SEATTLE -- When Nate Oats said yes to the idea of Alabama making the trip to the Pacific Northwest and playing a glorified home game against Gonzaga, he knew it would be an early test of where the Crimson Tide stood.
Alabama's coach also knew his team could end up being a tough opponent for what was supposed to be a showcase event for Gonzaga.
"With the way we play, we can be dangerous at times with how many threes that we shoot and they knew that," Oats said. "We hit a few tonight and that helped a little bit."
Jaden Shackelford scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, Jahvon Quinerly and JD Davison both hit key three-pointers, and No. 16 Alabama held off Gonzaga's big second-half rally for a 91-82 win over the third-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday night.
The Crimson Tide (7-1) made 10 of their 13 three-pointers in the first half, led by Shackelford's sharp shooting from deep. Alabama led by 16 at halftime and withstood every charge the Bulldogs made in the second half to hand Gonzaga its second loss in three games.
Gonzaga trailed by as many as 18 at the beginning of the second half, but pulled within 76-72. The Bulldogs missed several chance to cut the deficit, and Davison and Quinerly hit consecutive three-pointers to give the Crimson Tide a big cushion.
Shackelford made 10 of 16 shots and all six of his three-pointers came in the first half. He tied his career high in points, set during the 2019-20 season against Auburn. Davison finished with 20 points off the bench and Quinerly added 17.
"Obviously, playing for a coach who gives you the freedom and draws stuff up for you, so just going out there and taking the right shots," Shackelford said. "When you take the right shots, you're rewarded for it."
Drew Timme led Gonzaga (7-2) with 23 points, but it was another sputtering offensive performance for the Bulldogs, who lost to Duke last week in Las Vegas and looked lethargic in a win over Tarleton State earlier this week.
Julian Strawther had 13 points, and Anton Watson and Chet Holmgren 10 each for Gonzaga, but the Bulldogs didn't hit perimeter shots at key times and struggled badly at the free-throw line.
"Played much better defense the second half, played with way better energy, spirit and got us back into it," Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said. "And then, again, we just weren't good that last four minutes."
Alabama led 53-35 in the opening seconds of the second half, Gonzaga pulled within 74-70 and 76-72 on Watson's rebound basket with 5:27 left, the closest the Bulldogs had been since late in the first half.
Gonzaga was empty on its next three possessions and Davison's 3-pointer pushed the Alabama lead back to seven with 3:33 left. Quinerly added a three-pointer the next time down for Alabama and the lead was 10.
The Crimson Tide had missed five consecutive three-point attempts before Davison's make.
"Both those guys showed they're big-time players," Oats said. "It was time to step up and make some plays and our defense got some stops."
NO. 6 VILLANOVA 81,
SAINT JOSEPH'S 52
VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Collin Gillespie scored 23 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a victory over Saint Joseph's.
Justin Moore added 16 points and Eric Dixon had 12 for the Wildcats (6-2), who won their 10th straight in a series dating to 1921 between the Big Five rivals that are separated by just seven miles.
Jordan Hall scored 22 points for Saint Joe's (4-4).
NO. 13 TENNESSEE 69,
COLORADO 54
BOULDER, Colo. -- Freshman Kennedy Chandler scored 16 of his season-high 28 points in the first half and No. 13 Tennessee pulled away from Colorado.
The Volunteers (6-1) overcame a slow start to win their third in a row since an 18-point loss to No. 6 Villanova. Santiago Vescovi had 13 points.
Evan Battey had 12 points and Tristan Da Silva scored 11 for the Buffaloes (6-3).
Colorado scored the first five points of the second half to get within five but the Volunteers went on a 10-4 run. The Buffaloes got within five with 8:34 left but Tennessee scored the next eight points. Chandler hit key baskets to make sure the Colorado didn't get closer than five.
NO. 17 UCONN 88,
GRAMBLING STATE 59
STORRS, Conn. -- R.J. Cole scored 18 points to help UConn, which was playing without two injured starters, rout Grambling State.
Freshman Jordan Hawkins added 15 points for the Huskies (8-1), who are off to the program's best start since going 9-0 to open the 2013-14 season.
Isaiah Whaley had 12 points and Akok Akok chipped in with 10. Cameron Christon had all 18 of his points for Grambling (3-6) before being injured in the first half.
A.J. Taylor added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers.
