Hartford, Conn. ? No surprises here.
Connecticut put the squeeze on overmatched New Hampshire early, and the second-ranked and unbeaten Huskies cruised to another lopsided victory.
Rudy Gay had 22 points and three steals, and Ed Nelson dominated down low with 11 rebounds in UConn’s 86-44 victory Sunday.
“We’re bigger, we’re stronger, and we’re quicker. Those kind of things are going to allow you to win most of the times,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said.
Marcus Johnson, making his first start for an injured Denham Brown (bruised knee), had a career-high 20 points for the Huskies (8-0).
Blagoj Janev led the Wildcats (2-8) with 24 points. His back-to-back baskets with 13:49 left were the Wildcats’ first consecutive scores.
The game was the first of four inferior opponents at home for the Huskies, who have been beating opponents by an average of nearly 20 points. Next up for UConn is Morehead State, followed by Stony Brook. UConn plays host to in-state rival Quinnipiac on Dec. 30 in hopes of rolling into January and the Big East season at 11-0.
“That’s what this game is all about, getting ourselves ready for the next three games and then head on into our league games,” Calhoun said.
No. 1 Duke 104, Valparaiso 77
Durham, N.C. — J.J. Redick scored 30 points, and Greg Paulus set a school freshman record with 15 assists as Duke beat Valparaiso. Shelden Williams added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who improved to 10-0 for the fifth time in six seasons. Paulus broke the freshman record of 13 assists shared by Bobby Hurley, Jason Williams and Chris Duhon.
No. 7 Florida 101, Jacksonville 58
Gainesville, Fla. — Corey Brewer had the first triple-double in Florida history, and the Gators matched the school’s best start. Brewer, a 6-foot-8 sophomore swingman, finished with 15 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds as the Gators (10-0) matched the 1951-52 team’s start.
No. 9 Illinois 61, Coppin St. 42
Champaign, Ill. — James Augustine scored 15 points, and unbeaten Illinois broke the game open with an 18-4 run in the second half.
No. 12 Michigan State 85, Florida International 58
East Lansing, Mich. — Shannon Brown scored 20 points, and two of his Michigan State teammates had double-doubles. Maurice Ager had 18 points, all but two in the second half, and a career-high 14 rebounds for the Spartans (9-2), while Paul Davis added 18 points and 11 rebounds in Michigan State’s eighth straight victory.
No. 13 Boston College 80, Texas Southern 53
Boston — Jared Dudley had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Sean Marshall scored a season-high 19 as Boston College ended a two-game losing streak. The Eagles (7-2) built a 31-point lead before clearing the bench.
No. 21 N.C. St. 81, Miami 69
Raleigh, N.C. — Cameron Bennerman had a season-high 19 points for North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both. Tony Bethel scored 12 of his 15 points on four three-pointers in the opening seven minutes for the Wolfpack (8-1).
