Baylor finds way, gets road victory

West Virginia guard Malik Curry (10) blocks the dunk by Baylor guard Dale Bonner (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Morgantown, W.Va., Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (William Wotring)
West Virginia guard Malik Curry (10) blocks the dunk by Baylor guard Dale Bonner (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Morgantown, W.Va., Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (William Wotring)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- LJ Cryer scored a career-high 25 points in his second start of the season, and No. 5 Baylor snapped a two-game losing streak with a 77-68 victory over West Virginia on Tuesday night.

Baylor (16-2, 4-2 Big 12) bounced back after losing twice at home and relinquishing the No. 1 ranking. The defending national champion has won 13 straight away from home, including four consecutive true road games.

Cryer started in place of Bears leading scorer James Akinjo, who sat out with a bruised tailbone sustained in Saturday's loss to Oklahoma State.

Matthew Mayer added 20 points for Baylor, Adam Flagler scored 14 and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua scored 10.

Malik Curry scored 19 points for West Virginia (13-4, 2-3), which has lost two straight and saw its streak of 10 straight wins at home to start the season snapped. Taz Sherman added 18 points and Sean McNeil scored 17.

"This league is one of those leagues you don't want to be on a losing streak, because nobody feels sorry for you," Baylor Coach Scott Drew said. "You can pick any sport. You lose, you make errors, you lose a little confidence. And you want to get back to winning as quick as you can.

"You miss 3- or 4-foot putts, you better make the next one. Otherwise, them others get tough. And I'm not even a golfer."

FLORIDA STATE 79,

NO. 6 DUKE 78

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- RayQuan Evans made a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left in overtime, John Butler blocked Wendell Moore Jr.'s driving attempt in the lane with two seconds remaining, and Florida State stunned No. 6 Duke.

Florida State (11-5, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) let a nine-point lead slip away in regulation and needed Evans' driving layup high off the glass with two seconds left to send the game to overtime. The Seminoles held on for their first win over a ranked Duke team since Jan. 10, 2017.

Paolo Banchero had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Duke (14-3, 4-2).

NO. 7 KANSAS 67, OKLAHOMA 64

NORMAN, Okla. -- Jalen Wilson scored 16 points, Christian Braun hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with 10.9 seconds left, and Kansas beat Oklahoma.

Braun then drained two at the other end with four seconds to go. Oklahoma, out of timeouts, missed a desperation heave that could have forced overtime.

Ochai Agbaji, the Big 12 scoring leader, had all 10 of his points in the final six minutes. Braun finished with 15 for the Jayhawks (15-2, 4-1 Big 12), who won their third straight.

Goldwire scored 15 points for Oklahoma (12-6, 2-4), which lost its third in a row.

NO. 8 WISCONSIN 82, NORTHWESTERN 76

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Johnny Davis scored 27 points and Wisconsin beat Northwestern.

Wisconsin (15-2, 6-1 Big Ten) won its seventh straight, building on its best start since it was also 15-2 during the 2014-15 season.

Chase Audige scored 23 points for the Wildcats (9-7, 2-5), and Boo Buie had 19.

NO. 10 HOUSTON 74, SOUTH FLORIDA 55

HOUSTON -- Kyler Edwards had 23 points and seven rebounds, Fabian White Jr. added 16 points and five rebounds, and Houston beat South Florida for its eighth straight win.

Josh Carlton finished with 15 points and five rebounds, and Taze Moore scored 13 points for the Cougars (16-2, 5-0 American Athletic Conference).

DJ Patrick scored 19 points and Caleb Murphy added 12 points for the Bulls (6-11, 1-4).

NO. 18 TEXAS TECH 72, NO. 15 IOWA STATE 60

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Kevin Obanor scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime as Texas Tech beat Iowa State for its third consecutive victory against a ranked opponent.

Since losing at Iowa State with only seven healthy players two weeks ago, the Red Raiders (14-4, 4-2 Big 12) have won four of five.

Bryson Williams had 16 points to lead the Red Raiders, and Davion Warren had 11. Obanor also had eight rebounds.

Caleb Grill had 17 points with four three-pointers for Iowa State (14-4, 2-4), while Izaiah Brockington had 12 points and nine rebounds.

NO. 19 OHIO STATE 83, IUPUI 37

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- E.J. Liddell had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Ohio State never trailed against IUPUI.

Eugene Brown III scored a career-high 14 points for the Buckeyes (12-4). Bakari LaStrap led the Jaguars (1-15) with 12 points.

NO. 22 LOYOLA CHICAGO 77, EVANSVILLE 48

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Luke Williamson made five three-pointers and scored 15 points, and Loyola Chicago won its 10th straight game.

Chris Knight added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting for the Ramblers (14-2, 5-0 Missouri Valley Conference), who are off to their best start in league play since joining the MVC for the 2013-14 season.

Jawaun Newton scored 13 points for Evansville (4-12, 0-5).

KANSAS STATE 66, NO. 23 TEXAS 65

AUSTIN, Texas -- Mark Smith scored 22 points, Nijel Pack made a go-ahead layup with 1:13 left, and Kansas State held Texas scoreless for the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Pack finished with 16 points and Mike McGuirl added 13 for Kansas State (10-7, 2-4 Big 12), which closed the game with a 6-0 run.

Timmy Allen scored 15 points for Texas (13-5, 3-3), and his layup with 3:32 left put the Longhorns ahead 65-60. He missed two free throws with 2:26 left and Texas leading 65-62.

NO. 24 TENNESSEE 68, VANDERBILT 60

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Uros Plavsic made a tiebreaking short jumper with 55 seconds left, and Tennessee scored the final eight points to beat in-state rival Vanderbilt for the ninth straight time.

Tennessee (12-5, 3-3 SEC) has won 11 of 12 overall.

Santiago Vescovi led Tennessee with 14 points. Plavsic and Kennedy Chandler each added 13. Zakai Seigler had 11.

Scotty Pippen Jr., who came in tied as the SEC's leading scorer, led the Commodores (10-7, 2-3) with 18 points. Jordan Wright added 15.

NO. 25 UCONN 76, BUTLER 59

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Adama Sanogo had 13 points and 15 rebounds to lead UConn past Butler in the first of two games this week between the programs.

Sanogo also blocked four shots. R.J. Cole scored 17 points, and Andre Jackson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for UConn (12-4, 3-2 Big East).

Butler's Jayden Taylor had 14 of his 19 points in the second half, and Simas Lukosius added 17 points for the Bulldogs (9-7, 2-3).

SEC

MISSOURI 78,

OLE MISS 53

OXFORD, Miss. -- Amari Davis scored 23 points, Kobe Brown added 15 and Missouri beat Mississippi 78-53.

Missouri won just its fourth game in 19 meetings with Ole Miss (9-8, 1-4) since the Tigers joined the SEC in the 2012-13 season.

Missouri led by double figures the entire second half. Ole Miss pulled within 57-47 after a 9-0 run, but the Tigers answered by scoring the next 15 points .

Javon Pickett and Ronnie DeGray III each had 11 points for Missouri (8-9, 2-3). Point guard Jarron Coleman grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, to go with eight points and seven assists, to help the Tigers hold a 40-26 edge on the glass.

Daeshun Ruffin scored 12 points for Mississippi , which has lost five of its last six games. Nysier Brooks had eight points and 10 rebounds.

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