DURHAM, N.C., Sporting Alert – No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Kentucky opened their 2016-17 college basketball season with comfortable wins, but the third-ranked Kansas were stunned on Friday night.
Duke Cruised Without Star Freshmen
Freshman Frank Jackson finished with 18 points, four assists and four steals and Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard scored 16 points apiece and the top-ranked Blue Devils easily put away Marist 94-49 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The win for Duke was easily achieved, despite playing without three of its best freshmen, forwards Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum and center Marques Bolden who were all ruled out due to injuries.
Chase Jeter and Matt Jones each had 11 for Duke, which shot 44.1 percent from the floor and dominated Marist 56-33 in rebounding.
Khallid Hart scored 13 points in the defeat for the Red Foxes.
Kentucky Wins Easily
At the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Isaiah Briscoe scored 17 points and Deaaron Fox grabbed a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists and three steals and No. 2 Kentucky beat Stephen F. Austin 87-64 in their college basketball season-opener.
Derek Willis added 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks for the Wildcats, who got 10 points each for Malik Monk and Wenyen Gabriel.
Isaiah Traylor scored 15 points for Stephen F. Austin, while Leon Gilmore III ended with 12 and 11 rebounds.
Kansas Upset By Indiana In OT
Meanwhile, the first shake-up of the new college basketball season came in the Armed Forces Classic where No. 11 Indiana upset No. 3 Kansas in overtime.
James Blackmon Jr. scored 26 points, including 22 in the second half and in overtime for the Hoosiers to pick up the 103-99 victory over the Jayhawks.
Blackmon Jr., who also had six rebounds, led five Indiana players in double-digit scoring, as Thomas Bryant grabbed a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a very productive 28 minutes.
Curtis Jones added 15 points off the bench, OG Anunoby had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Robert Johnson ended with 10 points in the win for the Hoosiers, who rallied from a nine-point deficit and shot 48.4 percent from 3-point range.
Kansas led 46-42 at halftime, but Indiana shot 50 percent following the break to send the game into overtime after relegation time ended 87-87.
Frank Mason III led the Jayhawks with 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, while Devonte Graham finished with 16 points and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Carlton Bragg Jr collected 12 points each in the defeat.
In other AP top 25 2016-17 college basketball opening day scores, defending champion and No. 4 Villanova rolled past Lafayette 88-48, No. 5 Oregon topped Army 91-77, No. 6 North Carolina eased to a 95-75 win over Tulane, while No. 10 Arizona beat No. 12 Michigan State 65-63.
Complete scores and box scores from all 155 games played in the new college basketball season on Friday night.
College Basketball AP Top 25 Scores
Friday, November 11
No. 1 DUKE 96, MARIST 49
No. 2 KENTUCKY 87, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 64
No. 11 INDIANA 103, No. 3 KANSAS 99, OT
No. 4 VILLANOVA 88, LAFAYETTE 48
No. 5 OREGON 91, ARMY 77
No. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 95, TULANE 75
No. 7 XAVIER 84, LEHIGH 81
No. 8 VIRGINIA 76, UNC GREENSBORO 51
No. 9 WISCONSIN 79, CENT. ARKANSAS 47
No. 10 ARIZONA 65, No. 12 MICHIGAN ST. 63
No. 13 LOUISVILLE 78, EVANSVILLE 47
No. 14 GONZAGA 92, UTAH VALLEY 69
No. 15 PURDUE 109, McNEESE ST. 65
No. 16 UCLA 119, PACIFIC 80
No. 17 SAINT MARY’S 81, NEVADA 63
WAGNER 67, No. 18 UCONN. 58
No. 19 SYRACUSE 83, COLGATE 55
No. 20 WEST VIRGINIA 87, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 59
No. 21 Texas 78, INCARNATE WORD 73
No. 22 CREIGHTON 89, UMKC 82
No. 23 RHODE ISLAND 84, DARTMOUTH 60
No. 24 IOWA ST. 113, SAVANNAH ST. 71
No. 25 MARYLAND 62, AMERICAN 56
