TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Recaps of Saturday’s men’s games

No. 1 Duke 75, Syracuse 65

SYRACUSE, N.Y.

The top-ranked Blue Devils (24-3, 12-2) improved to 7-0 on the road in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Freshman forward RJ Barrett scored 30 points to lead Duke and Alex O’Connell had 20. Tyus Battle led Syracuse with 16 points on 4-of-17 shooting, Elijah Hughes had 12, and Marek Dolezaj and Frank Howard had 10 apiece.

No. 3 Virginia 64, No. 18 Louisville 52

LOUISVILLE, KY.

De’Andre Hunter scored 19 of his career-high 26 points after halftime, and Virginia overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Louisville. The Cavaliers (24-2, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed early in the second half before regrouping to hold the Cardinals (18-10, 9-6) to 6 of 30 from the field (20 percent) and 31 percent shooting overall. Virginia also found its offense, shooting 59 percent and using a 12-1 run over 4:36 for a 55-48 lead it stretched to 12 for its fourth consecutive victory.

No. 4 Kentucky 80, Auburn 53

LEXINGTON, KY.

PJ Washington scored 24 points to lead No. 4 Kentucky. Washington led three players in double figures and helped lead the Wildcats to a regular-season sweep of the Tigers. Tyler Herro followed Washington with 17 points and Ashton Hagans added 14. Chuma Okeke led Auburn (18-9, 7-7) with 14 points, followed by Jared Harper with 12 and Anfernee McLemore with 10.

No. 13 LSU 82, No. 5 Tennessee 80, OT

BATON ROUGE, LA.

Javonte Smart capped a career-best 29-point performance with a crucial rebound and go-ahead free throws in the final seconds for LSU. Smart, a freshman who grew up near Baton Rouge, began to take over the game with about six minutes left in regulation, scoring 11 straight Tigers points to prevent Tennessee from pulling away. Skyler Mays added 23 points, including a game-tying 3 with 1:16 left in regulation for LSU (22-5, 12-2 Southeastern Conference). Admiral Schofield had 27 points and Grant Williams 18 for Tennessee (24-3, 12-2).

No. 6 Nevada 74, Fresno State 68

RENO, NEV.

Caleb Martin scored 24 points and No. 6 Nevada avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this season, beating Fresno State. The Wolf Pack trailed 62-60 with 4:34 left, but went on a 8-0 run over the next two minutes to grab its largest lead of the game. Jordan Caroline added 17 points, Tre’Shawn Thurman had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Jazz Johnson scored 10 points in his first start of the season for Nevada (25-2, 12-2 Mountain West).

No. 8 North Carolina 77, No. 16 Florida State 59

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

Cameron Johnson had 18 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina, Luke Maye added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman Nassir Little scored 18 points . The Tar Heels (22-5, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won 10 of 11 to remain in a first-place tie. They shot 48 percent in the second half while holding Florida State to 25 percent shooting after halftime, following their victory at No. 1 Duke three nights earlier by snapping the ACC’s longest active winning streak. David Nichols scored 16 points and Terance Mann added 10 for the Seminoles (21-6, 9-5), who had won eight straight but were held to 31 percent shooting in their first loss in more than a month.

No. 9 Houston 71, South Florida 59

HOUSTON

DeJon Jarreau scored 17 points, Corey Davis Jr. added 15 and Houston won its 11th straight. Houston (26-1, 13-1 American Athletic Conference) shot 48 percent and never trailed in its 33rd straight home victory. David Collins had 12 points on 2-of-14 shooting from the field and grabbed eight rebounds for USF (18-9, 7-7). The Bulls shot 31 percent from the field.

No. 11 Marquette 76, Providence 58

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Sam Hauser had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Sacar Anim scored 18 points for Marquette. The Golden Eagles (23-4, 12-2 in the Big East) led by 11 points at halftime and showed no signs of letting up, shooting 53.6 percent in the second half to finish at 54.9 percent for the game. Anim went 8 for 12 and Hauser 7 for 10 for Marquette, which got only 14 points on 2-of-12 shooting from leading scorer Markus Howard. Alpha Diallo had 19 points and six rebounds for the Friars (15-13, 5-10 Big East). Providence went from shooting 27.6 percent in the first half to 50 percent in the second half, yet Marquette was too tough a cover on a day that the Golden Eagles had five players in double figures.

