Freshman Cooper Flagg scored 42 points, and No. 4 Duke defeated Notre Dame 86-78 on Saturday afternoon in Durham, N.C.
Flagg made 11 of 14 field goals, including 4 of 6 from three-point range, and hit 16 of 17 free throws. His performance set a record for the most points by a freshman in Atlantic Coast Conference history. He became the first Duke player to score 40 points since J.J. Redick did it twice in January 2006 and scored the most points for a Blue Devil since Danny Ferry’s 58 in 1988. Flagg also led the team with seven assists and grabbed six rebounds.
Duke (14-2, 6-0 ACC) has now won 10 consecutive games, starting the game with the first 14 points to take control early.
Markus Burton scored 23 points for Notre Dame (7-9, 1-4), who was coming off two one-point losses. The Irish made 14 of 23 shots from three-point range.
No. 1 Tennessee 74, Texas 70
Zakai Zeigler scored 16 points, including a basket and four important free throws in the final minute, to help Tennessee defeat Texas in a Southeastern Conference game in Austin, Texas.
After Texas (11-5, 0-3) briefly took a 60-58 lead with just over four minutes left, Tennessee (15-1, 2-1) responded with an 8-0 run, including a three-pointer by Jordan Gainey that gave them a 66-60 lead with 2:41 remaining. Texas then scored three points in a row to cut the lead to three, but Zeigler secured the win.
He pushed the lead back to five with a layup with 59 seconds left. After grabbing a defensive rebound, he was fouled and hit two free throws with 32 seconds to go.
No. 2 Auburn 66, South Carolina 63
Dylan Cardwell made a key dunk with 1:32 left to give Auburn the lead and help them hold off South Carolina for a victory in Columbia, S.C., despite an ankle injury to star Johni Broome.
Auburn (15-1, 3-0 SEC) won its eighth straight game, even after Broome injured his left ankle while defending a shot under the basket with 13:45 to go. Broome had scored six points on 3-of-11 shooting in 24 minutes before being hurt when he stepped on a teammate’s foot while trying to defend a basket by Collin Murray-Boyles. This gave South Carolina (10-6, 0-3) a 47-45 lead.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after the game that Broome had a “significant sprain” and would be getting tests to determine how bad the injury is.
No. 3 Iowa State 85, Texas Tech 84 (OT)
Joshua Jefferson made two free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining in overtime to give Iowa State an 85-84 victory over Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. This win gave Iowa State their 11th consecutive win.
Jefferson passed the ball inbounds with 8.4 seconds left in overtime, received it back on the left side near the basket, and got fouled while trying to score. Iowa State (14-1, 4-0) finished 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in overtime after struggling earlier in regulation (11 of 18).
Texas Tech (11-4, 2-2) led 84-83 with 15.4 seconds left after Darrion Williams grabbed an air-ball and made a blind reverse layup. This was the eighth of nine lead changes in the final minutes of regulation and overtime.
No. 5 Alabama 94, No. 10 Texas A&M 88
Mark Sears scored 27 points and made four crucial free throws in the final 21 seconds to help Alabama defeat Texas A&M in a key SEC game in College Station, Texas.
Alabama (14-2, 3-0) was ahead by eight points at halftime and led by 15 with eight minutes left, but they had to hold off a strong rally from Texas A&M (13-3, 2-1). The Aggies came within three points with less than 90 seconds left.
Texas A&M, which was missing injured leading scorer Wade Taylor III, suffered its first loss of the season to a Top 25 team after winning their first four games against ranked teams.
No. 6 Kentucky 95, No. 14 Mississippi State 90
Jaxson Robinson scored a season-high 27 points to lead Kentucky past Mississippi State in an SEC game in Starkville, Miss.
Ansley Almonor, who scored 11 points, hit two important three-pointers in the second half to help Kentucky (13-3, 2-1 SEC) rally after Mississippi State (14-2, 2-1) had made a big comeback. This victory also gave Kentucky coach Mark Pope his 200th career win.
Kentucky, who had lost to unranked Georgia earlier in the week, was up by as much as 14 points with less than 16 minutes left. However, Mississippi State managed to take the lead with eight minutes to go. With Kentucky trailing 80-78 with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining, Almonor made two back-to-back three-pointers to put Kentucky ahead 84-80, and the Wildcats never trailed again.
No. 8 Florida 71, Arkansas 63
Alijah Martin scored 14 points, and Alex Condon had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to help Florida beat Arkansas in an SEC game in Fayetteville, Ark.
Will Richard added 12 points and eight rebounds for Florida, who led by as much as 12 points. Walter Clayton Jr. also contributed 12 points and five assists. Condon scored all of his points in the second half. Florida (15-1, 2-1 SEC) won despite two of their starters fouling out and limiting Arkansas to just 30 percent shooting.
Adou Thiero led Arkansas with 17 points. Boogie Fland had 15 points, and Jonas Aidoo added 11 points and nine rebounds. Arkansas (11-5) is now 0-3 in the SEC for the second consecutive season.
No. 9 UConn 68, Georgetown 60
Alex Karaban scored 19 points to help UConn defeat Georgetown in Washington, D.C. The Huskies used a strong second-half performance to secure the win.
Karaban scored 12 points in the second half, hitting all three of his three-point attempts, as UConn (13-4, 5-1 Big East) bounced back from a close 68-66 loss to Villanova. Solo Ball added 15 points, and the Huskies extended their winning streak over Georgetown to nine games.
Curtis Williams Jr. led Georgetown (12-4, 3-2) with a season-high 15 points off the bench. Micah Peavy added 14 points, and Thomas Sorber contributed nine points and 10 rebounds. Georgetown has now lost two games in a row.
No. 11 Kansas 54, Cincinnati 40
Hunter Dickinson had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Kansas showed strong defense in the second half to defeat Cincinnati in a Big 12 game.
Kansas (12-3, 3-1) won its third straight game despite shooting poorly from beyond the arc, hitting just 2 of 21 three-pointers. They also shot 35.3 percent from the field. Dillon Mitchell was the only other player in double figures for Kansas with 10 points.
Cincinnati (10-5, 0-4) struggled with shooting, making just 3 of 22 three-pointers and shooting 30.5 percent overall. Kansas trailed 25-24 at halftime but outscored Cincinnati 30-15 in the second half to win.
No. 12 Houston 87, Kansas State 57
Houston won against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., with a balanced scoring effort. Emanuel Sharp led with 15 points, and five other Houston players scored in double digits. The Cougars also had two players who scored eight points each.
Houston (12-3, 4-0 Big 12) is now tied with Iowa State at the top of the Big 12 standings, having won eight straight games. Kansas State (7-8, 1-3 Big 12) has lost six of its last seven games.
In addition to Sharp, Houston got 13 points from Joseph Tugler, 11 from LJ Cryer and Ja’Vier Francis, and 10 from J’Wan Roberts. Kansas State was led by Brendan Hausen with 15 points and Max Jones, who added 13. The Wildcats made 40 percent of their three-point attempts, hitting 10 out of 25.
Southern California 82, No. 13 Illinois 72
Desmond Claude scored a season-high 31 points to help Southern California win over Illinois in Champaign, Ill. The Trojans took control in the second half of the game.
Wesley Yates III added 15 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the field, and Southern California (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten) shot 52.3 percent overall.
Ben Humrichous led Illinois (12-4, 4-2) with 15 points, while Tre White and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn both scored 11 points.
Georgia 72, No. 17 Oklahoma 62
Asa Newell and Dakota Leffew each scored 15 points to help Georgia beat Oklahoma in Athens, Ga. This was Georgia’s second straight win over a ranked team, after they defeated No. 6 Kentucky earlier in the week.
Silas Demary Jr. added 10 points and eight rebounds for Georgia (14-2, 2-1 SEC).
Jalon Moore led Oklahoma (13-3, 0-3) with 17 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Kobe Elvis and Duke Miles each scored 14 points, and Mohamed Wague added 10 points off the bench. Oklahoma has now lost three games in a row.
No. 18 Gonzaga 88, Washington State 75
Graham Ike scored 21 points to lead Gonzaga in a victory over Washington State in Spokane, Wash., during a West Coast Conference game.
Nolan Hickman added 19 points, while Ben Gregg contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Khalif Battle and Braden Huff each added 10 points for Gonzaga (14-4, 5-0).
Nate Calmese led Washington State (13-5, 3-2) with 20 points, shooting 9-of-14, and also had eight assists. LeJuan Watts scored 17 points, and Dane Erikstrup added 11 points for the Cougars.
No. 19 Memphis 74, East Carolina 70
PJ Haggerty scored 25 points to help Memphis win against East Carolina in an American Athletic Conference game. Memphis built an 18-point lead in the first half and was still up by 14 points at halftime, but East Carolina made a comeback.
East Carolina (9-8, 1-3) tied the game at 68-68 with 1:11 left. Memphis then made two free throws, got a defensive stop, and Tyrese Hunter scored a layup to secure the win.
Both teams struggled with shooting and turnovers. Memphis finished at 41.0 percent from the floor and had 16 turnovers, while East Carolina shot 39.3 percent and committed 18 turnovers.
No. 23 Ole Miss 77, LSU 65
Malik Dia scored 19 points, and Ole Miss used a strong second half to pull away from LSU in Oxford, Miss.
Jaemyn Brakefield added 16 points, and Sean Pedulla scored 11 points. Dre Davis and Jaylen Murray each contributed 10 points for Ole Miss (14-2, 3-0 SEC), who outscored LSU (11-5, 0-3) 49-39 in the second half.
Cam Carter led LSU with 16 points. Daimion Collins scored 14 points, and Jordan Sears, playing off the bench for the first time this season, added 10 points and six assists.
No. 25 Utah State 81, Boise State 79
Ian Martinez hit a crucial four-point play with 7.3 seconds left to lead Utah State past Boise State in Logan, Utah, in a Mountain West Conference game.
Martinez led Utah State (16-1, 6-0 MWC) with 18 points. Deyton Albury added 14 points, and Dexter Akanno had 12 points. Utah State shot 61.2 percent from the field and made 11 of their 21 three-point attempts (52.4 percent).
Tyson Degenhart scored 22 points to lead Boise State (12-5, 4-2). Alvaro Cardenas added 15 points and eight assists, while Javan Buchanan contributed 13 points, and Andrew Meadow scored 12 points.
