Emanuel Sharp came off the bench to score 18 points and No. 3 Houston bounced back from a loss that knocked it from the top spot in the rankings by beating Central Florida 82-71 on Wednesday night in Orlando in men's college basketball.
Jarace Walker added 17 points, Jamal Shead had 14 points and 10 assists, and Marcus Sasser also scored 14 for the Cougars (19-2, 7-1 American Athletic Conference), who lost 56-55 at home to Temple on Sunday.
Ithiel Horton scored 18 points and Taylor Hendricks had 17 for UCF (13-7, 4-4). Hendricks' three-point play capped a 6-0 run that pulled the Knights within 67-62 with 7:02 left.
No. 2 Alabama 66, Mississippi State 63: After trailing by seven points at halftime, the Crimson Tide (18-2, 8-0 SEC) rallied to edge the Bulldogs (12-8, 7-1) as reserve guard Jahvon Quinerly had 14 points and freshmen post players Noah Clowney and Brandon Miller had 13 apiece. Tolu Smith scored 14 points and Dashawn Davis 13 for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs' Shakeel Moore missed a three-pointer with two seconds left when Noah Gurley blocked it.
No. 4 Tennessee 70, Georgia 41: Zakai Zeigler had 11 points and seven assists and the host Volunteers (17-3, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) held their 10th opponent to 50 or fewer points. The Bulldogs (13-7, 3-4), who shot just 29% from the field, were led by Terry Roberts with 11 points.
No. 13 Xavier 82, No. 19 Connecticut 71: Souley Boum scored 21 points and Colby Jones 20 as the Musketeers (17-4, 9-1 Big East) held off the host Huskies (16-6, 5-6). Xavier led by 17 in the first half, but UConn, led by Jordan Hawkins who scored 26 of his 28 points in the second half got within a point four times.
Big Ten
Maryland 73, Wisconsin 55: Jahmir Young had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the host Terrapins (13-7, 4-5 Big Ten) over the Badgers (12-7, 4-5). Donta Scott had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Maryland, which shot 56% to Wisconsin's 39.6%. Connor Essegian had 19 points, Tyler Wahl (Lakeville North) 13 and Steven Crowl (Eastview) 11 for the Badgers. Maryland improved to 10-1 at home.
Northwestern 78, Nebraska 63: Ty Berry made six of his 12 three-point attempts and scored 26 points to lead the visiting Wildcats (14-5, 5-3) past the Cornhuskers (10-11, 3-7). Northwestern built a 43-30 lead by halftime with a closing 10-0 run. Keisei Tominaga led Nebraska with 22 points.
Women
Texas 78, No. 14 Oklahoma 58: DeYona Gaston scored 19 points as the host Longhorns (15-6, 6-2 Big 12) routed the Sooners (16-3, 6-2). Skylar Vann scored 13 points for Oklahoma, which had 24 turnovers and went 1-for-17 shooting in the third quarter.
No. 18 Iowa St. 75, TCU 35: Ashley Joens scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for her third straight double-double as the Cyclones (14-4, 6-2 Big 12) coasted past the host Horned Frogs (6-14, 0-8). It was the ninth double-double of the season and 58th of her career for Joens.
Area
Gustavus 66, Bethel 53: The Gusties started and finished strong to beat the host Royals and take a one-game lead over them in the conference race. Gustavus led 17-7 after the first quarter, when Bethel made just one of 11 shots, and the Gusties had a 22-11 scoring edge in the fourth. Grace Benz led Gustavus (15-2, 12-2 MIAC) with 14 points but five teammates had between eight and 13 points. Another key for the Gusties was their 31 points off 22 turnovers. Autumn Earney had 12 points and Colette Duininck, who was 3-for-3 on threes, had 11 points for the Royals (11-6, 11-3).
