No. 1 Auburn beats LSU for 12th straight victory
Auburn forward Johni Broome (4) shoots a layup against LSU forward Corey Chest (11) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Johni Broome scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half and had 16 rebounds to help top-ranked Auburn beat LSU 87-74 on Wednesday night for its 12th straight victory.
Auburn (19-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) matched the best 20-game start in school history. Kelly Miles added 13 points, Chad-Baker Mazara had 11 and Tahaad Petiford 10.
Cam Carter led LSU (12-8, 1-6) with 24 points. Dji Bailey had 13, and Jordan Sears finished with 11.
No. 4 ALABAMA 88, No. 14 MISSISSIPPI ST. 84
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Chris Youngblood had a season-high 23 points, including two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining, to lead No. 4 Alabama to a win over No. 14 Mississippi State.
Youngblood made a career-best seven 3 pointers while Alabama made 15 of 31 from beyond the arc.
Mark Sears had 17 points for Alabama (18-3, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) and Grant Nelson scored 15.
Josh Hubbard had a career-high 38 points for Mississippi State (16-5, 4-4) and made a season-high six 3 pointers. KeShawn Murphy scored 18 points for the Bulldogs.
No. 6 HOUSTON 63, WEST VIRGINIA 49
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — L.J. Cryer scored 17 points and No. 6 Houston never trailed in beating West Virginia for the Cougars’ 13th straight win.
Joseph Tugler added 12 points and Milos Uzan scored 10 for Houston (17-3, 9-0 Big 12).
The Cougars’ 18-game league winning streak dating to last season is the second longest in Big 12 history.
West Virginia (13-7 4-5) has lost three straight. Big 12 leading scorer Javon Small was held to eight points, nearly 12 below his average.
Houston scored the first eight points of the game and led 39-19 at halftime. An 11-0 run for West Virginia to start the second half was only a temporary pause in the Cougars’ momentum.
Houston held a 34-19 rebounding advantage in sweeping the regular-season series with the Mountaineers.
MARYLAND 76, No. 17 WISCONSIN 68
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Rodney Rice and Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 16 points apiece, and Maryland won its fourth straight game, over No. 17 Wisconsin.
The Terrapins (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) trailed 48-43 in the second half before taking the lead for good with a 14-2 run. Julian Reese scored 14 points for the Terps, and Derik Queen contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Maryland has won six of its last seven, with the only defeat an overtime loss at Northwestern.
Maryland led 62-58 before Gillespie banked in a 3-pointer, starting a 7-0 run for the Terps that pushed the lead to double digits.
Maryland finished 12 of 24 from 3-point range.
John Tonje led Wisconsin with 23 points.
No. 22 TEXAS TECH 71, TCU 57
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — JT Toppin had 18 points and 14 rebounds, Chance McMillian scored 16 points and No. 22 Texas Tech beat TCU in its first game as a ranked team this season.
Elijah Hawkins added 13 points to help the Red Raiders (16-4, 7-2 Big 12) win their fifth consecutive game in what is their best start in conference since 2004-05, when Bob Knight was the coach.
Noah Reynolds scored 14 points before fouling out for the Horned Frogs (10-10, 3-6). They have lost three in a row since beating then-No. 25 Baylor on the road.
Texas Tech led most of the way despite starter Darrion Williams missing the game with a lower-body injury.
No. 23 MISSISSIPPI 72, TEXAS 68
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Davon Barnes made two free throws with eight seconds remaining and No. 23 Mississippi got two defensive stops in the final 10 seconds to hold off Texas.
Sean Pedulla had 19 points and five assists to help Ole Miss (16-5, 5-3 Southeastern) end a three-game losing streak. Jaemyn Brakefield scored nine of his 18 points in the final six minutes, and Dre Davis added 17.
Tre Johnson led Texas (14-7, 3-5) with 22 points, but misfired twice in the final 10 seconds on potential tying or go-ahead shots. Arthur Kaluma had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Barnes made both free throws after Johnson’s first miss with 10 seconds remaining for the final margin. Johnson missed an uncontested 3-point shot from the corner that was rebounded by Davis at the buzzer.
No. 25 UCONN 72, DEPAUL 61
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Solo Ball scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and No. 25 UConn rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat DePaul.
Tarris Reed Jr. had 16 points and eight rebounds for UConn (15-6, 7-3 Big East). Jaylin Stewart finished with 15 points before leaving following an awkward fall under DePaul’s basket with 3:34 to play.
Layden Blocker had 18 points and five rebounds, while CJ Gunn added 14 points for DePaul (10-12, 1-10).
DePaul, which has lost 42 of its last 43 regular-season Big East games, led by as many as 14 points in the first half as the Blue Demons scored at will against the Huskies early.
But UConn outscored DePaul 43-24 in the second half to avoid the upset.