American Athletic Conference teams – No. 8 Wichita State, #--/rv SMU and Houston – collected three victories against fellow “Major 7” competition, part of a Saturday in which six programs picked up wins.
#8/8 Wichita State 69, #16/16 Baylor 62
WACO, Texas (AP) -- One of the most difficult things to do when playing a zone defense is identifying shooters on the perimeter.
No. 8 Wichita State used outside shooting to exploit No. 16 Baylor's zone in a big way on Saturday, ending the Bears' 46-game nonconference home winning streak.
Conner Frankamp scored 17 points, including a 3-pointer with 2:50 to go that sparked a game-ending 7-0 run in the Shockers' 69-62 win.
"He's a great shooter, and we look for him against the zone," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "It's why he's out there. He does a great job of letting it go with confidence."
The Shockers shot 63 percent (10 of 16) from 3-point range, including 5 of 8 from Frankamp. Wichita State forced Baylor to miss its last five shots and made four of five free throws in the final 1:38.
"Ten for 16, that's hard to do if there's no defense on you, so that was the big difference," Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
Shaquille Morris added 15 points for Wichita State (6-1), which also received 11 apiece from Landry Shamet and Darral Willis Jr. Shamet also controlled the flow of the offense with seven assists and one turnover.
"We kept telling ourselves, `It's just a zone," Shamet said. "No discredit to them, but that's what we were saying. Sometimes we get like, `Oh God, it's a zone, what do we do?"
Manu Lecomte scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half for Baylor (5-2), and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. overcame a scoreless first half to finish with 13 points before fouling out in the final 30 seconds. King McClure scored 12.
Neither team led by more than seven, but the Shockers never trailed after a pair of Shamet 3-pointers put them up 33-29 at halftime. Baylor got within two three times before getting even with 3:10 to go on a three-point play by Jake Lindsey.
But Baylor never wrestled the lead away, thanks to a veteran Wichita State team answering each run.
"They're really organized in offense and defense," Lecomte said. "They made us work and we tried to make them work, but they've very patient, too, on offense. And that's how they pulled it out."
Baylor started the week undefeated, but lost twice to Top 25 teams. The Bears were down to seven scholarship players after their top reserve, senior forward Terry Maston, broke his shooting hand in their 76-63 loss at No. 21 Xavier on Tuesday night.
#--/rv SMU 72, #14/18 USC 55
DALLAS (AP) -- Ben Emelogu had 11 of his 16 points in a big go-ahead run after halftime and SMU got some measure of revenge with a 72-55 victory over No. 14 Southern California on Saturday night.
Shake Milton added 22 points for the Mustangs (7-2), who stretched their home winning streak to 28 in a row. Jimmy Whitt had 14 points and Jarrey Foster 13.
Chimezie Metu had 13 points to lead USC, which had won its last seven non-conference road games.
It was the third meeting in 13 months between the teams. The Trojans (4-2) won both games last year, including a home game in November 2016 and then again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March.
The Mustangs are 31-0 at home under coach Tim Jankovich, including three games when he filled in for Larry Brown when he was still an associate head coach.
SMU was down 37-33 before Emelogu hit a 3-pointer that ignited a 23-5 run. The Mustangs went ahead to stay after Milton's two free throws with 15:31 left made it 38-37. Emelogu had three 3s and a dunk in that 23-5 stretch that pushed them ahead 56-42.
After Metu's dunk with just over 7 minutes left in the first half put the Trojans up 25-17, they went nearly 5 minutes without scoring until Metu's jumper with 2:14 left -- and they still led 27-24. USC was up 30-27 at the half after a late 3-pointer by Jonah Mathews.
Houston 91, #rv/rv Arkansas 65
HOUSTON (AP) -- Devin Davis had this game circled on his calendar for a long time.
After suffering a deep cut on his finger that required stitches in last year's 84-72 loss at Arkansas, the Houston senior forward said he had revenge on his mind on Saturday night.
Davis scored a career-high 28 points to lead Houston to a commanding 91-65 win over Arkansas.
"Personally, it was a payback game because I missed a lot of games from that injury," Davis said. "It was a blessing tonight because our team played crazy good."
The Cougars (6-1) built an early 11-0 lead over the Razorbacks (5-2) and never looked back.
Davis was 10 for 14 from the field and 7 for 8 from the free-throw line, adding 10 rebounds and two blocks. Corey Davis Jr. added 17 points for Houston, also a career high.
Late in the second half, with Houston already up 25 points and the shot clock about to expire, Davis heaved up a prayer from well behind the 3-point line and drained it, nothing but net. The Indiana transfer had only attempted four 3s in 55 career games entering Saturday night, making one.
After hitting the shot, all he could do was laugh and high-five his teammate Rob Gray.
"It felt good to have that one go in," Davis said.
Houston held Arkansas scoreless for the first six minutes, 41 seconds, and the Razorbacks didn't score their first field goal until nearly eight minutes into the game.
Arkansas' Anton Beard hit a deep 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to cut Houston's lead to 44-29 at the break.
In the second half, Davis caught fire, and Houston hit clutch shots from 3-point range, finishing the game 10 for 21 from beyond the arc.
"We're getting better," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "This was a good step for us, but there's a lot of basketball left."
Jaylen Barford and Beard led Arkansas with 13 points apiece, and C.J. Jones added 11 points off the bench.
In the series between two former Southwest Conference foes, the Razorbacks had previously defeated Houston in eight of their last nine meetings.
"It was just their night," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "Early in the game, I thought we got off to a slow start, and that gave them the confidence moving forward."
UConn 84, Monmouth 81 (ot)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- UConn's Jalen Adams says his team is learning how to finish.
Adams scored 31 points, including a floater in the lane in overtime that helped UConn to an 84-81 come-from-behind win on Saturday over Monmouth, the Huskies' second consecutive overtime win.
Adams shot gave UConn an 81-80 lead with 32 seconds left in extra time. Monmouth's Micah Seaborn then missed a 3-pointer from the right baseline and Christian Vital hit three foul shots down the stretch to secure the win.
The Huskies were coming off a 77-73 overtime victory Wednesday over Columbia.
"I think we just know that it's just all or nothing right here and we rely on our defense," Adams said. "So far, our defense hasn't failed us in these late moments."
Adams was 13 of 22 from the floor for the Huskies, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
Vital had 19 points and Terry Larrier added 16 points and eight rebounds for UConn (6-2).
Seaborn had 20 of his team-high 27 points before intermission, helping Monmouth (3-5) to a 42-36 lead at the break. He was 10 of 17 from the floor, but made just three shots after halftime.
He and his teammates drew the ire of coach King Rice for their shot selection down the stretch.
Monmouth shot 58 percent from the floor in the first half, 48 percent in the second and 40 percent in overtime.
"We played clean basketball for about 42 minutes then we decided to be heroes," Rice said. "We got what we deserved, because heroes don't deserve to be on the basketball court."
Antwoine Anderson had 10 points for UConn and took a challenge from his teammates at halftime to play lock-down defense on Seaborn.
"I told them, this is my job and I'm going to stop him."
The Huskies used a 13-0 second-half run to take a seven-point lead.
But Zac Tillman's layup gave the Hawks a one-point lead with 48 seconds left before Adams tied the game at 74 from the foul line.
Monmouth's Austin Tilghman missed a 3-pointer and Adams' desperation shot at the buzzer hit the back of the rim, sending the game into overtime.
Monmouth led by four points after Tilghman's two foul shots with two minutes to go in overtime.
But a driving layup and free throw by Vital cut that to 80-79 before Adams' big shot.
"One thing they are learning to do, they are learning how to win," said UConn coach Kevin Ollie. "That was a big-time win, being four down with two minutes to go in overtime, to pull that one out."
ECU 63, Delaware State 57
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP)-- Isaac Fleming and Kentrell Barkley scored 17 points apiece and ECU held off Delaware State 63-57 on Saturday.
Shawn Williams scored 12 points and Jabari Craig grabbed 11 rebounds for the Pirates (4-4), who outrebounded the Hornets 51-33 and outscored them 34-28 in the paint in a game that featured 10 lead changes.
B.J. Tyson's 3-point play sparked a 10-0 second-half run and the Pirates led 48-40. Artem Tavakalyan's jumper tied it at 48, but the Pirates scored seven straight for a 60-52 lead with 1:35 left. The Hornets closed to 60-57 on Tavakalyan's 3-point play, but Williams and Craig combined for three free throws down the stretch.
Fleming's jumper put East Carolina up 10-2, but Tavalkalyan's 3-pointer with four seconds left gave the Hornets a 24-23 halftime lead.
Tavalkalyan scored 20 points with eight rebounds and Simon Okolue added 14 points for the Hornets (2-7).
Memphis 83, Mercer 81 (2ot)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- With time running out in the second overtime, Jeremiah Martin drove hard to the basket, missed the shot but drew a foul and made both free throws as Memphis eked past Mercer 83-81 on Saturday.
Martin made 11 of 12 attempts from the foul line, scored 19 points with six assists and seven rebounds to lead Memphis (4-2). Jimario Rivers added 18 points and Jamal Johnson 12 while Kareem Brewton Jr. and Kyvon Davenport chipped in 10 each.
Martin was also fouled on a 3-point attempt, making all three free throws to give Memphis a 75-73 lead with 5.7 seconds left in the first overtime before Jordan Strawberry drove, was fouled and made both free throws with 1.2 seconds left to force the second overtime.
Stephon Jelks led Mercer (5-4) with 17 points before fouling out. Ethan Stair scored 13 points, and Strawberry and Desmond Ringer each added 11. The Bears made 12 3-pointers to seven for Memphis, but the Tigers scored 30 points in 34 attempts at the free-throw line.
Mercer has 10 wins against Power 5 conference teams under Bob Hoffman, but is 0-2 against Memphis, though the teams are meeting for the first time since the 1990-91 season.
#21/20 Xavier 89, #11/9 Cincinnati 76
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Trevon Bluiett had another big game against Xavier's crosstown rival, one that ended with more hard feelings. The Musketeers' annual grudge match with Cincinnati fit the mold and left the city's college basketball fans with plenty to debate for another year.
Bluiett scored 28 points as the 21st-ranked Musketeers ran away to an 89-76 victory over No. 11 Cincinnati on Saturday, their eighth victory in the last 11 games of the series.
Xavier coach Chris Mack emotionally defended his player afterward and tried to keep the focus on the Musketeers' impressive win.
"There's no other narrative other than us playing better than Cincinnati and beating Cincinnati," Mack said.
In this one, they were better in all ways.
The Musketeers (7-1) led by 17 midway through the first half by dominating every aspect. They pushed the lead to 23 in the second half. Cincinnati's Jacob Evans III hit four straight shots that cut it to 80-72 with 1:26 to go, but Bluiett hit a pair of free throws that put it away. Evans had a team-high 23 points.
The Bearcats (7-1) hadn't faced a ranked team all season, and they came apart against Xavier's man-to-man defense and patient offense. They haven't won at Xavier since 2001, when Bob Huggins was the coach. They've dropped seven straight at the Cintas Center.
"We took ourselves out of the game," Evans said . "They hit some shots early and we were trying to respond with quick shot. That led to trouble for us. That just feeds them."
Blueitt had 40 points last season in Cincinnati's home-court win. He put his imprint on the game with an early 3-pointer and finished it with free throws, playing despite a stiff back that had limited him earlier in the week.
"I wanted it bad," Bluiett said. "Last year it ended the way we didn't want it to end. It kind of stuck with us throughout the whole year. We had this game on our calendars."
Illinois State 65, Tulsa 58
NORMAL, Ill. (AP)-- Milik Yarbrough had 22 points, six rebounds and four assists, Phil Fayne added 17 points and eight boards, and Illinois State beat Tulsa 65-58 on Saturday night.
Lawson Korita gave Tulsa its first lead, 49-47, since it was 4-2.
Yarbrough made two free throws with 1:43 left to extend Illinois State's lead to 60-51. After Sterling Taplin hit a 3-pointer to cut it to six, Phil Fayne dunked and Illinois State held on.
Keyshawn Evans scored 12 points with five assists for Illinois State (4-4), which had 11 steals and forced 21 turnovers.
Yarbrough had 15 points in the first half as the Redbirds led by four points.
Junior Etou had 10 points and eight rebounds for Tulsa (4-4), which was held to 36 percent shooting. Jaleel Wheeler grabbed a team-high nine rebounds as Tulsa outrebounded the Redbirds 49-29.
The Golden Hurricane plays Kansas State next Saturday.
Appalachian State 84, USF 61
BOONE, N.C. (AP) -- Ronshad Shabazz scored 21 points with five assists as Appalachian State rolled to an 84-61 win over USF on Saturday night.
Shabazz was 9 of 18 from the field and sank both of his free throws. Justin Forrest added 19 points and five assists for the Mountaineers (5-4). Tyrell Johnson had 13 points and Isaac Johnson had 10 rebounds.
Forrest and Shabazz scored all of Appalachian State's points during a 20-11 start, a O'Showen Williams' 3-pointer made it 27-14 and the Mountaineers led 44-33 at the break.
Johnson made a 3-pointer, a layup and a dunk in the first two minutes of the second half and a Craig Hinton 3 near the halfway point stretched it to 64-48.
Stephan Jiggetts scored 17 points for the Bulls (4-5), who are on a three-game skid.