GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- MaCio Teague and Devonte Bandoo scored 16 points apiece and No. 1 Baylor extended its winning steak to 16 with a 72-61 victory over Florida in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday night.
The Bears improved to 6-1 in the annual inter-conference series -- the best record of any team in either conference -- and themselves another week atop The Associated Press poll.
Baylor also gave the Big 12 an even split (5-5) in the daylong series.
The Bears (17-1) overcame an eight-point deficit early and led by 19 points in the second half before Florida mounted a minor rally. The Gators (12-7) had a chance to make it a single-digit game with a little more than 7 minutes to play, but they missed the front end of three consecutive one-and-ones. Kerry Blackshear Jr. misfired twice on back-to-back possessions and then Noah Locke did the same seconds later.
What could have been an eight-point game was still a comfortable lead for the Bears.
Florida eventually managed to whittle Baylor's lead to 10 on Andrew Nembhard's driving layup with 2:40 remaining. But the Bears answered on the other end thanks to their 13th offensive rebound, which led to two free throws for Bandoo.
Davion Mitchell finished with 11 points and six assists for Baylor, which was a slight underdog entering the game. Jared Butler chipped in 10 points.
NO. 3 KANSAS 74,
TENNESSEE 68
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Devon Dotson scored 22 points, Udoka Azubuike added 18 and No. 3 Kansas beat Tennessee in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Azubuike was the lone big man for the Jayhawks (16-3) after Silvio De Sousa was suspended 12 games and David McCormack banned five for their roles in a brawl Tuesday against Kansas State.
After Azubuike went to the bench with two fouls early, Yves Pons hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Volunteers (12-7) on a 14-2 run for a 20-13 lead. Kansas answered when Azubuike checked back in, stringing together a 12-0 run en route to a 37-30 lead at halftime.
Azubuike finished with 11 rebounds and four blocks.
NO. 14 WVU 74, MISSOURI 51
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jermaine Haley had 15 points and nine rebounds, Miles McBride scored 15 points and No. 14 West Virginia broke open a close game with a huge run early in the second half to beat cold-shooting Missouri in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
West Virginia’s Bob Huggins earned his 876th win to tie Adolph Rupp for seventh place on the NCAA Division I coaching list.
Oscar Tshiebwe added 14 pounds and eight rebounds, Gabe Osabuohien grabbed 12 rebounds and Derek Culver had 11 rebounds for the Mountaineers (16-3).
Torrence Watson scored 19 points to lead Missouri (9-10).
NO. 15 KENTUCKY 76,
NO. 18 TEXAS TECH 74 OT
LUBBOCK, Texas — Nick Richards scored seven of his 25 points in overtime, including the game-deciding free throws with 10 seconds left, and No. 15 Kentucky beat No. 18 Texas Tech in the only Big 12/SEC Challenge game featuring two ranked teams.
Richards scored the first five points in overtime for the Wildcats (15-4), who blew a 10-point lead in second half and went the final six minutes of regulation without a field goal. His last two free throws came after he fouled when Terrence Shannon missed on awkward shot when defended by EJ Montgomery.
Texas Tech (12-7), which had won 54 consecutive non-conference home games since December 2013, had one last possession. But Davide Moretti was stripped by Ashton Hagans when starting a drive in the lane.
NO. 16 AUBURN 80,
IOWA STATE 76
Isaac Okoro scored 19 points, Samir Doughty had 18 and No. 16 Auburn held off Iowa State in the opening game of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Okoro had 10 straight points to help the Tigers (17-2) take a 76-62 lead with under six minutes to play. The Cyclones (9-10) responded with 10 points in a row.
Okoro, a true freshman, hit two foul shots with nine seconds left to seal it.
LSU 69, TEXAS 67
AUSTIN, Texas — Trendon Watford scored 22 points and LSU survived a furious second-half rally by Texas to earn a win, the eighth in a row for the surging Tigers.
Watford’s tough layup put the Tigers up 62-60 before Skylar Mays made two free throws with 49 seconds left. Watford made two more with 16 seconds to play to all but seal the victory in the Big 12/ SEC Challenge.
Texas (12-7), which had lost by 38 at West Virginia on Monday night, trailed by 16 early in the second half, then mounted a desperate comeback to take the lead 60-58 on a basket by Jericho Sims with just over four minutes left. The Longhorns changed the game when they switched to a high-pressure, full-court defense that forced a rash of turnovers and smothered LSU shooters.
OKLAHOMA 63,
MISSISSIPPI STATE 62
OKLAHOMA CITY — Brady Manek scored 18 points, and Oklahoma defeated Mississippi State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Alondes Williams added a career-high 13 points for the Sooners (13-6) in a game played at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Robert Woodard II scored 15 points and Tyson Carter added 14 for Mississippi State (12-7). Season scoring leader Reggie Perry scored just seven points and played just 21 minutes because of foul trouble.
Mississippi State had a chance to win at the end. With the Bulldogs trailing by a point, Woodard missed a jumper from near the free-throw line and the Bulldogs couldn’t get another shot off.
OKLAHOMA STATE 73,
TEXAS A&M 62
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Isaac Likekele scored 13 points and Oklahoma State defeated Texas A&M in the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge.
The Cowboys snapped a six-game losing streak, with those setbacks all coming to Big 12 opponents.
The Cowboys (10-9) led 34-26 at halftime, in boosting their lead over the Aggies (9-9) right before the break thanks to a dunk and jump shot, both by Likekele, over the final 46 seconds.
The Cowboys shot 55% from the field (27-of-49), compared to 39% by the Aggies (23-of-59). OSU also shot 42% from the 3-point line (8-of-19), including 50% in the second half (3-of-6). The Cowboys’ reserves outscored their A&M counterparts 39-23 in providing plenty of help off a deep bench.
ALABAMA 77,
KANSAS STATE 74
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kira Lewis Jr. scored 26 points and Alabama earned another win for the SEC in the SEC/ Big 12 challenge, beating Kansas State.
A 14-0 Alabama run in the second half extended the lead to 16 for the Crimson Tide, but the Wildcats responded with a 15-2 run eventually cut the deficit to one.
Lewis made back-to-back baskets on the next two Alabama possessions, and Alabama never relinquished the lead.
The Crimson Tide was in unfamiliar territory in the first half after their recent success during a three-game winning streak.
OLE MISS 70, GEORGIA 60
ATHENS, Ga. — Breein Tyree scored 20 points and helped Ole Miss end its six-game losing streak with a win over Georgia.
Tyree recorded his tenth game of 20-plus points and made a series of big plays late in the second half. He converted a three-point play and drove between two Georgia defenders for an uncontested fast-break layup to give the Rebels a 61-53 lead with 4:06 left.
Tyree was 8-for-15 from the field, one of them a 3-pointer, with four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Ole Miss (10-9, 1-5 SEC) also got 16 points from Khadim Sy and 14 points from K.J. Buffen.
Georgia (11-8, 1-5 SEC) was led by Jordan Harris with 15 points and a season-high eight rebounds. Anthony Edwards scored 13, but was just 3-for-12 from the field, and Sahvir Wheeler scored 11 points.
Sports on 01/26/2020