Jared Bynum’s stepback 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left lifted No. 17 Providence to a 65-62 victory over No. 21 Xavier in a Big East game Wednesday night in Cincinnati, giving the Friars their best start to a season since 1976-77.
Paul Scruggs’ 3-pointer from the right wing with 51 seconds left had given Xavier (14-5, 4-4 Big East) a 62-60 lead. But the Friars (17-2, 7-1) tied the game 62-62 with 36 seconds left when Al Durham made two foul shots.
Durham led Providence with 22 points, Bynum finished with 16 and Ed Croswell scored 10.
Scruggs scored 16 points, Jack Nunge had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Zach Freemantle finished with 12 points for Xavier.
No. 18 Tennessee 78, Florida 71
The Volunteers’ defense recovered from a rough first half and held the Gators to 29 points in the second, and Santiago Vescovi scored 23 points to lead all scorers as No. 18 won in Knoxville, Tenn.
Vescovi and Kennedy Chandler each hit four free throws with less than a minute to play to ensure Tennessee’s win. Chandler finished with 17 points and Vescovi knocked down five of his team’s 11 3-pointers. A key difference was at the free throw line, where Tennessee (14-5 overall, 5-3 SEC) shot nine more times and made eight more attempts than the Gators.
Anthony Duruji and Tyree Appleby led Florida (12-8, 3-5) with 16 points each.
No. 19 LSU 70, Texas A&M 64
Brandon Murray scored 21 points and the Tigers ended a three-game losing streak by scoring the last nine points of a victory over the Aggies in Baton Rouge, La.
Eric Gaines added 16 points and Tari Eason, the leading scorer for the Tigers who was making his first start of the season, had 14 despite missing most of the second half because of an apparent leg injury. LSU (16-4, 4-4 SEC) played without starting point guard Xavier Pinson (sprained knee) and second-leading scorer Darius Days (sprained ankle).
Quenton Jackson scored 20 points, Andre Gordon added 18 and Tyrece Radford had 14 to lead the Aggies (15-5, 4-3), who lost their third straight after starting 4-0 in conference play.
No. 22 Marquette 73, Seton Hall 63
Justin Lewis scored a career-high 33 points and the Golden Eagles earned their seventh straight Big East win by defeating the host Pirates in Newark, N.J.
Lewis, a redshirt freshman, also had nine rebounds and a career-best six assists. He made 11 of 19 shots, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Lewis is the first Marquette player to score at least 30 points since Markus Howard had 30 in the 2019-20 regular-season finale at St. John’s.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 10 points for Marquette (15-6, 7-3 Big East). Jamir Harris kept the game in reach for Seton Hall (12-7, 3-6) by scoring 13 of his team-leading 16 points in the second half and going 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
No. 23 Iowa State 84, Oklahoma State 81 (OT)
Izaiah Brockington scored 26 points to help the Cyclones secure an overtime victory over the host Cowboys in Stillwater, Okla.
Five of Brockington’s points came in the extra period to help the No. 23 Cyclones (15-5, 3-5 Big 12) snap a 24-game losing streak in conference road games.
Iowa State prevailed despite Avery Anderson III scoring a career-high 34 points to lead the Cowboys (10-9, 3-5).
VCU 70, No. 25 Davidson 68
The Rams flipped the script on the Wildcats, using a 3-point splurge against one of the best shooting teams in the nation and snapping Davidson’s 15-game winning streak on the road.
Vince Williams Jr. overcame foul trouble to post 16 points and six rebounds while Ace Baldwin tallied 15 points and five steals to help VCU (12-6, 5-2 Atlantic 10) avenge a 63-61 loss to Davidson (16-3, 6-1) eight days earlier.
The Wildcats’ top two scorers on the season, Hyunjung Lee and Foster Loyer, scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. However, most of those points came at the free-throw line as the Rams guarded tightly on the perimeter to limit the duo to a combined 3 of 10 from the floor.
–Field Level Media