Reed Sheppard leads hot-shooting No. 12 Kentucky past No. 8 Miami, 95-73
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Reed Sheppard scored 21 points, including 13 during a second half in which Kentucky shot 67%, and Antonio Reeves added 18 to propel 12th-ranked Wildcats to a 95-73 blowout of No. 8 Miami on Tuesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Sheppard came off the bench, drained a 3 for his first basket and finished 5 of 9 from long range and 8 of 13 overall. Reeves was 7 of 12 from the field.
Tre Mitchell had 14 points and seven assists, Rob Dillingham scored 14 points and Justin Edwards had 11 points for Kentucky (6-1).
Norchad Omier scored 20 points and Wooga Poplar had 19 for the Hurricanes (5-1), who shot 44.1% from the field but were no match for Kentucky’s nearly flawless offensive performance.
NO. 1 PURDUE 99, TEXAS SOUTHERN 67
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith had 19 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds while leading Purdue past Texas Southern.
Zach Edey added 15 points and six rebounds as the Boilermakers (7-0) extended the nation’s longest regular-season winning streak against nonconference opponents to 31 games.
Purdue was playing its first game since ascending to No. 1 in the nation Monday after taking home the Maui Invitational title by winning three games in three days against teams ranked among the top 11 last week.
The Tigers (0-7) were led by Zytarious Mortle with 25 points and six rebounds.
NO. 3 MARQUETTE 93, SOUTHERN 56
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Tyler Kolek scored all 16 of his points in the first half and Marquette backed up its highest ranking in nearly half a century by trouncing Southern.
In its first game since a runner-up finish in the Maui Invitational, Marquette (6-1) used swarming defense to convert 22 turnovers by Southern into 38 points. The Golden Eagles turned it over just six times, leading to two points for the Jaguars (1-6), who lost their fifth straight.
Kam Jones scored 15 points, Stevie Mitchell added 11 and David Joplin and Ben Gold had 10 each for Marquette.
Jordan Johnson scored 21 points for Southern, matching his season total entering the game.
NO. 5 KANSAS 71, EASTERN ILLINOIS 63
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Kevin McCullar Jr. overcame a tough shooting night to score 18, and Kansas had to fight all the way to the end to beat Eastern Illinois.
The Jayhawks (6-1) led by a point with about five minutes left, and the Panthers (3-5) were still within 65-61 a couple of minutes later. But Dickinson’s bucket in the paint, a run-out dunk by McCullar and some clutch defense finally put the game away.
Tiger Booker led Eastern Illinois with 20 points. Naykel Shelton and Kooper Jacobi scored 14 apiece.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 108, NICHOLLS 70
WACO, Texas (AP) — Langston Love made five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points as Baylor never trailed against Nicholls.
RayJ Dennis, a senior transfer from Toledo, had 14 points and 10 assists for his first double-double with the Bears (7-0). Jayden Nunn chipped in 13 points and Caleb Lohner 12. Baylor shot 57% (38 of 67) from the field and 61% (14 of 23) on 3-pointers.
Robert Brown III scored 17 points for the Colonels (2-5). Micah Thomas had 16 points, Jamal West 15 and Byron Ireland 11.
NO. 11 GONZAGA 81, CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD 65
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Ryan Nembhard scored a season-high 22 points and Anton Watson added 11 points and 13 rebounds as Gonzaga beat Cal State Bakersfield.
Six players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs (5-1). Nolan Hickman had 13 points and freshman Dusty Stromer finished with a season-high 10.
Kaleb Higgins led the Roadrunners (3-4) with 21 points.
GEORGIA TECH 67, NO. 21 MISSISSIPPI STATE 59
ATLANTA (AP) — Miles Kelly had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Georgia Tech handed Mississippi State its first loss.
Mississippi State (6-1) shot 31% from the field (20 of 65) in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 17 points.
Kyle Sturdivant scored 12 points and Naithan George added 11 for Georgia Tech (3-2).
CLEMSON 85, NO. 23 ALABAMA 77
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — PJ Hall had 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocks to lead Clemson past Alabama.
Joseph Girard III added 16 points, four assists and two steals for the Tigers (6-0) in a game that was part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. Chase Hunter had 15 points and Ian Schieffelin scored nine to go with 14 rebounds.
Clemson held Alabama (5-2) to 34% shooting overall in its worst offensive performance of the season. Mark Sears led Alabama with 23 points, including 4-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Crimson Tide led by seven with just under 13 minutes left but were outplayed the rest of the way.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball