DURHAM, N.C. — Rocket Watts scored 20 points and Julius Marble had a career-high 12 to help No. 8 Michigan State beat No. 6 Duke 75-69 on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic.
It was the Spartans’ first win at Duke, which didn’t have its raucous fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Spartans (3-0) trailed by 10 early in the game but closed the first half with a 13-4 surge to take a 37-33 lead at halftime.
Michigan State maintained control in the second half, leading by as many as 16, with balance on offense to go with aggressive defense and rebounding.
The Blue Devils (1-1) rallied late and pulled within five in the final minute. They started strong and led 13-3 before struggling to make shots or get stops. Duke shot just 32% from the field and allowed five Spartans to score in double figures.
Joey Hauser had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan State. Aaron Henry had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks. Malik Hall added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Matthew Hurt had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Duke, but freshman Jalen Johnson was limited to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting after scoring 24 in his college debut.
Jaemyn Brakefield scored 11 and Jordan Goldwire had 10 points for the Blue Devils.
(4) WISCONSIN 82, GREEN BAY 42: Micah Potter scored 14 points, Tyler Wahl had 11 points and 15 rebounds, and the Badgers (3-0 breezed to a win over the Phoenix (0-2) at Madison, Wisconsin.
Aleem Ford and Nate Reuvers each scored 13 points for the Badgers, and Brad Davison added 10 points. Josh Jefferson led Green Bay with 12 points.
Wisconsin won its 11th straight, including its final eight games of the 2019-20 season to earn a share of the Big Ten title. The Badgers opened this season by defeating Eastern Illinois and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
(9) CREIGHTON 94, OMAHA 67: Christian Bishop scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures as the Bluejays (2-0) beat the Mavericks (1-3) at Omaha, Nebraska.
Big East preseason player of the year Marcus Zegarowski made back-to-back 3-pointers near the end of a 27-3 run that broke open the game early.
(12) VILLANOVA 87, HARTFORD 53: Justin Moore led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points as the Wildcats (3-1) topped the Hawks (0-2) at Uncasville, Connecticut.
Eric Dixon had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who had six players score in double figures.
Traci Carter had 13 points and Austin Williams added 11 points for Hartford.
(14) NORTH CAROLINA 67, STANFORD 63: Leaky Black had a big driving basket at the 1:02 mark followed by a clinching free throw with 5.5 seconds left to help the Tar Heels (3-0) hold off the Cardinals (1-1) in the semifinals of the relocated Maui Invitational at Asheville, North Carolina.
Freshman Caleb Love scored 16 points to lead the Tar Heels, who did just enough down the stretch to stay unbeaten. UNC shot 50% after halftime and won despite committing 24 turnovers, which led to 22 points for Stanford.
Black finished with 10 points and seven rebounds as one of five players in double figures. He came through with his biggest play when he drove into the paint and scooped in a layup to increase UNC’s lead to 66-63.
Then, after Spencer Jones missed a straightaway 3 for the tie with about 10 seconds left, Black grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He missed the first free throw but hit the second to make it a two-possession lead and all but ensure UNC would advance to the Maui title game.
Daejon Davis scored 18 points to lead Stanford.
(15) VIRGINIA 76, ST. FRANCIS 51: Jay Huff scored 13 points and the host Cavaliers (2-1) rebounded from a stunning loss to San Francisco by beating the Red Flash (1-2).
Kadin Shedrick had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won their 24th consecutive home opener. Sam Hauser added 11 points and Trey Murphy III had 10.
Bryce Laskey led the Red Flash with 12 points and Mark Flagg had 11.
Virginia put this one away quickly in a nearly empty John Paul Jones Arena, where state law permits no more than 250 to be in attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cavaliers led 21-4 after a dunk by Kody Stattmann with 12:36 left in the first half. The lead was 45-13 at halftime and Coach Tony Bennett substituted liberally after the break.
(17) TEXAS 66, INDIANA 44: Matt Coleman III scored 16 points to help the Longhorns (3-0) beat the Hoosiers (2-1) in the semifinals of the relocated Maui Invitational at Asheville, North Carolina, reaching the tournament’s championship game for the first time.
Courtney Ramey added 13 points for the Longhorns, who locked down to force a rough offensive performance for the Hoosiers.
Indiana shot just 24% and finished with more turnovers (14) than field goals (11). Its struggles included four stints of roughly five minutes or longer between baskets, including one of nearly eight minutes that ended just before halftime.
Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 17 points to lead Indiana.
NOTES
COVID-19: The University of Colorado has ordered its men’s basketball program to pause activities for COVID-19 reasons and the Pac-12 has postponed the Buffaloes’ conference opener at Arizona that was set for Wednesday.
The Pac-12 said it would work with both schools to find a mutually agreeable makeup date.
Athletic Director Rick George said the status of other upcoming games is dependent on contact tracing and subsequent testing of players and basketball staff this week.
The last time the Buffaloes’ regular season was interrupted was in December 2006 when back-to-back home games were canceled because of a snowstorm.
• Prairie View A&M has canceled men’s basketball games against UNC Greensboro and Western Kentucky at the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic in Louisville because of COVID-19-related issues.
The Panthers were scheduled to play UNCG Tuesday night and WKU on Thursday in the multi-team event. UNCG will instead play Winthrop on Tuesday. WKU stated in a release that it is working to arrange a replacement game. The cancellations reduce the Tipoff Classic schedule from 16 to 14 games. Duquesne and Little Rock are also participating with host Louisville in the event that ends Friday.
• A college basketball game between Colorado and Arizona scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Buffaloes’ program.
The Pac-12 said Colorado does not have the minimum number of scholarship players available due to positive coronavirus tests and contact tracing protocols.
The conference will work with both programs to reschedule the game.
• Elon says its men’s basketball team has paused activities due to a positive COVID-19 test within its program. The program announced the decision Tuesday. It said the case was within its Tier 1 personnel group, which includes athletes, coaches and support staff.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
COVID-19: Vanderbilt has canceled its women’s basketball home game Wednesday night against Texas Tech because of COVID-19 issues within the Commodores’ program.
The Commodores announced the cancellation Tuesday, a day after the men’s basketball team withdrew from a pair of games in Connecticut and paused its activities due to a positive test within its program. The women’s basketball team now has had its first three games of the season canceled. Vanderbilt’s next game is Saturday at Little Rock and remains on the schedule.
(4) BAYLOR 67, SOUTH FLORIDA 62: DiDi Richards scored four points and added seven assists in her return from a scary spinal cord injury five weeks ago, Queen Egbo had a game-high 25 points and the Lady Bears (2-0) topped the Bulls (1-1) at Tampa, Florida.
The Lady Bears became the 15th women’s program in Division I history to reach 1,000 wins. Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey improved to 606-101 in her 21 seasons at the school.
South Florida got 18 points from Maria Alvarez and Bethy Mununga added 13.
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