BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Justyn Mutts scored 27 points to lead Virginia Tech to an 80-72 victory over No. 18 North Carolina on Sunday.
Mutts scored 21 of his points in the second half for the Hokies (8-1, 1-0), who built an 18-point, second-half lead and then held on to hand the slumping Tar Heels (5-4, 0-1) their fourth consecutive defeat.
North Carolina cut that lead to 67-64 on a layup by Caleb Love with 3:06 remaining, but Mutts answered with a basket 17 seconds later, and the Tar Heels got no closer.
"When it did get to three, we sat down and did the things that we're supposed to do," Virginia Tech Coach Mike Young said. "(There was) a level of toughness and a level of resolve when the heat's on a little bit, and they withstood it. They did a nice job with it.
"We needed today. We needed the Tar Heels, someone of that ilk to play. That heightened sense of awareness and embracing the grit and the grind that goes along with winning games of this nature. It was a good day for the Hokies."
The Associated Press' preseason No. 1 team, North Carolina played without center Armando Bacot, who missed the game with a bruised shoulder. The ACC's preseason player of the year had started 107 of 108 games in his career and was averaging 16.1 points and a team-best 11.1 rebounds.
Virginia Tech, and in particular, Mutts, took advantage of Bacot's absence. Mutts connected on 12 of 16 from the floor, and he also grabbed 11 rebounds. Behind Mutts, the Hokies shot 50.8% (31of 61) from the floor.
"It's just my teammates and my coaches putting so much trust in me, just so much faith in me," Mutts said. "A lot of it is the play calls that are going on, and then within different flows of the game ... just with the way our offense runs, there are certain openings that I was able to take that really benefited me."
Caleb Love, Pete Nance, and RJ Davis each scored 18 for North Carolina.
"I told the guys that I'm disappointed, but I'm not discouraged," North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis said. "Disappointed with the outcome, but I was really happy with the fight the last 15 minutes of the second half. ... I told them also that I'm not panicked. I'm not any of that. This is a good basketball team, and I'm convinced that we're going to be a great basketball team by the end of the season."
NO. 4 ARIZONA 81,
CALIFORNIA 68
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo combined for 42 points and 19 rebounds and Arizona bounced back from its first loss by holding off winless California.
Tubelis had 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Ballo -- the Division I leader in field goal percentage -- made 7 of 10 shots en route to 17 points, with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks.
The Wildcats (7-1, 1-1) were coming off an 81-66 loss Thursday at Utah, just their fifth in 44 games under second-year Coach Tommy Lloyd.
Cal (0-9, 0-2) continued its worst start in program history, extending the nation's longest active losing streak to 12 games. The Golden Bears were led by guard Devin Askew, who had 25 points, while forward Lars Thiemann added 18 on 9-of-14 shooting.
NO. 5 PURDUE 89,
MINNESOTA 70
WEST LAFAYETE, Ind. -- Zach Edey set career highs with 31 points and 22 rebounds, powering Purdue past Minnesota in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The 7-4 Edey started slowly, making only one of his first seven shots. He dominated after that, finishing 11 of 23 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the foul line.
Fletcher Loyer scored 20 for Purdue (8-0).
Jamison Battle led the Golden Gophers (4-4) with 21 points. Ta'Lon Cooper added 15 points for Minnesota.
NEBRASKA 63,
NO. 7 CREIGHTON 53
OMAHA, Neb. -- Derrick Walker scored a career-high 22 points as Nebraska upset Creighton, the highest-ranked opponent the Cornhuskers have beaten on the road since 1997.
Nebraska (6-3) beat the Bluejays for the first time in 14 regular-season meetings in Omaha since 1995. Creighton (6-3) lost its third in a row, with its previous two against ranked opponents.
Sam Griesel scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and Juwan Gary finished with 12 as the Huskers turned back every comeback attempt by the Bluejays.
Francisco Farabello scored 16 points to lead the Bluejays, going 5 for 9 on three-pointers. Baylor Scheierman and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 10 points apiece.
NO. 13 TENNESSEE 94,
ALCORN STATE 40
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Olivier Nkamhoua scored 20 points and Tennessee flexed its defensive muscles in a victory over Alcorn State.
The Volunteers (7-1) also got double-digit point production from Julian Phillips (18), Jahmai Mashack (13), Uros Plavsic (12), Tyreke Key (11) and Zakai Zeigler (10).
Dominic Brewton led the Braves (3-6) with 10 points.
NO. 19 KENTUCKY 73,
MICHIGAN 69
LONDON -- Cason Wallace scored 14 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had 13 points and 14 rebounds to lead Kentucky over Michigan in a London showcase of two marquee American college sports teams.
Wallace was 4 of 4 on three-point shooting with his most important one giving the Wildcats (6-2) a five-point lead with 1:11 to play.
Hunter Dickinson led Michigan (5-3) with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jett Howard, Michigan's second-leading scorer, was in early foul trouble but had 16 points for the Wolverines.
NORTHWESTERN 70,
NO. 20 MICHIGAN STATE 63
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Boo Buie scored 20 points and Northwestern beat No. 20 Michigan State in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Chase Audige added 15 points and Ty Berry had 13 for Northwestern (6-3).
Mady Sossoko and A.J. Hoggard each had 12 points for Michigan State (5-3) and Joey Hauser added 10. The Spartans have lost two in a row, falling to Notre Dame earlier in the week.
Hoggard cut Northwestern's lead to 64-63 with 46 seconds left. After a timeout, Buie scored on a layup with 23 seconds left.
NO. 21 UCLA 65,
OREGON 56
LOS ANGELES -- Jaylen Clark and freshman Amari Bailey scored 14 points each and UCLA rallied in the final four minutes to hold off Oregon for its fourth consecutive win.
The Bruins (7-2, 2-0) hadn't had a big scoring run all game until they pulled away late.
The Ducks (4-5, 1-1) had won four in a row over the Bruins. Guerrier led the Ducks with 15 points and Will Richardson added 13 points.
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 71,
ST. JOHN'S 60
AMES, Iowa -- Jaren Holmes scored 14 points and Aljaz Kunc added 12 as Iowa State handed St. John's its first loss of the season.
Kunc also contributed eight rebounds and three assists for the Cyclones (7-1). Robert Jones had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Posh Alexander led St. John's (8-1) with 14 points.
Virginia Tech's Hunter Cattoor (0) scores past North Carolina's Caleb Love in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Blacksburg Va., Sunday Dec. 4, 2022. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP)
Virginia Tech's Sean Pedulla (3) shoots over North Carolina's Leaky Black (1) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Blacksburg Va., Sunday Dec. 4 2022. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP)