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Top 25 roundup

Marquette downs No. 10 Villanova

MILWAUKEE — Villanova coach Jay Wright said Marquette guard Markus Howard played on a different level from anyone his team could throw at him Saturday.

Howard scored 29 points and the Golden Eagles used a big first half to beat Wright’s 10th-ranked Wildcats, 71-60.

“He’s just in total control out there,” Wright said of the 5-foot-11 guard. “Even defensively, he’s so smart. He uses his body well. Offensively, he’s always under control. He’s never off-balance. He’s got an incredible basketball IQ. He’s got great confidence. You just see each of those areas get better and better. Now, as a senior, you can just see he’s just out there like, ‘I’m playing with a bunch of kids.’ And against us, he is. That’s what it looked like.”

Howard, who entered the day as the nation’s top scorer at more than 25 points a game, scored 15 in the first 10 minutes. He also had eight rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles (11-3, 1-1 Big East) before fouling out. Koby McEwen, three days after being held scoreless in a loss at Creighton, added 22 points for Marquette.

Cole Swider and Justin Moore each had 14 points for Villanova (10-3, 1-1), which had won its last six games. Unranked Marquette was favored by 1 1/2 points on its home floor.

“This league is going to be incredible,” Wright said. “You’re going to have to really be mentally tough this season. You can’t let one game affect your performance in the next game.”

Elsewhere:

No. 2 Duke 95, Miami 62: Vernon Carey Jr. scored 24 points in 25 minutes playing against his hometown team for the first time, and No. 2 Duke shot a season-high 60% to beat the Miami Hurricanes.

It was Miami’s most lopsided home loss in Jim Larranaga’s nine seasons as coach..

Carey shot 11 for 14, and every basket drew cheers from a substantial portion of the less-than-capacity crowd. The Blue Devils freshman starred in high school in nearby Broward County, and his father played football for the Hurricanes.

NO. 3 KANSAS 60, NO. 16 WEST VIRGINIA 53: Udoka Azubuike had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas, and Devon Dotson and Marcus Garrett made crucial plays down the stretch.

Dotson added 16 points and Garrett finished with 12 points and six assists for the Jayhawks (11-2, 1-0), who won their 28th straight conference opener by overcoming a sluggish first half. Kansas trailed by as many as 10 before leaning on defense and dunks to beat the Mountaineers (11-2, 0-1) for the seventh time in their last eight meetings.

Oscar Tshiebwe had 17 points and 17 rebounds for West Virginia, though almost all his production came during a big first half. Fellow freshman Miles McBride added 13 points, most of that coming as the Mountaineers tried to close the gap in the final minutes of their eighth consecutive loss in Allen Fieldhouse.

NO. 4 OREGON 69, UTAH 64: Payton Pritchard scored 19 points for Oregon, and Will Richardson and Chris Duarte each had 14.

Pritchard drew most of the defensive attention as usual so the Ducks ended up moving the ball to Shakur Juiston and Chandler Lawson. They each had a pair of layups to erase Utah’s late lead and clinch the game for Oregon (12-3, 1-1 Pac-12).

NO. 6 BAYLOR 59, TEXAS 44: MaCio Teague matched his season high with 21 points, and Baylor earned its 10th straight win.

After building a 36-23 halftime lead, the Bears (11-1, 1-0 Big 12) missed 18 of their first 20 shots in the second half before Matthew Mayer’s short jumper that made it 47-37 with 7 1/2 minutes left.

NO. 8 AUBURN 80, MISSISSIPPI STATE 68: J’Von McCormick scored a career-high 28 points to help Auburn beat Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Samir Doughty had 15 points for the Tigers (13-0, 1-0), and Isaac Okoro finished with 14. McCormick went 9 for 17 from the field and 8 for 11 at the line.

NO. 18 FLORIDA STATE 78, NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 65: M.J. Walker scored 23 points to help Florida State to the road win.

The Seminoles (13-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got a strong performance from Trent Forrest, who had 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Devin Vassell scored 14, and Malik Osborne finished with seven points and nine rebounds.

GEORGIA 65, NO. 9 MEMPHIS 62: Rayshaun Hammonds scored 15 points, Anthony Edwards had 13 and Georgia stopped Memphis’ 10-game winning streak.

Hammonds was 7 for 18 from the field, and Edwards went 4 for 17. But Donnell Gresham Jr. scored 12 points for the Bulldogs (10-3), and Sahvir Wheeler added 10 points and seven assists.

NO. 11 BUTLER 71, CREIGHTON 57: Kamar Baldwin scored each of his 20 points in the second half, and Butler earned its fifth straight win.

Sean McDermott had 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (14-1, 2-0 Big East).

Marcus Zegarowski finished with 15 points and Damien Jefferson had 12 for Creighton (12-3, 1-1), which had won eight in a row.

NO. 15 MARYLAND 75, INDIANA 59: Jalen Smith scored 19 points to help Maryland return to form.

Aaron Wiggins and Anthony Cowan Jr. had 13 apiece for the Terrapins (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten), who climbed to No. 3 in mid-December before losing successive games to Penn State and Seton Hall. An unimpressive win over Bryant followed on Dec. 29, but Maryland opened the New Year in dominant fashion against the Hoosiers (11-3, 1-2).

Indiana trailed 71-41 with 3:44 left before using a late surge to avoid its lowest point total of the season.

NO. 17 KENTUCKY 71, MISSOURI 5: Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 23 points, Nick Richards had 21 and Kentucky beat Missouri in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools.

Richards went 9 for 13 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. The junior forward also blocked four shots before fouling out with 3:52 left.

NO. 19 VIRGINIA 65, VIRGINIA TECH 39: Kihei Clark scored a career-best 18 points, Braxton Key also had 18 and Virginia dominated with its defense.

The Cavaliers (11-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 30-17 by halftime and built their lead to as many as 23 in the second half. Key scored 11 in the first half and Clark had 10 after halftime.

NO. 22 TEXAS TECH 85, OKLAHOMA STATE 50: Freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points, helping Texas Tech pull away for the win in its Big 12 opener.

The Red Raiders (10-3, 1-0) went ahead to stay with 11 points in a row late in the first half. After Lindy Waters III made a jumper for Oklahoma State right after halftime, Texas Tech scored 15 in a row.

NO. 24 WICHITA STATE 74, MISSISSIPPI 54: Erik Stevenson scored a career-high 29 points to help Wichita State to the victory.

Stevenson had 19 points in the first half, leading the Shockers (13-1) to a 39-24 halftime lead.

The Associated Press

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