Sharp scores 18 off the bench, leads No. 3 Houston over UCF
Ithiel Horton had 18 points and Taylor Hendricks had 17 for UCF (13-7, 4-4). Hendricks’ three-point game capped a 6-0 run that drew the Knights within 67-62 with 7-02 left.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 66, MISSISSIPPI STATE 63
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Jahvon Quinerly scored 14 points and Alabama rebounded from a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat Mississippi State.
The Crimson Tide (18-2, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) had to climb out of a hole and then hold their own two days after earning the program’s highest finish since rising to No. 1 in the 2002-03 season. The result was a ninth win in a row and the first real shock at this track.
Quinerly had four assists for The Tide and had nine in the second half. Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney both had 13 points and Clowney had eight rebounds.
Tolu Smith led Mississippi State (12-8, 1-7) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Dashown Davis added 14.
NO. 4 TENNESSEE 70, GEORGIA 41
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Zakai Zeigler had 11 points and seven assists and Tennessee held its 10th opponent to 50 or fewer points.
Tobe Awaka came off the bench and scored 10 points. Santiago Vescovi had six rebounds, four assists and six steals in addition to his eight points as Tennessee (17-3, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) clinched their first home win since Kentucky surpassed their 25-game winning streak at home a week ago.
The Bulldogs (13-7, 3-4), shooting just 29% from the field, were led by Terry Roberts with 11 points.
NO. 13 XAVIER 82, NO. 19 UCONN 79
STORRS, Conn. — Souley Boum scored 21 points, Colby Jones added 20 and Xavier won his 13th in 14 games.
Jack Nunge had 12 points and Jerome Hunter added 11 for Xavier (17-4, 9-1 Big East), who led 17 in the first half and 39-24 at halftime.
Jordan Hawkins scored 26 of his 28 points for UConn (16-6, 5-6) in the second half, leading a comeback that came close. Tristen Newton added 23 points for the Huskies.
TEXAS A&M 79, NO. 15 CARBONNS 63
AUBURN, Alabama — Tyrece Radford had 30 points and nine rebounds and Texas A&M ended America’s longest active winning streak at 28 games.
The Aggies (14-6, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) used a strong attacking start to give Auburn their first loss at Neville Arena since February 23, 2021.
Wade Taylor IV finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Aggies.
Johni Broome and Wendell Green Jr. each scored 16 points for the Tigers (16-4, 6-2), who had won five games in a row.
NO. 23 PROVIDENCE 79, BUTLER 58
PROVIDENCE, RI — Bryce Hopkins had 16 points and seven rebounds as Providence Butler dominated inside.
Devin Carter added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Friars (16-5, 8-2 Big East), who have won back-to-back losses at Creighton and Marquette. Providence had a 42-24 rebounding edge and outclassed the Bulldogs 48-20 in color.
Eric Hunter Jr. had 12 points and Jayden Taylor had 10 with five rebounds for Butler (11-11, 3-8).
AP College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
