Hassan Diarra posts 19 points and No. 11 UConn rallies with come-from-behind victory over Providence

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Hassan Diarra had 19 points and eight assists, Aidan Mahaney and Tarris Reed Jr. helped spark a second-half comeback and No. 11 UConn overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Providence 87-84 on Sunday and extend its home winning streak to 28 games.

Solo Ball added 16 points for UConn (12-3, 4-0 Big East). Mahaney scored 15, Alex Karaban had 13 and Reed had all of his 10 in the second half.

Jayden Pierre scored 24 points and Wesley Cardet finished with 18 for Providence (7-8, 1-3).

The Friars scored the final nine points in the first half, with UConn missing nine of its last 10 shots. The Friars pushed the lead to 14 points early in the second half, but Reed later had six points in a 16-2 run that gave the Huskies a 64-60 lead.

UConn played without second-leading scorer Liam McNeeley. McNeeley suffered a high ankle sprain in Wednesday’s win at DePaul and UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley told reporters on Saturday that the freshman will be out “weeks, not days.”

Bryce Hopkins, Providence’s top scorer who has been limited to just three games this season with a knee injury, also missed the game.

NO. 7 KANSAS 99, UCF 48

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half and No. 7 Kansas posted the second-largest margin of victory in program history, beating UCF in a Big 12 matchup.

Dickinson, a 7-foot-2 senior center, shot 12 for 17 from the field and had nine rebounds while limiting UCF’s Moustapha Thiam, a 7-2 freshman who was slowed by foul trouble, to four points.

Flory Bidunga had 12 points and five rebounds, Rylan Griffen scored 14 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. and AJ Storr each had 11 for the Jayhawks (10-3, 1-1).

Kansas went on a 23-8 run after Thiam’s second foul in the first half and held UCF without a field goal for more than seven minutes. The Knights missed 11 straight shots during that run and made only three of their final 19 shots in the first half. UCF shot 20.6% in the game and was 7 for 30 from 3-point distance.

Keyshawn Hall had 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting as UCF (10-3, 1-1) suffered its worst home loss.

NO. 9 OREGON 83, MARYLAND 79

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Jackson Shelstad scored 23 points to lead No. 9 Oregon over Maryland.

Shelstad was 8 for 10 from the field and made all five of his 3-point attempts while grabbing five rebounds. Nate Bittle added 16 points and six rebounds for Oregon (13-2, 2-2 Big Ten).

Rodney Rice led Maryland (11-4, 1-3) with 19 points and Derik Queen scored 17.

Maryland took its biggest lead at 30-17 in the first half when Selton Miguel converted a three-point play with 10:09 left, but Oregon followed with a 13-2 run. Shelstad scored eight points during the spurt. Marlyand led 45-42 at halftime.

NO. 20 PURDUE 79, NORTHWESTERN 61

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith had 22 points and seven assists to lead No. 20 Purdue to a rout of Northwestern.

Smith, who scored 17 of his points in the first half, hit 8 of 16 shots for the Boilermakers (11-4, 3-1 Big Ten). Trey Kaufman-Renn and C.J. Cox each scored 12 points for Purdue.

Angelo Ciaravino led the Wildcats (10-5, 1-3) with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Brooks Barnhizer, who graduated from nearby Lafayette Jefferson High School, and Jalen Leach each had 11 points. Barnhizer, who was averaging 20.1 points entering the game, struggled from the field, making 4 of 15 shots.

The Boilermakers led by as many as 29 points at 63-34 with 11:21 left in the second half. They scored the first seven points and never trailed.

The Boilermakers shot 59% in the first half while holding Northwestern to 25%.

NO. 21 MEMPHIS 68, NORTH TEXAS 64

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — PJ Haggerty scored 27 points to lead No. 21 Memphis over a stubborn North Texas.

Haggerty was 11 of 14 from the field, including hitting his first seven shots in the game. Dain Dainja finished with 14 points, missing only one of his six shots as Memphis (12-3, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) won for the fifth time in its last six games.

Brenen Lorient led the Mean Green (10-4, 1-1) with 18 points, while Moulaye Sissoko added 17 points and eight rebounds, hitting 7 of 8 shots. North Texas saw an end to its four game winning streak.

The game was close throughout with no team leading by more than seven points. There were four ties and six lead changes. The Memphis press finally made a difference in key situations. That led to 16 turnovers for North Texas.

NO. 22 ILLINOIS 81, WASHINGTON 77

SEATTLE (AP) — Kasparas Jakucionis made a tiebreaking layup with 32 seconds left, and No. 22 Illinois survived a furious comeback bid by Washington to squeak out a victory.

The Fighting Illini (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten), playing at UW for the first time since the 1952 Final Four, had a 17-point lead but the Huskies tied it at 75 on Luis Kortright’s layup with 47 seconds left. Jakucionis then scored and the Illini put it away at the free throw line.

Jakucionis had 18 points and six assists, while Tre White pitched in 17 points and Kylan Boswell had 14.

DJ Davis led the Huskies (10-5, 1-3) with 31 points, finishing 7 for 14 from beyond the arc.

Illinois held Great Osobor, Washington’s leading scorer, scoreless in the first half. He finished with nine points.

The Associated Press