No. 3 Iowa State rallies, dumps ASU

TEMPE, Ariz. — Curtis Jones scored 33 points, Keshon Gilbert had seven of his 12 during a key run and No. 3 Iowa State pulled away late for a 76-61 win over Arizona State on Saturday.

The Cyclones (17-2, 7-1 Big 12) bounced back from a loss to West Virginia with a 108-83 blowout of UCF on Tuesday, but found a lot less offensive freedom early against the scrappy Sun Devils.

Iowa State took nearly four minutes to score its first points and trailed 40-33 at halftime.

The Cyclones went back and forth with the Sun Devils (11-8, 2-6) in the second half until ratcheting up their defense in a game-closing 19-3 run. Gilbert scored seven straight points early in the run.

Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Adam Miller had 13 points to lead Arizona State, which hit one field goal over the final 6:39.

The Cyclones turned up their defense when they needed it most, kicking off their first Big 12 desert road trip with a scrappy win.

The Sun Devils pulled out a 65-57 win at No. 23 West Virginia on Tuesday night and were in position for another upset. Arizona State just couldn’t handle Iowa State’s pressure down the stretch and lost for the fifth time in six games.

Iowa State swarmed the Sun Devils after Basheer Jihad scored on a layup with 6:40 left, forcing them to miss seven of their final eight shots.

Arizona State had 18 turnovers that led to 17 Iowa State points, including four down the stretch as the game got out of hand.

No. 5 FLORIDA 89, GEORGIA 59

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton Jr. scored 17 points apiece, and No. 5 Florida dominated Georgia 89-59 on Saturday, extending the Gators’ winning streak in the series to 12.

It’s the longest streak by either team in the Southeastern Conference rivalry that began in 1923.

Will Richard chipped in 16 points and Alex Condon 14 for the Gators (18-2, 5-2), who also got a double-double off the bench from Thomas Haugh (13 points, 11 rebounds).

Georgia leading scorer and rebounder Asa Newell, a 6-foot-11 freshman from the Sunshine State, finished with eight points on 4-of-14 shooting and six boards.

Martin scored 11 of Florida’s first 16 points, capped by a layup that began an 11-0 run and turned a close game into a lopsided affair. Georgia led for just 11 seconds before getting blown out.

Georgia coach Mike White fell to 0-6 against his former team.

The Bulldogs can expect their schedule to lighten up a bit from here. Six of their first seven conference games came against ranked teams, a brutal stretch that included four top-10 matchups.

Micah Handlogten, a 7-foot-1 junior who broke his left leg in the SEC Tournament title game last March, was planning to forgo a redshirt season and return to the court Saturday. But he changed his mind Friday and now plans to sit out.

The game started to get out of hand midway through the first half when Richard hit three 3s over a three-minute span. His third one put the Gators ahead by 19.

No. 8 MICHIGAN 81, RUTGERS 74

NEW YORK — Freshman guard Jase Richardson scored a career-high 20 points and No. 8 Michigan State rolled to its 12th consecutive victory, beating Rutgers 81-74 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Coen Carr added 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting for the Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) and had eight rebounds. MSU is riding its longest winning streak since a 13-game run during the 2018-19 season — the most recent of its eight teams to reach the Final Four under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

Jordan Derkack scored a season-high 26 points off the bench in a home game for Rutgers (10-10, 3-6), played before a crowd of 17,480 about 38 miles from its New Jersey campus. Ace Bailey had 18 on 4-of-17 shooting with nine rebounds.

Rutgers star freshman Dylan Harper, limited by a sprained ankle, came off the bench for the first time this season and finished with six points in 13 minutes. He played about two minutes in the second half. Harper, who averages 19.3 points, sprained an ankle in Monday’s loss at Penn State.

Richardson, the son of Spartans great Jason Richardson, and Carr came off a deep bench that’s an enormous strength for the Spartans. Michigan State’s second unit outscored Rutgers reserves 50-34.

Another disappointing performance for a banged-up team with two highly touted freshman recruits and top NBA prospects in Bailey and Harper that began the season ranked in the AP Top 25.

Carr threw down a couple of soaring, thunderous dunks — one that gave MSU a 58-46 lead with 8:38 left.

VANDERBILT 74, No. 9 KENTUCKY 69

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tyler Nickel’s 3-pointer with 1:50 left put Vanderbilt ahead to stay as the Commodores upset a Top 10 team on their home court for a second straight Saturday by beating No. 9 Kentucky 74-69.

Vanderbilt fans stormed the court again after the win, a repeat from a week ago when the Commodores (16-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) knocked off then-No. 6 Tennessee. The first court-storming led to a $250,000 fine from the league.

Jason Edwards led Vanderbilt with 18 points, Devin McGlockton added 14, Nickel finished with 11 and Jaylen Carey 10.

Kentucky (14-5, 3-3) lost consecutive games for the first time this season.

Otega Oweh led the Wildcats with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Ansley Almonor had 12, Jaxson Robinson added 11.

Turnovers were the Wildcats’ undoing. They had 17 compared to just five by Vandy, and point guard Lamont Butler had six of those before fouling out.

First-year coach Mark Byington has helped bring the magic back to Memorial. This was the second straight sellout at the SEC’s oldest basketball arena and the Commodores’ first since the 2011-12 season.

After leading 41-27 at halftime, Kentucky outscored the Commodores 31-10 and took its biggest lead at 58-51 lead. Vanderbilt responded with a 15-5 spurt for a 66-63 lead on a steal by McGlockton and fast-break layup by Tyler Tanner with 4:05 left.

TEXAS 70, No. 13 TEXAS A&M 69

AUSTIN, Texas — Tramon Mark’s layup with 3 seconds remaining sent Texas to a 70-69 victory over No, 13 Texas A&M on Saturday as the Longhorns rallied from a 22-point second-half deficit.

Freshman Tre Johnson scored 30 points for Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC), with 24 in the second half to lead the rally. His long 3-pointer from the wing pulled Texas within 69-68 with 46 seconds left.

Texas’ Julian Larry then blocked a layup by Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV and the Longhorns recovered the ball with 22 seconds left. Johnson held the ball for several seconds before Texas got the ball to Mark for the winner.

Texas earned its second straight home win over a ranked opponent and its third win in four games after an 0-3 start in the Longhorns’ first season in the SEC.

Taylor scored 15 to lead the Aggies (15-5, 4-3), who led 51-29 early in the second half.

The worst 3-point shooting team in the SEC made eight in the first half to open a big lead. The Aggies blew a dominant 43-27 advantage in rebounding.

The Longhorns won without top rebounder and second-leading scorer Arthur Kaluma, who was a pregame scratch with a left knee problem.

Texas A&M led 64-52 with 6:21 left before they were given a technical foul for having six players on the court. Johnson made two free throws, then a 3-pointer.

No. 14 MISS. STATE 65, S. CAROLINA 60

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Josh Hubbard’s two foul shots with 56.5 seconds left in overtime rescued No. 14 Mississippi State for a 65-60 victory over South Carolina after blowing a 14-point lead in the last nine minutes of regulation on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (16-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) held a 50-36 lead with 8:50 to play, but the Gamecocks rallied to tie things when Zachary Davis picked up a ball bobbled by Cameron Matthews and took it in to tie the game at 55-all with 26.1 seconds to go.

Alabama transfer Nick Pringle looked like he had tied it again after Hubbard’s foul shots with an inside basket. But it was waived off for basket interference.

Riley Kugel had 15 points to lead Mississippi State.