Frank Mason III hit a short jumper with 1.3 seconds to play to give No. 7 Kansas a 77-75 victory over No. 1 Duke on Tuesday night in the State Farm Champions Classic.
The Jayhawks (1-1) beat a top-ranked team for the eighth time and this one looked a lot easier with 8 minutes to play and Kansas leading 62-50.
But the Blue Devils (2-1), despite a terrible shooting game by Grayson Allen, the leading vote-getter on The Associated Press’ preseason All-America team, managed to suddenly start hitting shots and they tied the game at 75 with 15 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Frank Jackson..
Kansas called a timeout with 8.2 seconds left and set up the game-winner.
Mason led Kansas with 21 points and freshman Josh Jackson added 15 and Devonte’ Graham had 13.
Luke Kennard led five Duke players in double figures with 22. Allen finished with 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting, including 1 of from 3-point range.
No. 2 Kentucky 69, No. 13 Michigan State 48
NEW YORK (AP) — Freshman Malik Monk scored 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point range, and Isaiah Briscoe added 21 to lead No. 2 Kentucky to a victory over Michigan State in the State Farm Champions Classic.
The Wildcats (3-0) averaged 90 points in their first two games but this time it was defense that did it as the Spartans (0-2) shot 32.8 percent from the field (20 of 61) including 5 for 26 (19.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
Relying on another talented freshman class, Kentucky was able to up the tempo enough and keep the tenacious defense going that the Spartans committed 21 turnovers which the Wildcats turned into 24 points.
Kenny Goins and Cassius Winston led the Spartans with nine points each. Freshman Miles Bridges was held to six points on 2- for-11 shooting but he grabbed 12 rebounds.
Baylor 66,
No. 4 Oregon 49
WACO, Texas (AP) — Johnathan Motley scored 17 points in his season debut and Baylor got a big early season victory over the Oregon team playing without its preseason All-American.
The Ducks (1-1) are missing Dillon Brooks, their 6- foot-7 junior forward who was their leading scorer last season but is still recovering from foot surgery during the offseason.
No. 5 North Carolina 93, Long Beach State 67
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Joel Berry II scored 23 points and North Carolina shot 53 percent to beat Long Beach State.
Kennedy Meeks added 15 points for the Tar Heels (3-0), who scored the game’s first 14 points and led by 23 points by halftime. That dominating start was enough to erase any doubt about the outcome, though Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams was aggravated enough at one sloppy second half stretch that he angrily punched a clipboard to the court during a timeout.
No. 8 Virginia 72, St. Francis-Brooklyn 32
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Austin Nichols scored 11 points in his Virginia debut and the Cavaliers beat St. Francis Brooklyn.
The Cavaliers (2-0) held the Terriers scoreless for a stretch of more than 10 minutes in the first half and scored 20 consecutive points to open a 35-11 lead.
No. 10 Arizona 78, Cal-State Bakersfield 66
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Freshman Lauri Markkanen scored 26 points and Arizona held off a furious second-half rally by Cal State Bakersfield.
Jaylin Airington scored 31 for the Roadrunners (1-1) and led a 17-0 run that cut Arizona’s lead to four with 9:04 to play. But Markkenen, a 7-footer from Finland, sank a 3-pointer, converted a three-point play and made a short jumper to lead the Wildcats out of trouble.
No. 22 Creighton 79, No. 9 Wisconsin 67
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Khyri Thomas scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half, breaking open a close game with a three-point play and 3-pointer on consecutive possessions, and Creighton defeated Wisconsin.
Maurice Watson Jr. had 17 points and 10 assists and Marcus Foster added 15 points for the Bluejays (2-0).
No. 18 Syracuse 90, Holy Cross 46
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Andrew White scored 19 points, Tyler Lydon had 17, and Syracuse went on a 14-0 run in the first half to take control and overpower Holy Cross.
Syracuse (2-0) shot 61 percent from the field and was 13 for 23 on 3-pointers. White, a fifth-year transfer from Nebraska, went 5 of 12 from beyond the arc after going 2 of 7 in the Orange’s season opener against Colgate.
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