DULUTH, GA. ? Georgia’s goal on Saturday, as voiced by coach Dennis Felton in his pregame speech, was to “wake folks up” about his team’s potential.
Consider Gonzaga painfully awake.
Levi Stukes scored 25 points and Sundiata Gaines added a season-high 21 to lift Georgia to a 96-83 victory over No. 16 Gonzaga.
Felton said his team seized the opportunity to “make a statement” against a ranked team on national TV.
“This was a terrific win,” Felton said. “We went in wanting to take advantage of the situation because we had the opportunity to make a national statement.”
Gonzaga coach Mark Few said his team was simply overwhelmed.
“There was no doubt today that Georgia had a stronger conviction to win the game,” Few said. “They were hungrier. They were tougher, beating us to every 50-50 ball. You win games that way.”
Georgia (7-1) forced Gonzaga (9-3) into a season-high 21 turnovers.
No. 1 UCLA 74, Oakland, Mich. 53
Los Angeles – Darren Collison had 15 points, and Arron Afflalo added 14 to lead the Bruins (9-0).
Shawn Hopes had 17 points for the Grizzlies (6-7).
No. 3 North Carolina 93, UNC-Asheville 62
Chapel Hill, N.C. – Brandan Wright had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Tar Heels (8-1), who won their fifth straight.
Bryan Smithson scored 20 points to lead the Bulldogs (4-6).
No. 4 Ohio St. 72, Cincinnati 50
Indianapolis – Greg Oden had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in 27 minutes for the Buckeyes (9-1) in the most lopsided victory margin in the Wooden Tradition.
John Williamson had 17 points and Jamual Warren added 13 for Cincinnati (7-3).
No. 9 Alabama 77, Southern Miss 64
Mobile, Ala. – Jermareo Davidson dominated in his return to the Crimson Tide lineup, scoring 25 points and flirting with a triple double for Alabama (9-1).
Jeremy Wise led Southern Miss (7-1) with 19 points.
No. 17 Washington 105, Portland St. 73
Seattle – Justin Dentmon scored 18 points and had a career-high nine rebounds for the Huskies (8-1).
Seattle-area native Ryan Sommer led the Vikings (7-4) with 14 points.
No. 18 Butler 68, Purdue 65
Indianapolis – A.J. Graves, who had blurred vision after being poked in the eye in Butler’s last game, scored 25 points for the 18th-ranked Bulldogs (11-1).
Gordon Watt had a career-high 20 points for Purdue (8-2).
No. 20 Marquette 68, Maryland-Balt. Co. 46
Milwaukee – Dominic James scored 17 points, and Jerel McNeal had 15 to lead the Golden Eagles (10-2).
Thomas Young scored 17 points and Chris Pugh added 15 for the Retrievers (4-7).
No. 21 Notre Dame 94, Elon 63
South Bend, Ind. – Russell Carter scored 21 points, and Rob Kurz had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Irish (8-1) to its seventh straight victory.
Devan Carter led Elon with 14 points.
No. 25 Nevada 60, Pacific 53
Reno, Nev. – Marcelus Kemp scored 19 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range to lead the Wolf Pack (9-1).
Steffan Johnson scored 13 points for the Tigers (3-8), who have lost four in a row and seven of their last eight.