No. 3 UConn opens title defense with 95-56 win over Sacred Heart

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Alex Karaban had 20 points, seven rebounds, seven blocks and six assists as No. 3 UConn opened the season with a 92-56 win over Sacred Heart on Wednesday night.

Liam McNeeley added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies, seeking their third consecutive national championship. Solo Ball scored 16.

Tarris Reed finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds as Connecticut outrebounded Sacred Heart 47-25.

Amiri Stewart had 13 points and Bryce Johnson added 10 for the Pioneers (0-2).

Tanner Thomas, who scored 22 points in Sacred Heart’s season-opening loss to Temple, had just six this time.

NO. 11 AUBURN 94, VERMONT 43

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Miles Kelly scored 21 points, Denver Jones added 16 and No. 11 Auburn cruised to a season-opening home victory over Vermont.

Chaney Johnson had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers, who have now won 55 consecutive non-conference home games. Auburn led Vermont by 25 at halftime and opened the second half on a 35-4 run. Kelly, a Georgia Tech transfer, hit seven 3-pointers — more than any Auburn player had in a single game last season.

Seth Joba led Vermont (1-1) with eight points, while Illeri Ayo-Faleye added seven. The Catamounts’ 43 points tied for the fewest they have scored in a game under 14th-year head coach John Becker.

NO. 15 CREIGHTON 99, UT-RIO GRANDE VALLEY 86

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Big East preseason player of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 49 points and 15th-ranked Creighton needed just about every one of them in a season-opening win over UT-Rio Grande Valley.

Creighton, a Sweet 16 team three of the last four seasons, couldn’t shake off the Vaqueros of the Southland Conference until the final two minutes.

The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner’s point total was the second-highest in program history behind Bob Portman’s 51 against UW-Milwaukee in 1967. The fifth-year center was an astonishing 20 of 22 from the field, including 2 for 2 on 3-pointers, and he made 7 of 8 free throws. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Steven Ashworth scored 25 points for the Bluejays.

Hasan Abdul-Hakim had 24 points and Cliff Davis and DK Thorn added 17 apiece for the Vaqueros (0-2), who were within 87-82 when Howie Fleming Jr. made a fifth-chance basket with 2:37 left.

NO. 16 ARKANSAS 76, LIPSCOMB 60

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — John Calipari won his debut as Arkansas coach when the 16th-ranked Razorbacks held off a second-half rally by Lipscomb and pulled away for a 76-60 victory Wednesday night.

Freshman guard Boogie Fland scored 17 points and Florida Atlantic transfer Johnell Davis added 15 for Arkansas.

Calipari, who left Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky after last season, had previously been booed incessantly whenever stepping foot in Bud Walton Arena.

That all changed when Eric Musselman, who coached Arkansas to three Sweet 16s in five seasons, departed last spring and Calipari bolted from the bluegrass of Kentucky for the foothills of the Ozarks.

His new team looked a lot like his old ones.

Lipscomb (1-1), the Atlantic Sun preseason favorite, put a scare into the Razorbacks (1-0) with a second-half run to pull within four points with just under seven minutes to play. Arkansas had led by 15 in the second half.

Zvonimir Ivisic, one of seven players to make their Razorbacks debut Wednesday, hit a 3-pointer, a layup and two free throws in the span of a minute to stop the Bisons.

Ivisic finished with 12 points. Jacob Ognacevic led Lipscomb with 16.

NO. 17 INDIANA 80, SIU EDWARDSVILLE 61

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Mgbako scored 19 of his career-high 31 points in the first half Wednesday and Malik Reneau added 15 points and seven rebounds to lead No. 17 Indiana past SIU Edwardsville.

Mgbako made 8 of his first 10 shots and finished 13 of 17 from the field while going 4 of 5 on 3-pointers, making his only free throw attempt and grabbing nine rebounds.

The Cougars (1-1) were led by Ray’Sean Taylor with 17 points and Arnas Sakenis, who had eight points and nine rebounds.

Indiana honored former USF coach Amir Abdur-Rahim before the game with a moment of silence. The 43-year-old Abdur-Rahim died in late October from complications while he was undergoing a procedure at a Tampa-area hospital.

The Hoosiers also honored SIUE forward Kyle Thomas, the son of the late Daryl Thomas, before tip-off. Daryl Thomas played on Indiana’s 1986-87 national championship team.

NO. 25 RUTGERS 75, WAGNER 52

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Freshman standout Dylan Harper scored 20 points in his highly anticipated debut to lead No. 25 Rutgers to a win over Wagner.

Harper, a combo guard, is considered one of the top freshmen in the country and together with fellow first-year forward Ace Bailey, a major reason why the Scarlet Knights entered the season at No. 25. He is the younger brother of Ron Harper Jr., who also starred at Rutgers, and whose father, Ron Harper Sr, was a 15-year NBA veteran.

Rutgers was without Bailey, who was sidelined with an undisclosed injury he suffered Monday in practice. His status is day-to-day.

Keyontae Lewis led Wagner with 12 points.

P.J. Hayes added 12 points and Lathan Sommerville contributed 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Rutgers. Jeremiah Williams added 10 points for the Scarlet Knights.

The Associated Press