LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Richmond hardly could have played worse in the first half Sunday, yet it trailed No. 10 Kentucky by only a few points.
The Spiders pulled confidence from the small deficit and turned that into better execution after halftime, leading to the biggest win away from home in program history.
Blake Francis and Nathan Cayo powered Richmond to its first road victory over an Associated Press top 10 team, rallying in the second half to beat the Wildcats 76-64.
"You just get to play a team like Kentucky so rarely," Richmond Coach Chris Mooney said. "So for us to have the opportunity to play them with a great team is great, and we seized that opportunity.
"It's a tremendous win. Kentucky loses very rarely, they lose out of conference very rarely, so this is a great win."
Richmond's veteran core -- 10 upperclassmen, including four graduates -- overcame Kentucky's latest roster makeover featuring seven freshmen and 10 newcomers.
Richmond shot 59% from the floor after halftime.
The Spiders (2-0) had been 0-25 against top 10 teams and trailed 36-30 just after halftime. Francis and Cayo each finished with 18 points, many coming during a series of small scoring runs that pushed Richmond ahead.
"We were only down four at halftime, we felt like we played horrible," said fifth-year forward Grant Golden, who overcame 4 fouls to finish with 13 points and 7 rebounds. "We didn't make any shots, but we knew as long as we kept running our offense, shots were going to start to fall eventually. We put two really good halves of defense together and that's what ended up winning it for us."
A 9-0 burst gave the Spiders the lead, and a 7-0 stretch made it 58-46 with 7:43 remaining. In between, Francis and Tyler Burton hit three-pointers and Cayo converted a three-point play.
Kentucky (1-1) got within eight before Richmond answered with Jacob Gilyard's fast-break layup and Matt Grace's three-pointer for a 13-point edge with 4:40 left. Francis added a three-pointer that made it 72-56 and sparked a celebration on the Spiders' bench.
B.J. Boston had 20 points and Olivier Sarr 17 for Kentucky, which outrebounded Richmond 54-31 but shot 36% and missed all 10 tries from behind the arc.
NO. 2 BAYLOR 86,
WASHINGTON 52
LAS VEGAS -- Jared Butler scored 20 points and Baylor won again without Coach Scott Drew.
Assistant coach Jerome Tang is directing the Bears (2-0) with Drew in a 10-day isolation period after testing positive for covid-19.
RaeQuan Battle led Washington (0-1) with 10 points in its opener.
NO. 11 CREIGHTON 69,
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 58
OMAHA, Neb. -- Christian Bishop scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, Antwann Jones fueled the decisive run in the first half, and Creighton opened the season with a victory over North Dakota State.
The Bison (0-3) made 4 of their first 5 shots and led 10-4 before turning the ball over on five of six possessions.
NO. 17 HOUSTON 64,
NO. 14 TEXAS TECH 53
FORT WORTH -- Marcus Sasser scored 17 points playing close to home, Quentin Grimes added 15 and Houston never trailed in a victory over Texas Tech in a neutral-site meeting.
Sasser, whose career high of 26 points came at SMU in Dallas as a freshman last season, was 5 of 15 from the floor as the Cougars (3-0) overcame 35% shooting at Dickies Arena. That's where they are set to play in the American Athletic Conference tournament this season near downtown Fort Worth and not far from the Dallas suburb where Sasser grew up.
Mac McClung scored 16 points for the Red Raiders (2-1).
NO. 18 ARIZONA STATE 100,
HOUSTON BAPTIST 77
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Marcus Bagley scored 21 points, fellow freshman Josh Christopher added 17 and Arizona State used a huge first-half run to rout Houston Baptist.
The Sun Devils (2-1) played without starting guard Alonzo Verge for unspecified reasons in their home opener, but it did little to slow them down against the overmatched Huskies (0-2).
Arizona State put the game out of reach early with a 33-3 first-half run.
NO. 23 OHIO STATE 74,
UMASS-LOWELL 64
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Duane Washington Jr. scored 21 points and Ohio State had to rally from a second-half deficit to defeat UMass-Lowell.
Washington took a pass from teammate C.J. Walker and hit a three-pointer from the left wing for a 70-63 lead with 1:07 left to all but clinch it for the Buckeyes (2-0).
Obadiah Noel led UMass-Lowell (1-2) with 15 points.
NO. 24 RUTGERS 70,
HOFSTRA 56
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Ron Harper Jr. had 15 points and 9 rebounds, Jacob Young had 17 points and Rutgers beat Hofstra.
Montez Mathis scored 14 points as the Scarlet Knights never trailed.
Rutgers (3-0) led 32-16 with 3:52 left in the first half against Hofstra (0-1).
NO. 25 MICHIGAN 81,
OAKLAND 71, OT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Isaiah Livers scored 22 points and Hunter Dickinson had all 19 of his points after halftime, helping Michigan outlast Oakland.
Dickinson, a 7-1 center, scored six points early in overtime to finally give Michigan (2-0) control of a game it was expected to win easily.
Jalen Moore led Oakland (0-4) with 21 points, and Trey Townsend had 13.
