No. 6 Florida upsets No. 1 Auburn, ending Tigers’ 14-game winning streak

By Canadian Press on February 8, 2025.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 19 points and Alex Condon added 17 as No. 6 Florida rallied from an early deficit and beat No. 1 Auburn 90-81 Saturday, ending the Tigers’ 14-game winning streak.

Florida (20-3, 7-3 Southeastern Conference), down by 10 points early, built a 10-point advantage by the end of the first half and held off Auburn in the second half for its second victory over a top-ranked team this season. Florida beat then-No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7.

The Gators shot 13 for 33 from 3-point range, while Auburn shot 32% from long distance, finishing 7 for 22.

Tigers leading scorer Johni Broome, a fifth-year senior and preseason Associated Press All-American who is considered a contender for national player of the year, had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn (21-2, 9-1) had its nine-game conference winning streak halted.

Miles Kelly scored 22 points, Tahaad Pettiford added 14 and Chaney Johnson 13 for the Tigers.

CLEMSON 77, NO. 2 DUKE 71

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Viktor Lakhin scored 22 points, Clemson held player of the year candidate Cooper Flagg in check for most of the game and the Tigers defeated No. 2 Duke to snap the Blue Devils’ 16-game winning streak.

Chase Hunter scored 14 points and Ian Schieffelin added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Clemson (19-5, 11-2 ACC). The Tigers ended the Blue Devils’ chances of an unbeaten regular season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and denied the Blue Devils (20-3, 12-1) an opportunity to take over the top ranking in the country for the first time in the coach Jon Scheyer era.

Tyrese Proctor had 23 points and Flagg had 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting for Duke (20-3, 12-1).

Clemson trailed by six at halftime, but used a 12-0 run in the second half to take a 56-49 lead with just under 10 minutes to go.

Hunter sealed the win by blocking Proctor’s layup with 7.9 seconds left.

NO. 3 ALABAMA 85, ARKANSAS 81

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Grant Nelson and Chris Youngblood each scored 15 points and No. 3 Alabama held off a late Arkansas run to deal the Razorbacks’ NCAA Tournament hopes a serious blow with a win.

Mouhamed Dioubate scored 14 and Mark Sears added 11 as the Crimson Tide (20-3, 9-1 Southeastern Conference) won their sixth in a row.

Zvonimir Ivisic scored 27 points, while Adou Thiero added 22 and Johnell Davis chipped in 13 to lead the Razorbacks (14-9, 3-7).

Alabama led by 18 with 6:29 left but Arkansas went on a 13-2 run that helped cut the lead to two with less than a minute to play. But Nelson hit a 3-pointer to restore the Tide’s two-possession lead.

Ivisic made one of two free throws to make it 83-81, but Youngblood hit a pair of free throws in the final four seconds.

NO. 4 TENNESSEE 70, OKLAHOMA 52

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Chaz Lanier scored 21 points, Zakai Zeigler added 17 as the Volunteers beat the Sooners in the teams’ first meeting in 56 years.

Tennessee (20-4, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) took control early, hitting 14 of its first 16 shots, including going 5 for 5 from 3-point range. The Vols, who shot 60% for the game, led by 20 points at halftime and 28 with 5:28 left.

Jalon Moore scored 12 points and Bryce Goodine added nine for Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7), which dropped its second straight game to a top-five opponent after winning three of four. Jeremiah Fears scored eight points for the Sooners, who were 17-of-53 (32%) shooting.

NO. 5 HOUSTON 69, COLORADO 59

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — J’Wan Roberts scored 20 points, Terrance Arceneaux added 13 of his 15 points in the second half and No. 5 Houston held off Colorado to hand the Buffaloes their 12th straight loss.

L.J. Cryer finished with 15 points for the Cougars (19-4, 11-1 Big 12). He appeared to be shaken up late in the game.

Houston raced out to a 9-0 lead and looked on the brink of making quick work of the Buffaloes (9-14, 0-12). But Colorado took its time on offense, played tight defense and steadily chipped away.

A key moment was around the 3-minute mark when Milos Uzan was called for a travel after the horn sounded for a shot-clock violation on Colorado. It was overturned on review. Roberts proceeded to hit two short-range shots to give Cougars some breathing room.

Julian Hammond III had 22 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead Colorado. The Buffaloes have dropped 12 in a row for the first time since 2008-09.

NO. 8 IOWA ST. 82, TCU 52

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Curtis Jones scored 24 points and Milan Momcilovic returned from injury to add 14 as the Cyclones ended a three-game losing streak with a win over the Horned Frogs.

Dishon Jackson also scored 14 points, and Joshua Jefferson had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Momcilovic had not played since Jan. 11, when the Cyclones (18-5, 8-4 Big 12) defeated Texas Tech in overtime. He suffered an injury to his non-shooting hand in practice before a game against Kansas on Jan. 15.

NO. 9 MICHIGAN ST. 86, OREGON 74

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jase Richardson scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the second half, lifting the Spartans to a comeback win over the Ducks that gave coach Tom Izzo 353 Big Ten wins to tie Bob Knight’s record.

The Spartans (19-5, 10-2) trailed by 14 points at halftime and took over the game early in the second half with Richardson leading the way at both ends of the court.

The Ducks (16-8, 5-8) lost five straight games for the first time since the 2013-2014 season.

Richardson’s father, former Michigan State star and NBA player Jason Richardson, attended the game as part of a reunion of the 2000 national champions.

NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 67, NO. 15 MISSOURI 64

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Wade Taylor IV made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to lift No. 10 Texas A&M past No. 15 Missouri.

Pharrel Payne scored 20 points, Taylor added 15 and Henry Coleman III grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds for the Aggies (18-5, 7-3 SEC) who entered in a three-way tie with Florida and Missouri for third place in the SEC.

Tamar Bates led Missouri with 16 points, Mark Mitchell added 14 and Tamar Bates scored 12 for Missouri (18-5, 6-4) which lost at home for the first time this season.

Taylor’s long-range shot put the Aggies ahead after Andersson Garcia converted one of two free throws to tie it at 64 with 46 seconds remaining.

The Aggies opened on a 12-0 run before Bates hit a 3-pointer from the corner 5:40 into the game and didn’t trail for the first 31:05 of the contest.

CREIGHTON 77, NO. 11 MARQUETTE 67

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Steven Ashworth scored 22 points and made a season-high six 3-pointers, including one in the last minute to help the Bluejays put away the Golden Eagles.

The Bluejays have won nine straight games since losing 79-71 at Marquette on Jan. 3. Creighton (18-6, 11-2) moved within one game of Big East leader St. John’s.

Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 points and blocked four shots, and Jamiya Neal scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half for the Bluejays.

Kam Jones scored 27 points and David Joplin added 22 for Marquette (18-6, 9-4), which lost its third straight.

NO. 14 KENTUCKY 80, SOUTH CAROLINA 57

LEXINGTON, Ky (AP) — Otega Oweh scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and the Wildcats snapped a two-game skid with a win over the Gamecocks.

Brandon Garrison came off the bench and scored 15 points for Kentucky (16-7, 5-5 in the Southeastern Conference), which won at home after losses to No. 4 Alabama (Jan. 18) and Arkansas (Feb. 1).

Collin Murray-Boyles scored 14 points for South Carolina (10-13, 0-10), which dropped its 10th straight game and remained winless in conference play.

KANSAS ST. 81, NO. 16 KANSAS 73

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — David N’Guessan scored 20 points and the Wildcats upset the Jayhawks for its fifth straight win, including three against ranked opponents.

Dug McDaniel added 15 points and Max Jones and Coleman Hawkins each scored 12 as Kansas State (12-11, 6-6 Big 12) beat Kansas for the third straight game in Manhattan, after two overtime victories over the Jayhawks.

