Reed powers No. 6 UConn to 72-40 rout against No. 15 St. John’s

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and No. 6 UConn held 15th-ranked St. John’s to 20% shooting in a 72-40 blowout Wednesday night that snapped the Red Storm’s 13-game winning streak.

Alex Karaban added 14 points and five rebounds for the Huskies, who moved back into first place in the Big East by avenging an 81-72 loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 6.

St. John’s missed 12 consecutive shots in the first half and then its final 24 field goal attempts of the game as the Huskies (26-3, 16-2) romped to their most lopsided victory in series history.

It was by far the largest defeat for the Johnnies in three seasons under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, and their fewest points in a game since a 66-40 loss at Notre Dame in March 2013.

Solo Ball had 11 points and four assists for UConn, and Silas Demary Jr. provided seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Joson Sanon scored all 10 of his points in the first half for St. John’s (22-6, 15-2), which finished 11 of 56 from the field and fell a half-game behind UConn in the conference standings. The team’s 13-game winning streak was its longest in 41 years.

NO. 7 FLORDA, 84, TEXAS 71

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Alex Condon scored 23 points, Boogie Fland had 22 and Florida beat Texas for its eighth consecutive victory.

Florida (22-6, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) has won seven straight SEC road games. The Gators have outscored their last eight opponents by an average of 20.5 points, rounding into form as they seek to defend their national title.

The 6-foot-11 Condon converted 10 of 12 shots from the field. He had five points and an assist during a 14-1 run gave the Gators a 75-65 lead with 4:16 remaining. Fland hit 7 of 10 shots and scored seven during the game-changing burst. Xavian Lee scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

Florida, a poor 3-point shooting team most of the season — 30% accuracy — has heated up to 36% during the winning streak. Coach Todd Golden’s Gators made 6 of 9 from long range during the second half against Texas, finishing 8 of 18.

Meantime, the Longhorns (17-11, 8-7) went without a field goal for the final 7:27.

Texas has lost two in a row after winning its previous five. Dailyn Swain led the Longhorns with 21 points, including 15 in the second half. Tramon Mark scored 15 points and Jordan Pope had 14.

NO. 9 GONZAGA 89, PORTLAND 48

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Graham Ike scored 19 points and matched a school record with seven steals as Gonzaga routed Portland to clinch its first West Coast Conference regular-season championship in three years.

Braeden Smith added 15 points for the Bulldogs (28-2, 16-1), who avenged their 87-80 loss at Portland on Feb. 4. Mario Saint-Supery and Tyon Grant-Foster each scored 12, and Ike grabbed eight rebounds.

Joel Foxwell led the Pilots (12-18, 5-12) with 12 points. Portland shot 34.7% from the field and committed 22 turnovers.

NO. 12 NEBRASKA 74, MARYLAND 61

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Braden Frager scored 21 points off the bench to lead four Nebraska players in double figures and the Cornhuskers beat Maryland.

The Huskers (24-4) improved to 13-4 in Big Ten play, matching their program record for conference wins and moving them into a tie for second place with Illinois.

Pryce Sandfort made a couple of big 3-pointers late and finished with 16 points, Rienk Mast had 11 of his 13 in the second half and Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Andre Mills had 16 of his 19 points in the second half for Maryland (11-17, 4-13) and Elijah Saunders scored all 15 of his points on a career-high five 3s. Solomon Washington added 13 points for the Terrapins.

NO. 17 ALABAMA 100, MISSISSIPPI STATE 75

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Amari Allen scored 23 points, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 18, and Alabama cruised to a win over Mississippi State.

Aden Holloway had 16 for the Crimson Tide (21-7, 11-4 Southeastern Conference), who started the game with five 3-pointers in a 15-2 run on their way to a season-high 16 3s in the first half. It was Alabama’s ninth straight game with at least 10 made 3-pointers.

Alabama leading scorer Labaron Philon missed the game with a left leg injury, coach Nate Oats said. Freshman London Jemison started in his place, which marked the team’s 13th different starting lineup this season — the most since Oats has coached the team (2019-present).

The Crimson Tide led 66-33 at halftime and pulled ahead by 39, knocking down 22 3-pointers (22 for 50), the most by an SEC team in conference play this season. Six different players connected on at least two 3-pointers and the team reached 100 points for the eighth time this season.

Mississippi State (13-15, 5-10) struggled offensively, particularly in the first half. Leading scorer Josh Hubbard, who entered the game as the SEC’s leading scorer at 22 points per game, scored 11 — his third lowest output this season.

Achor Achor had 18 to lead the Bulldogs.

NO. 20 ARKANSAS 99, TEXAS A&M 84

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Billy Richmond III scored 23 points and Arkansas took advantage of Texas A&M’s miscues to beat the Aggies.

Richmond, who shot 8 of 13 from the floor and has scored 20 points or more in the last four games, had 15 points in the first half as the Razorbacks (21-7, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) took a 37-28 lead into halftime.

They carried the advantage in large part because Texas A&M (19-8, 9-6) couldn’t take care of the ball. Thirteen first-half turnovers led to 15 points for Arkansas.

Darius Acuff Jr. scored 22 points for Arkansas, Malique Ewin had 18, Trevon Brazile 14 and Meleek Thomas 13. Acuff, who entered leading the SEC in scoring with 22.2 points per game, had been held to just five points until the final nine minutes as he made his last six of his last seven shots from the floor after a 1-for-12 start.

Zach Clemence came off the bench to score a career-high 29 points for Texas A&M. Rashaun Agee added 17.

NO. 25 VANDERBILT 88, GEORGIA 80

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Devin McGlockton had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season as Vanderbilt held off Georgia.

Tyler Tanner also scored 17 for the Commodores (22-6, 9-6 Southeastern Conference), who led by 20 in the first half before Georgia stormed back to tie the game midway through the second.

Two free throws by McGlockton with 3 1/2 minutes left made it a two-possession game, and the Bulldogs went scoreless from the field over the final 4:24.

Duke Miles scored 15 points off the bench for Vanderbilt, reaching double figures for the second consecutive game since returning from an injury. AK Okereke had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington added 10 points apiece.

Jeremiah Wilkinson made five 3-pointers and finished with 28 points off the bench to lead Georgia (19-9, 7-8). Kanon Catchings had 15 points. Blue Cain added 10 points and tied the score at 62 on a second-chance 3 from the top of the arc.