TOP 25 MEN
No. 11 Butler 73, Davidson 62: Gordon Hayward scored 17 points and Willie Veasley added 15 on Saturday as the host Bulldogs rallied twice from 10-point deficits in the first half, then used a late run to seal it. It certainly wasn’t a picture-perfect start for Butler, which has gone to three straight NCAA Tournaments and was trying to protect the highest preseason ranking in school history, but a 15-4 closing run helped the Bulldogs pull away.
No. 14 Washington 96, Belmont 78: Matthew Bryan-Amaning dominated inside, matching his career-high 23 points, as the Huskies ran away from visiting Belmont. Quincy Pondexter also matched his career best with 25 points, including an off-the- backboard pass to himself.
No. 15 Michigan 97, N. Michigan 50: Manny Harris recorded the second triple-double in school history as the host Wolverines routed their Division II opponent. Harris had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to match the feat accomplished by Gary Grant against North Carolina in the 1987 NCAA Tournament.
No. 17 Oklahoma 95, Mount St. Mary’s 71: Freshman Steven Pledger scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the Sooners’ victory over visiting Mount St. Mary’s. Another freshman, Keith “Tiny” Gallon, had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Oklahoma, which has won 23 of its last 25 season openers. The win was the 1,499th in Oklahoma’s history, the 29th-highest total in NCAA Division I.
No. 21 Dayton 90, Creighton 80: Chris Johnson had a double-double and Chris Wright led a second-half surge that carried the Flyers to a victory in an opening matchup of teams that won 27 games apiece last season. The Flyers won their 21st in a row on their home floor, tying the school record.
No. 22 Georgia Tech 100, Florida A&M 59: Iman Shumpert scored 18 points and capped the host Yellow Jackets’ decisive run in the first half.
AREA MEN
Colorado State 57, Winston-Salem State 40: Andre McFarland scored 13 points and the Rams overcame a turnover-filled first half in a BTI Tip-Off Tournament victory in Eugene, Ore.
TOP 25 WOMEN
No. 1 Connecticut 105, Northeastern 35: Tina Charles grabbed her 1,000th career rebound, Kalana Greene scored her 1,000th career point and the host Huskies scored a school-record 69 points in the first half to begin defense of the program’s sixth national championship.
UConn extended its winning streak to 40 games, its home winning streak to 40 games and its regular-season winning streak to 39 games.
AREA WOMEN
Tennessee Tech 81, Air Force 49: Junior guard Raimee Beck led the Falcons with 15 points and eight rebounds but it wasn’t enough, as Air Force lost at the Islander Tip-off Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Associated Press