Hunter Dickinson scored 21 points, Zeke Mayo added 15 and KJ Adams 13 for Kansas (16-7, 7-5).

NO. 21 WISCONSIN 74, IOWA 63

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — John Tonje scored 22 points and John Blackwell added 19 to lead the Badgers to a victory over the Hawkeyes.

Tonje scored 11 points in a game-closing 16-4 run by the Badgers (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten), who won their third straight. Tonje shot 5 for 11 from the field and hit 9 of 10 free throws, including eight straight in the final seven minutes.

Wisconsin held Iowa (13-10, 4-8) to one field goal over the final 7 1/2 minutes and limited the Badgers to 8-for-27 shooting in the second half.

NO. 22 MISSISSIPPI STATE 76, GEORGIA 75

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Josh Hubbard scored 16 points and No. 22 Mississippi State held off Georgia to end a two-game losing streak.

In the matchup of the Southeastern Conference’s two versions of Bulldogs, Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5 SEC) survived Georgia’s second-half comeback.

Silas Demary Jr., who led Georgia with 23 points, sank two free throws with 8 seconds remaining to cut Mississippi State’s lead to 76-75. A last-second steal by Mississippi State’s Claudell Harris Jr. helped protect the one-point advantage.

Georgia (16-8, 4-7) fell to 13-2 at home. No. 1 Auburn beat the Bulldogs in Athens 70-68 on Jan. 18.

Georgia pulled even for the third time of the second half, at 71, on a 3-pointer by Asa Newell.

NO. 23 ILLINOIS 95, MINNESOTA 74

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Will Riley had 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists off the bench and Kasparas Jakucionis had 24 points to help No. 23 Illinois get back on track with a victory over Minnesota.

Tomislav Ivisic added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Illini (16-8, 8-6 Big Ten), who lost four of their previous six games.

Femi Odukale had a season-high 22 points and Lu’Cye Patterson added 19 for the Gophers (12-12, 4-9), who got only 12 points on 4-for-14 shooting from the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer Dawson Garcia.

Illnesses and injuries factored in the recent struggles for the Illini. Despite 7-foot-1 center Ivisic playing through an ankle injury suffered during a loss at Rutgers on Thursday, they were closer to full strength — and it showed. The nation’s leading rebounding team had a 50-26 advantage in points in the paint.

NO. 24 MICHIGAN 70, INDIANA 67

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Danny Wolf finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Tre Donaldson and Vladislav Goldin each added 18 points to help the Wolverines hold off the hard-charging Hoosiers.

Wolf also had five assists as the Wolverines (18-5, 10-2) won their fourth straight and five of six. In coach Dusty May’s return to Assembly Hall, the former Indiana student manager and Bob Knight protege also helped Michigan snap a four-game losing streak in the series.

Malik Reneau led the Hoosiers with 16 points and five assists despite playing with a brace protecting his right knee — one day after athletic director Scott Dolson announced coach Mike Woodson would not return next season.

NO. 25 MISSISSIPPI 72, LSU 70

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Dre Davis tipped in Sean Pedulla’s missed layup with 0.1 seconds left to cap No. 25 Mississippi’s comeback victory over LSU.

The Rebels (18-6, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) trailed 70-65 before Pedulla made two free throws to start a game-ending 7-0 run.

Jaemyn Brakefield tied it on a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left. Davis, who had 22 points and seven rebounds, then put back Pedulla’s miss. Officials originally ruled the basket was no good because of offensive goaltending. But they reversed the call after looking at the instant replay — and Ole Miss got the victory.

Pedulla scored 17 points, Brakefield had 11 points and eight rebounds and Matthew Murrell added 10 points and nine rebounds.

Cam Carter had 16 points for LSU (12-11, 1-9), which lost its sixth straight. Daimion Collins had 15 points and Jordan Sears had 13.

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The Associated Press