UConn routs Le Moyne

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Alex Karaban scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half and No. 3 UConn routed Le Moyne 90-49 on Wednesday night.

Liam McNeeley added 15 points for two-time defending national champion UConn (3-0). Solo Ball scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Tarris Reed Jr. added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Hassan Diarra had 10 points and six assists.

Dwayne Koroma led Le Moyne (1-3) with 13 points and five rebounds. Fred Bagatskis had 11 points.

NO. 5 AUBURN 79, KENT State 56

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Johni Broome had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Chaney Johnson also scored 18 points to lead No. 5 Auburn to a 79-56 victory over Kent State on Wednesday night.

The Tigers (3-0) raced to a fast start and then fought off a second-half rally on the heels of a 74-69 win at then-No. 4 Houston that vaulted them six spots in the AP poll.

Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones had 12 points apiece for Auburn. Broome made 8 of 12 shots and Johnson 8 of 11.

VonCameron Davis led Kent State (2-1) with 19 points despite playing just 18 minutes after getting into early foul trouble. Jalen Sullinger added 16 points and made 3 of 5 3-pointers.

Auburn’s Jahki Howard and Ja‘Heim Hudson missed their second game in a row after reportedly getting into an altercation on the flight to Houston, forcing the plane to be grounded shortly after takeoff.

NO. 8 HOUSTON 91, LOUISIANA 45

HOUSTON (AP) — Terrance Arceneaux had 14 points off the bench, Milos Uzan scored 13 points and No. 8 Houston routed Louisiana.

Mercy Miller had 12 points off the bench, and J’Wan Roberts and Emanuel Sharp each added 11 points for Houston (2-1), which rebounded after losing to Auburn 74-69 on Saturday night.

The Cougars, who have won a 24 straight at home, shot 45.6%, including 10 of 23 from 3 and outrebounded Louisiana 46-28.

Christian Wright had eight points, and Chancellor White, Kentrell Garnett and Kyndall Davis each scored seven points for Louisiana (1-2). The Ragin’ Cajuns shot 32.6%.

NO. 11 TENNESSEE 92, MONTANA 57

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Igor Milicic Jr. had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and No. 11 Tennessee beat Montana.

Chaz Lanier, Felix Okpara and Cameron Carr each scored 13 points for the Volunteers (3-0). Zakai Zeigler had 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The 6-foot-10 Milicic also had two steals and made two 3-pointers.

Money Williams led Montana (2-2) with 30 points.

NO. 14 CREIGHTON 78, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 49

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 16 points, Steven Ashworth added 13 and No. 14 Creighton blew out Houston Christian and Greg McDermott became the Bluejays’ all-time coaching wins leader.

McDermott has won 328 games at Creighton since taking over for Dana Altman in 2010. Altman, now at Oregon, won 327 games from 1994-2010.

The Bluejays (3-0) held Houston Christian (1-2) to 25% shooting and the lowest point total against them since 2017.

The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner continued his torrid shooting, going 6 of 6 from the field to put him at 35 of 38 through three games for a nation-leading 92.1%.

The Bluejays came out sluggish, scoring only three points through the first 5 1/2 minutes. They turned up their transition offense, Kalkbrenner began asserting himself in the post and the rout was on after a 16-0 run gave them a double-digit lead that kept growing.

D’Aundre Samuels led the Huskies with eight points.

NO. 18 ARKANSAS 65, TROY 49

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic scored 19 points apiece, and No. 18 Arkansas used a big second-half run to beat Troy.

Arkansas (2-1) struggled until putting together a 19-6 run midway through the second half, with Ivisic, Thiero, Boogie Fland and Johnell Davis accounting for all the Razorbacks’ scoring in the stretch.

Thiero finished 8 for 15 from the field with seven rebounds, while Ivisic was 6 for 8 — including 6 for 7 on 3-pointers — and had three blocks.

After the run, Troy didn’t come within single digits again as Arkansas avoided a letdown following Saturday’s loss to No. 8 Baylor. The Trojans shot just 36% in the second half and were 0 for 8 from three-point range.

Jackson Fields led Troy (2-1) with 13 points.

Boogie Fland added 12 points and seven assists for the Razorbacks. Only six players scored for Arkansas as starting point guard D.J. Wagner was held scoreless in 37 minutes on 0-of-4 shooting. Trevon Brazile scored just four points in nine minutes as he left late in the first half after appearing to injure his ankle.

NO. 22 ST. JOHN"S 66, WAGNER 45

NEW YORK (AP) — Deivon Smith drained a 3-pointer midway through the second half to start an 18-0 spurt that propelled No. 22 St. John’s past Wagner.

RJ Luis Jr. had 13 points, Aaron Scott scored 11 and the 6-foot Smith grabbed a team-high eight rebounds as St. John’s (3-0) pulled away down the stretch following a sloppy performance over the first 30 minutes.

In their second season under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, the Red Storm jumped into the AP Top 25 poll this week for the first time since January 2019 and won their first game as a ranked team since topping Tulane on Dec. 28, 2014.

Javier Ezquerra scored 10 points to pace Wagner (1-2).

The Associated Press