UCF erases 16-point deficit to defeat No. 3 Kansas 65-60
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jaylin Seller scored 18 points, Darius Johnson added 17 and UCF erased a 16-point deficit to beat No. 3 Kansas 65-60 on Wednesday night.
Ibrahima Diallo broke a 57-57 tie with less than three minutes left with a hook shot over Jayhawks (13-2, 1-1 Big 12) star Hunter Dickinson. He then blocked a KJ Adams Jr. shot with 50 seconds left to help the Knights (10-4, 1-1) preserve the lead and score the program’s first Big 12 conference win.
Diallo had 13 points, five rebounds and a block to help anchor a UCF defense that forced eight turnovers and blocked four shots in the second half alone.
Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 16 points to lead Kansas. Dickinson had only 12 points and played 28 minutes because of foul trouble.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 77, NO. 5 TENNESSEE 72
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Tolu Smith scored 23 points, including a 3-point play with 14.7 seconds remaining, to lead Mississippi State to a win over Tennessee.
The win marked Mississippi State’s first win over a Top 5 team since defeating Oklahoma in December 2002. The Vols are the fourth top five team to lose in the past 24 hours as No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Houston and No. 3 Kansas also were beaten.
Freshman Josh Hubbard led Mississippi State (12-3, 1-1 in SEC) with 25 points, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
Dalton Knecht scored 26 of his 28 points in the second half for Tennessee (11-4, 1-1). Zakai Zeigler added 26 points for the Volunteers.
NO. 7 NORTH CAROLINA 67, NC STATE 54
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — RJ Davis scored 16 points and Harrison Ingram had a career-best 19 rebounds to help North Carolina take over in the second half and beat rival North Carolina State.
Freshman guard Elliott Cadeau added 11 points and six assists for the Tar Heels (12-3, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who grinded through a tough shooting night for both teams by finally stretching out a lead midway through the second half. UNC won despite shooting 38%.
Casey Morsell had 12 points and six rebounds to lead the Wolfpack (11-4, 3-1), who struggled offensively all night. N.C. State shot just 26.9% for the game, including 2 for 21 from 3-point range.
VIRGINIA TECH 87, NO. 21 CLEMSON 72
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Sean Pedulla scored a career-high 32 points, including six 3-pointers, to lead Virginia Tech over Clemson, which has lost three consecutive games.
Ian Schieffelin led Clemson (11-4, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 15 points.
Tyler Nickel finished with career highs in points (24) and 3-pointers (5) for the Hokies (10-5, 2-2), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball