Gainesville, Fla ? Joakim Noah scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lead No. 5 Florida to an 88-67 victory over Stetson on Wednesday night.
Noah had eight rebounds and four assists for the Gators (10-2), who improved to 8-0 at home despite the absence of center Al Horford, who is recovering from a sprained ankle.
Billy Donovan became the school’s winningest coach with victory No. 236, breaking a tie with Norm Sloan.
Corey Brewer, playing his second game since sitting out three contests with mononucleosis, had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for Florida, while Walter Hodge added 17 points and was 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point line.
No. 9 Arizona 79, No. 18 Memphis 71
Tucson, Ariz. – Mustafa Shakur scored 23 points and Chase Budinger and Ivan Radenovic led a second-half surge as the Wildcats (9-1) won their ninth straight.
Jeremy Hunt was 4-of-9 from three-point range and led the Tigers (8-3) with 21 points.
No. 10 Alabama 82, North Carolina St. 75
Raleigh, N.C. – Richard Hendrix had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Ronald Steele added 14 points in his return to the Crimson Tide’s lineup.
Alabama (10-1) never trailed but nearly blew a 23-point second-half lead.
Brandon Costner hit three three-pointers in the final minute for the Wolfpack (7-3) and finished with 25 points.
No. 17 Washington 88, No. 12 LSU 72
Seattle – Freshman center Spencer Hawes had season highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Huskies.
Jon Brockman added 19 points and 14 rebounds for Washington (9-1).
Tasmin Mitchell scored 20 points for the Tigers (6-2), who dropped to 1-2 against ranked teams this season.
No. 14 Connecticut 88, Pepperdine 66
Hartford, Conn. – A.J. Price had 17 points to lead four UConn players in double figures as the Huskies pulled away in the second half to remain undefeated.
Freshman center Hasheem Thabeet hit all seven of his shots as the Huskies (10-0) dominated inside and stretched their home winning streak to 29 games.