No. 14 Texas Tech 91, No. 12 Kansas 62

LUBBOCK, TEXAS

Jarrett Culver scored 26 points and was one of six Texas Tech players to make multiple 3-pointers as the No. 14 Red Raiders overwhelmed No. 12 Kansas. The Red Raiders (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) never trailed, scoring the game’s first five points. They made a season-high 16 3s while winning their fifth game in a row. Dedric Lawson was the only Kansas player in double figures with 14 points.

No. 15 Purdue 75, Nebraska 72

LINCOLN, NEB.

Matt Haarms scored 17 points and Grady Eifert beat the shot clock for two huge baskets down the stretch for Purdue. Purdue (20-7, 13-3 Big Ten) won its second straight close road game, having beaten Indiana 48-46 on a tip-in with 3 seconds left Tuesday. Ryan Cline’s 3-pointer to end the first half gave the Boilermakers a two-point lead, and they never trailed again.

TCU 75, No. 19 Iowa State 72

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

Kouat Noi had 20 points with 13 rebounds and TCU ended a three-game losing streak. TCU, which had blown a 10-point lead it built before halftime, finally went ahead to stay when Desmond Bane hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with just under two minutes left to snap a 68-68 tie. JD Miller later drove hard for a layup, knocking down one defender without a call and getting fouled by another to make it 73-70 in the final 41 seconds. He missed the free throw. Iowa State (19-8, 8-6 Big 12) was within 73-72 when Marial Shayok found a gap and drove for a layup with 22 seconds left. Noi added two free throws before the Cyclones got to attempt two 3-pointers in the final three seconds.

No. 20 Virginia Tech 67, Notre Dame 59

SOUTH BEND, IND.

Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 22 points and 14 rebounds to help Virginia Tech beat Notre Dame. The Hokies (21-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) raced to a 14-4 lead. The Fighting Irish (13-14, 3-11), who got as close as six points on three occasions in the second half, lost their third straight game and their ninth in their last 11 outings. T.J. Gibbs led Notre Dame with 18 points.

No. 22 Wisconsin 69, Northwestern 64

EVANSTON, ILL.

Brad Davison scored 16 points, D’Mitrik Trice and Ethan Happ added 14 points apiece and No. 22 Wisconsin held off Northwestern. Khalil Iverson added 11 points for the Badgers (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten), who had lost two of three. Happ scored nine of his points in the second half, and Trice shot 4-for-9 from 3-point range. Vic Law had 24 points for the Wildcats (12-15, 3-13), and Dererk Pardon added 21. They have lost eight straight.

No. 23 Kansas State 85, Oklahoma State 46

MANHATTAN, KAN.

Balanced offense, stellar defense and good shooting propelled Kansas State. The Wildcats had no problems as Xavier Sneed and Austin Trice led the team with 12 points each and Kamau Stokes had 11. K-State had 10 players score. The Wildcats (21-6, 11-3 in Big 12 play) shot 62 percent and held the Cowboys to 31 percent. Oklahoma State (10-17, 3-11) was led by Yor Anei, who had 12 points as the Cowboys struggled the entire game to find the basket. Barry Brown led the Wildcats in rebounding with seven as the team outrebounded the Cowboys 36-23.

No. 24 Maryland 72, Ohio State 62

COLLEGE PARK, MD.

Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 19 points, while Bruno Fernando had 14 points and 10 rebounds and No. 24 Maryland remained unbeaten at home in the Big Ten. The Terrapins (21-7, 12-5) used a 13-0 run to take a 52-36 lead. Although the margin dwindled to two points with 5:27 left, Maryland held on to improve to 14-2 at home, including 7-0 in the conference. Duane Washington Jr. scored 15 and Andre Wesson had 13 for Ohio State (17-10, 7-9). The Buckeyes have lost three of four and nine of their last 14.

Associated Press