NO. 9 WISCONSIN 79, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 47
MADISON, Wis. -- Bronson Koenig had 16 points, Nigel Hayes scored 10 of his 14 in the second half and No. 9 Wisconsin opened a season of high expectations with a 79-47 victory Friday night over Central Arkansas.
The Badgers were never seriously threatened after building a 20-point lead with 15:46 left following an 8-0 run. Hayes did all the scoring with two threes and a layup.
The Big Ten preseason player of the year was 5 of 10 from the field. He finished 2 for 6 from three-point range after missing his first three shots from behind the arc.
Wisconsin's rugged defense overwhelmed the Bears, especially in the second half.
Central Arkansas shot 28 percent (15 of 52) from the field. Derreck Brooks had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Ethan Happ added eight points and nine rebounds for the Badgers. They have all five starters and their top nine scorers returning from last season's team that advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals.
Picked to finish 11th in the 13-team Southland Conference in a preseason coaches poll, the Bears stood up to the more talented Badgers until midway through the first half. Wisconsin went on a 17-7 run to take a 34-22 halftime lead.
With a rough schedule befitting a lower-division mid-major school, Central Arkansas should draw confidence following a respectable effort against a potential Final Four team.
The Badgers are deeper and more experienced than the squad that was stunned in last year's season opener by Western Illinois. D'Mitrik Trice scored six points off the bench in the first half Friday with two threes.
The freshman could give Wisconsin added quickness in a reserve role when Koenig needs a breather. Sophomore Khalil Iverson displayed athleticism with a block minutes after jumping high in the air on the other end for an offensive rebound to save a possession.
In other Top 25 games Friday, Grayson Allen scored 16 points and No. 1 Duke opened its season by routing Marist 94-49. ... Isaiah Briscoe scored 17 points, Derek Willis added 15 and No. 2 Kentucky went on to an 87-64 season-opening victory over Stephen F. Austin. ... Jalen Brunson scored 17 points, Kris Jenkins had 16 and No. 4 Villanova opened defense of its national championship with an 88-48 victory over Lafayette on Friday night. ... Trevon Bluiett scored a career-high 25 points and led a second-half surge that carried No. 7 Xavier to an 84-81 victory over Lehigh. ... Marial Shayok scored 15 points and No. 8 Virginia ran off a 22-0 run to beat UNC Greensboro 76-51 in the season opener for both teams. ... Kadeem Allen took the ball the length of the court and scored with 1.3 seconds left and No. 10 Arizona beat No. 12 Michigan State 65-63 in the Armed Forces Classic. ... Jaylen Johnson had 17 points and 14 rebounds while Donovan Mitchell added 15 points and five rebounds to lead No. 13 Louisville to a 78-47 season-opening victory over Evansville. ... Caleb Swanigan had 23 points and 20 rebounds, and Vince Edwards added 19 points and 11 rebounds, leading No. 15 Purdue to a 109-65 season-opening victory over McNeese State. ... Mike Aaman and Romone Saunders scored 15 points each to lead Wagner to a 67-58 upset of No. 18 Connecticut in the season opener for both teams. ... Tyler Roberson scored 18 points and fifth-year transfers Andrew White and John Gillon had 17 and 13 points apiece as No. 19 Syracuse overpowered upstate New York foe Colgate 83-55 in the season opener for both teams. ... Nathan Adrian scored 13 points to lead No. 20 West Virginia to an 87-59 victory over Mount St. Mary's. ... Kendal Yancy made two late free throws, then followed with a tough layup in the final minute to send No. 21 Texas to a 78-73 season-opening victory over Incarnate Word. ... E.C. Matthews scored 21 points while Hassan Martin and Jared Terrell added 12 points each to help No. 23 Rhode Island beat Dartmouth 84-60 in the season opener for both teams. .... Monte Morris had his seventh career double-double with 21 points and 11 assists and 24th-ranked Iowa State routed Savannah State 113-71.
SUN BELT MEN
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 76,
ARKANSAS STATE 66
FARGO, N.D. — A poor eight minutes in the second half helped North Dakota State on a 19-0 run and handed Arkansas State a loss in its first game under Coach Grant McCasland.
ASU took a 48-47 lead on a layup by Jahmiah Simmons with 11:16 to play in the game, but then Simmons missed the ensuing free throw and ASU missed its next seven shots form the floor and committed three turnovers over the next eight minutes. When Andrew Riley made a three-pointer to end the drought with 3:07 left, North Dakota State had scored 19 consecutive points and was leading 66-51.
Devin Carter led ASU (0-1) with 15 points, while C.J. Foster had 9 points, and Tamas Bruce and Salif Boudie each had 8. The Red Wolves shot 43.9 percent from the floor, but they were just 5 of 16 on three-pointers and committed 16 turnovers.
ASU was playing without Deven Simms, who was a junior-college all-american last year at Connors State College. He was suspended indefinitely by McCasland for a violation of team rules.
SWAC MEN
ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM 86, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 66
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A slow start put Arkansas-Pine Bluff in an early hole as the Golden Lions lost their season opener Friday.
The Golden Lions (0-1) missed their first 11 shots from the floor as the Blazers (1-0) jumped to an 8-0 lead four minutes into the game. Alabama-Birmingham also led 11-2 just over four minutes into the game, 21-5 eight minutes in and 34-9 with 6:05 left in the first half.
The Golden Lions shot 17.6 percent (6 of 34) from the floor and were 1 of 12 on three-pointers in the first half. They shot 35.5 percent for the game and made 10 of 26 three-pointers. Ghiavonni Robinson led UAPB with 13 points, Charles Jackson had 12 and Joe’Randle Toliver had 11.
Sports on 11/12/2016