MISSISSIPPI 67,
NO. 18 MEMPHIS 63
OXFORD, Miss. -- Jarkel Joyner scored 20 points and Mississippi converted 10 of 11 free throws in the final four minutes to defeat No. 18 Memphis.
The Rebels (6-2) built a 62-51 lead on a jumper by Luis Rodriguez with 2:10 remaining. They relied on the free throw shooting to send the Tigers (5-3) to their third consecutive loss.
Nysler Brooks made three free throws in the final 32 seconds to preserve the win.
Matthew Murrell added 19 points for the Rebels, including 4 of 9 from three-point range. Ole Miss shot 18 of 51 (35%) from the floor, but compensated by hitting eight three-point shots and going 23 of 29 (79%) from the free throw line.
DeAndre Williams scored 13 points and Earl Timberlake had 11 points for Memphis, which closed to 63-61 with 14 seconds remaining on a pair of foul shots by Tyler Harris.
NO. 19 IOWA STATE 64,
CREIGHTON 58
OMAHA, Neb. -- Caleb Grill scored a season-high 16 points, Izaiah Brockington had all 12 of his points in the second half and Iowa State stayed unbeaten with a win over Creighton.
The Cyclones are 8-0 under first-year Coach T.J. Otzelberger and an overhauled roster after going 2-22 last season.
Ryan Hawkins scored a season-high 25 points to lead Creighton and Ryan Nembhard had 10. But the Bluejays (7-2) lost for the first time in 24 nonconference home games after committing 21 turnovers.
NO. 20 USC 63,
WASHINGTON STATE 61
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Chevez Goodwin sank a layup and the free throw with 16 seconds left to lift undefeated Southern California over Washington State.
Goodwin led No. 20 USC (8-0, 2-0 Pac-12) with 14 points and added five rebounds. Drew Peterson scored 13 points for the Trojans, while Max Agbonkpolo scored nine points and had a key block with 6 seconds left.
Michael Flowers scored 13 points to lead Washington State (6-2, 1-1).
NO. 21 AUBURN 86, YALE 64
AUBURN, Ala. -- K.D. Johnson scored 19 points, Jabari Smith added 17 points and seven rebounds and No. 21 Auburn blew past Yale.
Johnson, who transferred from Georgia this offseason, overcame an injury scare in the first half to lead the Tigers in scoring.
Auburn (7-1) had five players score 10 or more points. Zep Jasper, Devan Cambridge and Dylan Cardwell all finished with 10 points.
The Tigers blocked 14 shots from Yale (5-5), including eight in the first 10 minutes of the game. Walker Kessler, who exited the game in the first half due to injury, had four blocks in just eight minutes of action.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN STATE 81,
TOLEDO 68
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Max Christie had 14 points, Gabe Brown scored 12 and Michigan State built a big lead early to beat Toledo.
Tyson Walker added 11 points and six assists, and Marcus Bingham Jr. contributed 10 points and six rebounds for the Spartans (7-2). A.J. Hoggard had 10 points and four assists.
Michigan State took control with a 33-5 outburst in the first half and led by as many as 26 points before the break.
Toledo (6-2) was led by Ryan Rollins, who had 21 points.
N0. 23 WISCONSIN 89,
MARQUETTE 76
MADISON, Wis. -- Johnny Davis scored 25 points to lead four Wisconsin players with 10 or more points as the Badgers downed in-state rival Marquette.
Brad Davison had 20 points and Steven Crowl and Chucky Hepburn added 15 apiece for the Badgers (7-1).
Justin Lewis scored 14 to lead Marquette (7-2).
N0. 24 MICHIGAN 72,
SAN DIEGO STATE 58
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Hunter Dickinson had 23 points and 14 rebounds, freshman Caleb Houstan scored a season-high 17 points and Michigan beat San Diego State.
The Wolverines (5-3) led by just two points at halftime, coming off a 21-point loss at North Carolina. They bounced back and pulled away with a 17-2 run to take a 64-45 lead.
The Aztecs (5-3) were led by Matt Bradley, who scored 22 points.
N0. 25 SETON HALL 113,
NYACK 67
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- Seton Hall had a trio come off the bench and combine for 66 points, leading the Pirates over Division II Nyack.
Tyrese Samuel had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Jamir Harris had 23 points and Tray Jackson had 21 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists for Seton Hall (7-1).
Joel Bailey had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists to lead Nyack (2-5).