

ATLANTA — Alex Montgomery scored 20 points to lead Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets (6-2) overcame a 12-point deficit to win the first half of a doubleheader in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. Aisha Jefferson led the Spartans with 14 points.

No. 24 Pittsburgh 66, Duquesne 47

PITTSBURGH — Canfield High graduate Kate Popovec scored 15 points and didn’t miss a field-goal attempt and Shavonte Zellous added 13 for Pittsburgh. Popovec, who was 7-of-7 from the floor but missed one of two free throws, had 12 rebounds.

Associated Press