Koby Brea came off the bench to score 23 points and hit seven 3-pointers, both career highs, as No. 10 Kentucky began Southeastern Conference play with a 106-100 win over No. 6 Florida on Saturday in Lexington, Ky.
The fifth-year guard was one of six Wildcats (12-2, 1-0 SEC) to score in double figures. Kentucky shot 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from 3-point range and 57.8 percent overall. Lamont Butler added 19 points and a career-high eight assists, while Otega Oweh finished with 16 points for Kentucky.
Walter Clayton Jr. tied his career high with 33 points to lead Florida (13-1, 0-1). Alijah Martin also scored 26 points for the Gators. Saturday was only the fourth time Florida lost a game after scoring at least 100 points.
Florida scored seven straight points to cut Kentucky’s lead to 89-87 with 4:16 left, with Clayton scoring five of his 23 second-half points during that run. Butler responded with five points of his own, and Florida never got within four points for the rest of the game.
No. 1 Tennessee 76, No. 23 Arkansas 52
Chaz Lanier scored 29 points as Tennessee won easily over Arkansas in the SEC opener for both teams in Knoxville, Tenn.
Zakai Zeigler had 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals for Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC), matching their best start in program history, which was first achieved in 1922-23. Igor Milicic Jr. added 13 points and a career-best 18 rebounds for the Volunteers, who had a 51-29 advantage in rebounds, including a 24-9 lead in offensive rebounds.
D.J. Wagner led Arkansas (11-3, 0-1) with 17 points. Boogie Fland scored 12 points and had three steals for the Razorbacks, who shot just 37.7 percent from the field and made 6-of-29 from 3-point range.
No. 2 Auburn 84, Missouri 68
Johni Broome scored 24 points and blocked four shots as Auburn opened SEC play with a strong home win over Missouri.
Chad Baker-Mazara and Chaney Johnson each added 13 points for Auburn (13-1, 1-0 SEC), which started the second half with a 12-1 run to extend its lead to 57-34. Bruce Pearl earned his 213th coaching victory at Auburn, tying him for the all-time lead at the school with Joel Eaves.
Marques Warrick led Missouri (11-3, 0-1) with 19 points. Marcus Allen had nine points and five rebounds as Missouri coach Dennis Gates rotated 14 players, with 11 scoring in the game.
No. 3 Iowa State 74, No. 25 Baylor 55
Keshon Gilbert scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had five assists to help Iowa State pull away from Baylor in a Big 12 Conference matchup in Ames, Iowa.
Milan Momcilovic added 15 points for Iowa State (12-1, 2-0 Big 12), which won its ninth straight game and stayed perfect at home with an 8-0 record. Curtis Jones contributed 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting in the dominant win.
Jeremy Roach led Baylor (9-4, 1-1) with 16 points. Josh Ojianwuna scored 13, and Robert Wright III had 10 points despite making only 4 of 17 shots. Ojianwuna also added 10 rebounds and three steals, and Norchad Omier had nine points and 10 rebounds.
No. 4 Duke 89, SMU 62
Freshman Cooper Flagg scored 24 points as Duke defeated SMU in Dallas without their coach, Jon Scheyer, who missed the game due to illness.
Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor each scored 14 points for Duke (12-2, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Flagg also had 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in the win. Associate head coach Chris Carrawell filled in for Scheyer.
Boopie Miller, who played against Duke last season at Wake Forest, led SMU (11-3, 2-1) with 21 points. Matt Cross added 11 points, and Samet Yigitoglu finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds, but SMU shot just 34.3 percent from the field.
No. 5 Alabama 107, No. 12 Oklahoma 79
Mark Sears scored 22 points and had 10 assists to lead Alabama to a win over Oklahoma in the SEC opener for both teams in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Labaron Philon scored 16 points, Grant Nelson added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Clifford Omoruyi and Aden Holloway each contributed 10 points for Alabama (12-2, 1-0 SEC).
Jalon Moore led Oklahoma with 20 points. Jeremiah Fears added 16 points, and Sam Godwin had 15 points. Kobe Elvis scored 13 points, and Duke Miles added 10 points for Oklahoma (13-1, 0-1 SEC).
No. 13 Texas A&M 80, Texas 60
Zhuric Phelps scored 18 points, including seven during a 15-2 run in the second half, as Texas A&M defeated Texas in College Station, Texas.
