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Top 25
No. 16 Xavier 70, Saint Louis 44
CINCINNATI — Derrick Brown didn’t miss a shot while scoring 20 points and C.J. Anderson added 13 as Xavier rolled in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams. Jason Love had 11 points for the Musketeers (12-2, 1-0), who have won three straight games after consecutive losses.
No. 22 Minnesota 52, Iowa 49
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Lawrence Westbrook and Travis Busch each scored 10 points and Minnesota rallied from a 13-point deficit then hung on to beat host Iowa. The Golden Gophers (14-1, 2-1 Big Ten) shot just 33.9 percent from the field and nearly let the game slip away in the closing seconds. Minnesota led 50-44 with 24.5 seconds left. Jake Kelly of Iowa (11-5, 1-2) scored and Al Nolen of Minnesota missed two free throws. Jeff Peterson buried an open 3 from the corner with 5.3 seconds left to make it a one-point game, but Westbrook hit two free throws. Kelly’s shot from just inside halfcourt bounced off the rim.
Horizon
No. 21 Butler 64, Wright St. 48
INDIANAPOLIS — Matt Howard scored 14 points and Gordon Hayward had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead Butler to its fifth straight victory. The Bulldogs (13-1, 4-0 Horizon League) connected on five of seven 3-point attempts in the first half, stifled Wright State’s post-up offense and put the game away by going inside and drawing fouls in the second half. Todd Brown had 13 points for Wright State (8-8, 2-3), which was 5-for-19 from 3-point range and had a six-game winning streak snapped.
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Top 25
No. 2 North Carolina 83, Clemson 74
CLEMSON, S.C. — Rashanda McCants scored 17 points and No. 2 North Carolina improved to 15-0. The Tar Heels (1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had played just twice in the past three weeks and it showed as they watched Clemson (10-5, 1-1) overcome a 12-point defict and take a 65-64 lead with 5:03 to go.
No. 7 Tennessee 69, Kentucky 64
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Shekinna Stricklen scored 18 points, including two late free throws, to lead Tennessee in coach Pat Summitt’s 995th career victory.
No. 9 Auburn 80, South Carolina 76
COLUMBIA, S.C. — DeWanna Bonner scored 29 points and Whitney Boddie tied a career-high with 21 to lead No. 9 Auburn. The Tigers (16-0, 1-0 Southeastern) extended their best start in 20 years despite a sloppy game that saw them turn over the ball 21 times under little pressure.
No. 14 Maryland 92, Wake Forest 65
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Kristi Toliver scored 22 points, Lynetta Kizer had 17, and Maryland bolted to a 20-0 lead before cruising past Wake Forest.
No. 18 Florida 80, Mississippi St. 66
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sha Brooks scored 31 points to lead No. 18 Florida in its Southeastern Conference opener.
Boston College 65, No. 22 Georgia Tech 64, OT
ATLANTA — Mickel Picco scored on a driving layup with less than 1 second left in overtime to lift Boston Collegte past Georgia Tech.
Associated Press
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