CHICAGO (AP) - With Keith Appling, Gary Harris and Adreian Payne all scoring in double figures for No. 2 Michigan State, Keith Dawson came up with the biggest basket, tipping in a miss with less than six seconds left to give the Spartans a 78-74 victory over top-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night.
James Young missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Spartans erupted in delight, with Harris holding up his index finger.
No. 1, indeed.
It was the earliest meeting of 1 vs. 2, and the first since 2008, and the matchup did not disappoint for many who see it as a sneak preview of the Final Four. Julius Randle had 23 of his 27 points in the second half, as the Wildcats (2-1) erased a 13-point deficit. But they couldn't overcome their troubles at the free throw line, going a dismal 20 of 36.
No. 3 LOUISVILLE 97, HOFSTRA 69
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Russ Smith scored 21 of his game-high 30 points in the first half and Louisville made 12 3-pointers to set the tone for a rout of Hofstra.
The senior guard shot 12 of 22 from the field including 5 of 12 from beyond the arc. Wayne Blackshear made three straight 3s for nine points to help Louisville break the game open with a 26-2 second-half run. Luke Hancock returned from an Achilles injury to hit a couple from long range as well as the Cardinals finished 12 of 31 from deep.
Louisville (2-0) shot 35 of 68 overall (51.5 percent), a big improvement from its 38-percent effort in a season-opening win over the College of Charleston.
Chris Jones added 20 points with seven assists for Louisville, Montrezl Harrell had 19.
The Cardinals forced 22 turnovers leading to 30 points and dominated the paint 44-16.
No. 5 KANSAS 94, No. 4 DUKE 83
Andrew Wiggins scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, outplaying Jabari Parker down the stretch and helping Kansas knock off Duke.
Parker, a former prep star at nearby Simeon High School, had 27 points, nine rebounds and three steals in a spectacular homecoming. But it was his fellow freshman star that made the biggest plays in the final minutes of a taut thriller between two storied programs.
Wiggins drained a stepback jumper to give the Jayhawks an 85-81 lead with 1:33 to go, and then had a fast-break dunk after a steal by Perry Ellis. Wiggins held his arms out and yelled after the big jam.
Ellis finished with 24 points, and Wiggins also had 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks.
No. 7 MICHIGAN 93, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 59
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Caris LeVert made his first five 3-point attempts, and No. 7 Michigan had a terrific night from beyond the arc, breezing to a victory over South Carolina State.
LeVert finished with 24 points, going 6 of 7 from long distance. Nik Stauskas added 23 points - he was 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Both sophomores set career highs in scoring.
The Wolverines (2-0) were again without star big man Mitch McGary, who has been out with a back problem.
Jordan Smith scored 19 points for South Carolina State (1-2).
Michigan, which scored only 69 points in a season-opening win over UMass-Lowell last week, led 59-23 at halftime Tuesday after going 12 of 19 from 3-point range. The Wolverines finished 15 of 28 from beyond the arc.
No. 8 OKLAHOMA STATE 93, UTAH VALLEY 40
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Phil Forte scored 19 points to lead six double-figure scorers and Oklahoma State cruised past Utah Valley.
The Cowboys (2-0) hit 10 of 18 from 3-point range in the first half and 14 of 33 from beyond the arc for the game. Forte and Marcus Smart, who scored 14 points, combined to hit 8 of 17 from 3-point range.
Freshman Stevie Clark was 3 of 4 from 3-point range, finished 16 points and had six assists.
Le'Bryan Nash (11), Brian Williams (10) and Markel Brown (10) also scored in double figures for the Cowboys.
Brown and Kamari Murphy each pulled down six rebounds as Oklahoma State led 50-25 at halftime.
Keawe Enos and Hayes Garrity both had eight points for Utah Valley (2-1), which was 14 of 48 from the field.
No. 9 SYRACUSE 89, FORDHAM 74
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - C.J. Fair scored a career-high 26 points, Jerami Grant added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Syracuse beat Fordham.
Syracuse, which started the season with a so-so 82-60 win over Cornell on Friday night after trailing by 14 points late in the first half, left little doubt about the outcome of this one. The Orange had the game in hand by halftime, leading by 25 behind 15 points from Fair as the Syracuse defense clamped down from the opening tip.
Grant, who missed Syracuse's season opener due to a violation of NCAA rules regarding summer-league play, was sharp, hitting 6 of 12 shots and nabbing three steals. Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis finished with 16 points, five assists, no turnovers and four of the Orange's 15 steals.
Branden Frazier had a career-high 33 points for Fordham and freshman Jon Severe added 19, hitting 4 of 10 from long range.
