Top 25 Roundup: UNC Routs No. 24 Michigan in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Top 25 Roundup: UNC Routs No. 24 Michigan in Big Ten/ACC Challenge
North Carolina Tar Heels guard R.J. Davis (4) with the ball as Michigan Wolverines forward Caleb Houstan (22) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Dec 1, 2021. (Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media)
Field Level Media
12/3/2021
Updated:
12/30/2023

Caleb Love scored 22 points and sparked the North Carolina’s huge second half in a 72–51 victory against No. 24 Michigan as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday in Chapel Hill, N.C.

It was the first victory against a nationally ranked team under first-year coach Hubert Davis, whose team lost last month to Purdue and Tennessee on consecutive days.

Dawson Garcia supplied 14 points and Armando Bacot had 11 points and 14 rebounds for North Carolina (5–2).

Michigan (4–3), which never got untracked in the second half, got 13 points from Moussa Diabate and 11 from Eli Brooks.

No. 5 UCLA 73, Colorado 61

The Bruins lost Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the first half and nearly gave up a large lead before holding off the Buffaloes in Los Angeles.

UCLA (7–1, 1–0 Pac-12) built a 17-point advantage before halftime, despite Jaquez playing just seven minutes. He took a hard fall early in the game and was held out as a precautionary measure. Tyger Campbell led the Bruins with 21 points, and Johnny Juzang added 15.

Jabari Walker recorded 22 points and 11 boards for Colorado (6–2, 1–1). Elijah Parquet added 11 points.

No. 6 Villanova 71, Penn 56

Collin Gillespie scored a season-high 26 points to lift the Wildcats past the host Quakers in a Big 5 matchup in Philadelphia.

Brandon Slater added 16 on 7-of-8 shooting, Caleb Daniels contributed 12 and Justin Moore had nine points and 11 rebounds for Villanova (5–2).

Jordan Dingle led Penn (3–7) with 21 points and Max Martz added 12. The Quakers have dropped three in a row.

No. 10 Arkansas 97, Central Arkansas 60

The Razorbacks outlasted a spirited first half by the Bears before rolling to a win in Fayetteville, Ark.

Arkansas’ Stanley Umude led all scorers with 17 points, with 15 of those points coming in the opening half. The Razorbacks (7–0) led by just six points at halftime before scoring the first 11 points and 15 of the first 18 points of the second half to build an 18-point advantage.

Collin Cooper scored 13 points to lead Central Arkansas (1–7).

Utah Valley 72, No. 12 BYU 65 (OT)

Fardaws Aimaq produced 24 points and 22 rebounds to lead the Wolverines to an overtime upset of the Cougars in Orem, Utah.

Justin Harmon also scored 24 points and added seven rebounds and three blocked shots for Utah Valley (7–1), which won its seventh straight game. The victory also ended a three-game losing streak against its nearby foe.

Connor Harding, who started for BYU for much of last season, added 10 points for the Wolverines, who improved to 4–0 in overtime games. BYU (6–1) got 17 points from Alex Barcello and 15 from Spencer Johnson.

Oklahoma 74, No. 14 Florida 67

Tanner Groves scored 20 points to lift the Sooners to a victory over the Gators in Norman, Okla.

After Colin Castleton gave the 6–1 Gators a 52–50 lead with 11:38 to play, Florida went more than eight minutes without hitting another field goal. The Gators missed seven consecutive shots during a 19–7 Sooners run that saw the Sooners grab control.

Jalen Hill added a career-high 18 points for the Sooners (7–1), going 6 of 8 from the floor with four rebounds and four assists, while Umoja Gibson had 15 points. Phlandrous Fleming Jr. paced Florida with 17 points.

Georgia 82, No. 18 Memphis 79

Jabri Abdur-Rahim’s 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining helped give Bulldogs coach Tom Crean his 400th career victory, a decision over the Tigers in Athens, Ga.

Kario Oquendo scored 24 points for the Bulldogs (3–5), who ended a four-game losing streak. Abdur-Rahim scored 15 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 from long distance.

Crean improved to 44–54 overall with Georgia after amassing 166 wins at Indiana from 2008-17 and 190 at Marquette from 1999–2008. Landers Nolley II led Memphis with 17 points.

No. 19 Iowa State 83, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 64

Izaiah Brockington scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Cyclones to a win over the Golden Lions.

Iowa State (7–0) is off to a perfect start after going 2–22 last season. Tre Jackson scored 12 points and George Conditt IV had 11 points and seven rebounds for Iowa State.

Shawn Williams led all scorers with 21 points for Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1–8).

No. 20 Southern California 93, Utah 73

Isaiah Mobley scored a career-high 21 points and matched his career best of 13 rebounds to help the Trojans record a victory over the Utes in the Pac-12 opener for both teams at Los Angeles.

Boogie Ellis scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half for USC (7–0, 1–0 Pac-12). Max Agbonkpolo added 16 points.

Both Gach tied a career high with 28 points, including 24 in the second half, as Utah (5–2, 0–1) lost its second straight game.

No 21 Auburn 85, UCF 68

Walker Kessler posted his third double-double in four games as the Tigers gained revenge on the Knights in Auburn, Ala.

Kessler, a 7-foot-1 sophomore, scored 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He also posted a career-high 14 rebounds, six blocks and two steals.

The Tigers (6–1) were shocked by UCF last November in Orlando, dropping a 63–55 decision on the Knights’ campus. Darius Perry scored 18 points for UCF on Wednesday.

No. 22 Michigan State 73, Louisville 64

Malik Hall came off of the bench to score 15 points, leading the Spartans to a win over the Cardinals in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge game at East Lansing, Mich.

Hall went 6 of 8 from the field and made all three of his attempts from 3-point range. Max Christie scored 11 points, Jaden Akins and Gabe Brown each scored 10 points for Michigan State (6–2), which overcame 19 turnovers.

El Ellis came off the bench to score 22 points for Louisville (5–2).

No. 23 Wisconsin 70, Georgia Tech 66

Brad Davison scored 27 points and Johnny Davis added 15 to power No. 23 Wisconsin to a 70–66 victory over host Georgia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Wisconsin (6–1) also got nine points from Tyler Wahl to extend its winning streak to four games. Georgia Tech’s win streak ended at five games.

The Yellow Jackets squandered a fantastic performance from Michael Devoe, who scored 33 points on 11-for-20 shooting from the field, including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line.

No. 25 Seton Hall 85, Wagner 63

Six Pirates scored in double figures to lift the Pirates to a win over the Seahawks in Newark, N.J.

Jared Rhoden finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Seton Hall (5–1), which never trailed in the game. Wagner (2–1) played its first game since Nov. 13 after multiple positive COVID-19 tests forced the program to postpone three games.

Tyrese Samuel also had 15 points for Seton Hall. Raekwon Rogers led the Seahawks with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting.