College Basketball: Meeks’ double-double leads No. 1 North Carolina over Temple
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Kennedy Meeks had 25 points and 11 rebounds to help North Carolina launch a season of lofty expectations with a victory over Temple.
Brice Johnson contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Nate Britt scored 15 points for the Tar Heels in the opener of the Veterans Classic doubleheader at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Meeks, a 6-foot-10 junior, scored in the lane, connected on fadeaway jumpers and squared up from 15 feet. He went 10 for 14 and sank five of seven free throws in matching his career high for points.
With Meeks leading the way, North Carolina finished with a 49-32 rebounding advantage.
Devin Coleman led Temple with 19 points.
NO. 2 KENTUCKY 78,
ALBANY 65
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jamal Murray scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, reserve Derek Willis got Kentucky going with a career-high 14 in the first against Albany.
Murray overcame an uneven first half to shoot 6 of 9 from the field after halftime and 8 of 15 overall, including several thunderous dunks that energized the crowd. He also had eight of Kentucky’s 16 assists in his debut to help the Wildcats stay safely ahead of the scrappy Great Danes.
Peter Hooley had 18 points, and Evan Singletary 17 for Albany.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 69,
NO. 17 WISCONSIN 67
MADISON, Wis. — Garrett Covington hit two free throws with 10.2 seconds left, and Western Illinois shocked Wisconsin.
A team picked to finish last in the Summit League upset a Big Ten power coming off back-to-back Final Four appearances in the season opener for both teams.
The Leathernecks led by as much as eight midway through the second half before Wisconsin mounted a furious rally to tie it at 67 with 2 minutes left on Vitto Brown’s layup.
That set up Covington’s two late foul shots. Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig missed a mid-range jumper with 3 seconds left. Western Illinois grabbed the rebound.
J.C. Fuller led Western Illinois with 20 points.
NO. 3 MARYLAND 80,
MOUNT ST. MARY’S 56
COLLEGE PARK, MD. — Jake Layman scored 16 points, Melo Trimble had 14 and Maryland beat Mount St. Mary’s.
Jared Nickens added scored 11 points for the Terrapins.
BK Ashe scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half for Mount St. Mary’s.
NO. 4 KANSAS 109,
NORTHERN COLORADO 72
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Brannen Greene hit all five of his 3-point attempts and had 18 points, and Kansas pounded Northern Colorado.
Perry Ellis added 16 points and Wayne Selden Jr. had 13 for the Jayhawks, who return most of the nucleus from the team that won its 11th consecutive Big 12 championship last season. Devonte Graham had 13 points and eight assists, and Frank Mason had 11 points and nine assists.
Kansas easily rolled to its 25th straight win at Allen Fieldhouse despite playing without five-star recruit Cheick Diallo, who still has not been cleared by the NCAA to play in games.
NO. 5 DUKE 92,
SIENA 74
DURHAM, N.C. — Grayson Allen scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half, and Duke beat Siena in the first round of the 2K Classic.
Amile Jefferson matched a career high with 19 points and added 12 rebounds to help the Blue Devils open their latest reign as national champions with a lopsided victory. Freshman Brandon Ingram had 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting in his college debut, and Matt Jones added 10.
Marquis Wright had 20 points for Siena.
NO. 6 VIRGINIA 86,
MORGAN STATE 48
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Mike Tobey had 15 points and eight rebounds and Virginia shook off early shooting problems to beat Morgan State.
The Cavaliers missed 12 of their first 13 shots before pulling away with a 24-9 run at the end the first half, and a 17-0 burst at the start of the second. Devon Hall added 13 points, and Anthony Gill and Darius Thompson had 12 each.
Kyle Thomas led Morgan State with 14 points.
NO. 7 IOWA STATE 68,
COLORADO 62
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Georges Niang scored 17 points, and Iowa State held off Colorado in Cyclones coach Steve Prohm’s debut.
Abdel Nader had 14 points, and Naz Mitrou-Long added 13 for the Cyclones.
Niang, a preseason All-American, also had a pair of assists — including an alley-oop pass to Jameel McKay that put Iowa State ahead 64-57 with 1:13 to go.
George King had 14 points for Colorado.
No. 9 Gonzaga,
vs. Pittsburgh, cancelled
CAMP FOSTER, Japan — The Armed Forces Classic between No. 9 Gonzaga and Pittsburgh was canceled at halftime because of slippery conditions on the court at Foster Field House on Okinawa.
Pittsburgh was leading 37-35 at halftime and the second half never got started.
Foster Field House is one of 10 indoor facilities operating on Marine Corps bases on Okinawa by Marine Corps Community Services, none of which are air conditioned.
The three courts in the Foster Field House historically have been susceptible to slippery conditions due to condensation caused by humidity and rain. Showers hit Camp Foster early Saturday morning, which exacerbated the problem.
Ryan Luther gave the Panthers a 37-35 lead with a three-point play on a rebound with 5.4 seconds left in the half. Michael Young had 11 points for Pittsburgh, and Kyle Wiltjer had 15 for the Bulldogs.
NO. 10 WICHITA STATE 83,
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 63
WICHITA, Kan. — Ron Baker scored 15 points, freshmen Landry Shamet and Eric Hamilton each added 13 and Wichita State beat Charleston Southern.
Anton Grady had 12 points and Ty Taylor 10 for the Shockers, who shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the second half. Demetrius Pollard led the Buccaneers with 20 points, and Aaron Wheeler had 11.
NO. 11 VILLANOVA 91,
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 54
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Daniel Ochefu scored 16 points, and freshman Jalen Brunson added 12 points and four assists to help Villanova beat Fairleigh Dickinson.
Kris Jenkins had 14 points, and Ryan Arcidiacono added 12 for the Wildcats. Brunson, from Lincolnshire, Illinois, took over the starting point guard spot from Arcidiacono, who is the reigning co-Big East Player of the Year.
Darian Anderson scored 21 points for the Knights.
NO. 12 ARIZONA 79,
PACIFIC 61
TUCSON, Ariz. — Ryan Anderson had 18 points and 12 rebounds in his Arizona debut.
Arizona coach Sean Miller shuffled his lineup around all night in an effort to determine which combinations work well on this rejiggered team.
Anderson, a transfer from Boston College, hit 5 of 8 shots and Gabe York had 13 points. Kadeem Allen added 13 points, five assists and four rebounds in his first game as the Wildcats’ point guard.
Arizona extended its home winning streak to 39 games.
T.J. Wallace had 19 points and eight rebounds for Pacific.
NO. 13 MICHIGAN STATE 82,
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 55
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Matt Costello had 15 points and Denzel Valentine added 13, leading Michigan State past Florida Atlantic.
The senior-laden Spartans grabbed control with a 16-0 run early in the first half. They led by 22 points at halftime and maintained a comfortable cushion in the second half.
C.J. Turman led the Owls with 15 points.
NO. 15 INDIANA 88,
EASTERN ILLINOIS 49
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — James Blackmon Jr. scored 17 points, Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell added 13 and Indiana routed Eastern Illinois.
The Hoosiers have won all eight season openers under coach Tom Cream and 18 in a row overall. They also have won 31 consecutive home openers.
A.J. Riley had 13 points for Eastern Illinois.
NO. 16 UTAH 82,
SOUTHERN UTAH 71
SALT LAKE CITY — Jakob Poeltl scored a career-high 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots, helping Utah beat Southern Utah.
The Utes are hoping to build on their Sweet 16 run in March, but came out stagnant against the Thunderbirds. Travon Langston and Trey Kennedy each had 13 points for Southern Utah.
NO. 18 VANDERBILT 80,
AUSTIN PEAY 41
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Luke Kornet had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Vanderbilt routed Austin Peay in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
The Commodores opened the game scoring the first 21 points and hitting its first nine shots inside the arc. They will play St. John’s in Maui on Nov. 23.
Wade Baldwin IV led Vandy with 14 points, and Damian Jones added 12.
Khalil Davis scored 10 points for Austin Peay.
NO. 19 NOTRE DAME 87,
ST. FRANCIS, PA. 56
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Demetrius Jackson scored a career-high 27 points to lead Notre Dame.
Jackson made 10 of 14 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers, for the Fighting Irish. Zach Auguste added 15 points and 14 rebounds. Greg Brown scored 15 points for the Red Flash.
NO. 20 UCONN 100,
MAINE 56
STORRS, Conn. — Sterling Gibbs scored 20 points, Shonn Miller had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and UConn rolled over Maine.
Gibbs and Miller, a pair of graduate transfers, each got off to a nice start in their first game with the Huskies. Gibbs, who also played at Texas and Seton Hall, also had four assists. Miller, who came over from Cornell, blocked three shots and had two steals.
UConn center Amida Brimah dominated underneath, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds and nine blocked shots, one off Hasheem Thabeet’s school record.
Till Gloger led Maine with 17 points.
NO. 21 LSU 81,
MCNEESE STATE 70
BATON ROUGE, La. — Antonio Blakeney had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow freshman Ben Simmons added 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for LSU.
Brandon Sampson, the third member of the Tigers’ highly rated freshman class, had 18 points.
Jamaya Burr led McNeese State with 18 points, and Craig McFerrin had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
NO. 22 BAYLOR 97,
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 55
WACO, Texas — Rico Gathers scored 18 points, and Lester Medford had 13 points and nine assists for Baylor.
It was by far the worst loss in three seasons for Lumberbacks coach Brad Underwood, who set an NCAA record with 61 wins in his first two seasons as a head coach. That included the school’s first NCAA Tournament win in 2014.
Thomas Walkup, Demetrious Floyd and TJ Holyfield had 12 points apiece for the Lumberjacks.
NO. 23 PURDUE 81,
NORTH CAROLINA A&T 40
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Kendall Stephens and Ryan Cline each made four 3-pointers, and Purdue beat North Carolina A&T in the Naismith Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic.
Stephens had 12 of his 14 points in the first half, and Rapheal Davis added 10 of his 14. Cline finished with 13 points and Vince Edwards had 11.
Bruce Beckford led the Aggies with nine points.
NO. 25 MICHIGAN 70,
NORTHERN MICHIGAN 44
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Caris LeVert scored 18 points, and No. 25 Michigan led from the start against Division II Northern Michigan, cruising to a 70-44 victory Friday night.
LeVert and Derrick Walton were playing for the first time since January after missing much of the Big Ten schedule last season with injuries.