No. 10 OHIO STATE 79, OHIO 69
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Aaron Craft scored 17 points - including eight free throws down the stretch - to help Ohio State hold off neighboring rival Ohio.
Amir Williams had a career-high 14 points, reserve Sam Thompson had 12 and LaQuinton Ross added 10 for the Buckeyes (2-0).
Ohio State built a 12-point halftime lead and never trailed in a game with little continuity due to the constant whistles calling the new contact rules. Ohio State was 37 of 50 at the line.
Stevie Taylor and Nick Kellogg each had 21 points for Ohio (1-1), down by as many as 17 before cutting the gap to five points with 4 minutes left.
The teams, just 75 miles apart, hadn't met on the court in 19 years.
No. 20 WISCONSIN 59, No. 11 FLORIDA 53
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Sam Dekker scored 16 points, Traevon Jackson added 13 and Wisconsin overcame a sloppy start to hold off Florida in its home opener.
The Gators turned up their backcourt pressure to narrow a 10-point deficit to 51-48 with 2 minutes left on two free throws by center Patric Young. Another free throw by Young cut it to 56-53 with 41.8 seconds left.
But Jackson hit a floater at the foul line over Jacob Kurtz with about 10 seconds left and Frank Kaminsky blocked a shot on the other to seal the win for Wisconsin (2-0).
Michael Frazier II led Florida (1-1) with 20 points.
Dekker's 3-pointer with 11:06 left in the first half sparked a 22-10 run for Wisconsin.
No. 14 VCU 59, No. 25 VIRGINIA 56
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Treveon Graham scored 22 points, including a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to play, and VCU beat Virginia.
The Rams (2-0) trailed for almost all of the final 10 minutes until Graham's steal and baseline jumper gave them a 56-55 lead with 1:18 left.
Malcolm Brogdon then hit just the second of two free throws with 9.7 seconds left for the Cavaliers (1-1), tying the game before the Rams called time out and set up the final play.
Rob Brandenburg brought the ball up, went around a screen and fired a pass back to Graham, who shot from the left side of the arc and swished it through for just the sixth 3-pointer of the game.
Joe Harris led Virginia with 18 points.
No. 17 MARQUETTE 114, GRAMBLING STATE 71
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Chris Otule scored 17 points and Steve Taylor added 16 points and 11 rebounds to help Marquette roll over Grambling State.
The last time Marquette (2-0) reached the century mark came in a 102-77 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 21, 2010.
Deonte Burton added 14 points, JuJuan Johnson 12 and Jamil Thomas, Juan Anderson and Jake Thomas each a had 11 for Marquette.
The Golden Eagles took command early and led by as much as 23 in the first half as Otule scored 13 points and Davante Gardner and Burton each added 10 for a 52-35 lead. Then Thomas hit consecutive 3s and added a layup to spark a 12-0 run that opened the second half and sealed the win.
Chandler Thomas scored 26 points and A'Torri Shine added 17 for Grambling State (0-2), which has lost 30 straight games.
No. 23 BAYLOR 66, SOUTH CAROLINA 64
WACO, Texas (AP) - Brady Heslip scored 18 points with five 3-pointers and Baylor held on for a victory over South Carolina, without making a field goal in the final 7 minutes and having to wait out a lengthy review after the final buzzer Tuesday before officials determined there wasn't yet another foul in the game.
South Carolina (1-1) was desperately trying to get a tying basket, and the ball was still being batted around when the buzzer sounded at the same time a referee blew a whistle for an apparent foul. The refs reviewed the video before declaring the game was over.
The Gamecocks didn't score again after Sindarius Thornwell penetrated around 7-foot-1 Isaiah Austin with 4:20 left to tie the game at 64. Thornwell had 20 points.
The game was plagued by 55 fouls, and Baylor held on while shooting only 54 percent on free throws.
No. 24 UCLA 91, OAKLAND 60
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jordan Adams scored 22 points and Tony Parker added 21 as UCLA beat Oakland.
The Bruins (2-0) pulled away by closing the first half on a 27-9 run to take a 44-24 lead. An 18-2 run in the second half sealed the victory for the Bruins.
UCLA dominated in all aspects of the game, shooting 52.5 percent from the field and outrebounding the Grizzlies 49-28. Oakland shot 30.8 percent from the field.
The Golden Grizzlies (0-2) were coming off a 21-point loss to No. 12 North Carolina, and came to Los Angeles with only 10 players on their roster.
They tried in vain to keep up by launching 3-point shots but they connected on just two of 15 attempts in the first half and were 6 of 25 fror the game.
Travis Bader scored 19 points to lead the Golden Grizzlies, while Tommie McCune added 12.
Norman Powell scored 18 points for the Bruins.