Pharrel Payne scored 15 points, and Wade Taylor IV added 13 points for Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0 SEC), which extended its winning streak to eight games.
Tramon Mark led Texas (11-3, 0-1) with 14 points. Arthur Kaluma scored 13, Jordan Pope had 12, and freshman Tre Johnson scored 11 points despite shooting just 2-of-13 from the field. Texas made only 6 of 24 shots in the second half.
No. 14 Houston 86, BYU 55
Emanuel Sharp scored 18 points, and Terrance Arceneaux added 15 points off the bench as Houston defeated BYU in its Big 12 home opener.
Sharp and Arceneaux combined for 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting in a strong first half for Houston (10-3, 2-0 Big 12), which extended its home winning streak to 30 games. L.J. Cryer and Milos Uzan made back-to-back 3-pointers to extend Houston’s lead to 57-32 with 12:43 remaining.
Trevin Knell led BYU (10-3, 1-1) with 12 points. Richie Saunders, who scored a career-high 30 points against Arizona State, only had nine points on 3-of-8 shooting.
Nebraska 66, No. 15 UCLA 58
Brice Williams scored 16 points, and Andrew Morgan added 12 as Nebraska defeated UCLA at home in Lincoln, Neb.
Rollie Worster had 11 points, and Juwan Gary scored 10 for Nebraska (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten), which won its 20th consecutive home game, tying a program record. This includes victories over No. 1 Purdue and No. 6 Wisconsin from last season.
Tyler Bilodeau scored 15 points for UCLA (11-3, 2-1), which suffered its first conference loss as a Big Ten member. The Bruins made only 4 of 28 3-pointers (14.3 percent).
Arizona 72, No. 16 Cincinnati 67
Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 15 points as they held off a late rally by Cincinnati to win on the road.
Bradley made a layup with 43 seconds left to give Arizona a 66-64 lead. After Cincinnati’s Dan Skillings Jr. missed a 3-pointer, Bradley made two free throws to extend the lead to 68-64 with 24 seconds remaining.
Carter Bryant, a freshman, scored a season-high 14 points, and Caleb Love had 12 points and six rebounds for Arizona (8-5, 2-0 Big 12), which won its fourth straight game. Skillings led Cincinnati (10-3, 0-2) with 18 points, and Dillon Mitchell had 13 points and seven rebounds.
No. 17 Mississippi State 85, South Carolina 50
Josh Hubbard scored 21 points as Mississippi State defeated South Carolina in SEC play in Starkville, Miss.
Hubbard made 7 of 13 shots and hit five 3-pointers after shooting just 31.4 percent in his previous four games. Claudell Harris added 17 points and nine rebounds, while Riley Kugel and Keshawn Murphy each scored 12 points for Mississippi State (13-1, 1-0 SEC), which won its seventh straight game.
Zachary Davis scored 22 points for South Carolina (10-4, 0-1), but Collin Murray-Boyles, the team’s leading scorer, only had five points and committed six turnovers. South Carolina shot just 29.1 percent overall and went 2-of-19 from 3-point range.
No. 19 Gonzaga 96, Loyola Marymount 68
Graham Ike scored 27 points, and Khalif Battle added 26 points to lead Gonzaga to a win over Loyola Marymount in West Coast Conference play.
Ike made 12 of 16 shots, and Battle was 10-of-12, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Michael Ajayi added 15 points, and Ryan Nembhard had 10 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds for Gonzaga (12-4, 3-0 WCC).
Will Johnston scored 18 points, and Jevon Porter had 17 points and eight rebounds for Loyola Marymount (9-7, 1-3), which lost 13 straight home games to Gonzaga and 33 of the last 35 matchups.
No. 24 Ole Miss 63, Georgia 51
Jaemyn Brakefield and Matthew Murrell each scored 15 points to help Ole Miss defeat Georgia in Oxford, Miss.
Dre Davis added nine points for Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 SEC), which bounced back from a loss at Memphis on Dec. 28.
Asa Newell had 13 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals for Georgia (12-2, 0-1), but the Bulldogs shot just 29.3 percent (17-for-58) from the field and 11.1 percent from 3-point range. Georgia’s seven-game winning streak ended.
