- - No. 1 Arizona routs Bethune-Cookman 107-71 after sluggish start

The December 23, 2025 at 5:54 AM

0

Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov, right, drives past Bethune-Cookman forward Quentin Heady (5) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brayden Burries scored 20 points, Ivan Kharchenkov added 14 and top-ranked Arizona overcame a sluggish start to rout Bethune-Cookman 107-71 on Monday night.

The Wildcats (12-0) remained No. 1 in this week’s AP Top 25 after shutting down San Diego State on Saturday, but labored early on offense in the final game before their holiday break.

Careless at times with the ball, Arizona allowed Bethune-Cookman (3-9) to hang around until ratcheting up its defensive pressure midway through the first half.

Arizona used a big run to build a 14-point halftime lead and shot 57% from the floor to match its best start since opening 12-0 in 2014-15. The Wildcats scored 50 points in the paint, grabbed 20 more rebounds and converted 36 points off Bethune-Cookman’s 22 turnovers.

Arizona point guard Jaden Bradley had 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Arizona is one of six remaining undefeated teams in Division I and has seven straight wins by at least 20 points, its longest streak since eight straight 20-point wins in 1929, according to Sportradar.

Jordan Johnson led Bethune-Cookman with 18 points.

NO. 10 BYU 109, EASTERN WASINGTON 81

PROVO, Utah (AP) — AJ Dybantsa had 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead BYU to a victory over Eastern Washington.

Dybantsa became the first player with a triple-double for the Cougars since Kyle Collinsworth against UAB on March 16, 2016.

Richie Saunders had 22 points to help BYU (12-1) go unbeaten through a four-game homestand. Kennard Davis Jr. and Robert Wright III added 17 points apiece. Wright also dished out seven assists.

The Cougars shot 61% from the field in the second half and made 16 3-pointers. Davis led the way with a career-high five.

Kiree Huie led Eastern Washington with 17 points. Jojo Anderson and Alton Hamilton IV added 13 apiece for the Eagles (2-11), who lost to a Big 12 opponent for the third time this season.

Dybantsa carried BYU’s offense early, scoring 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 9-of-11 shooting from the free throw line in the first half.

NO. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 99, EAST CAROLINA 51

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Caleb Wilson had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and North Carolina had its highest point total of the season in a victory over East Carolina.

Wilson also had four blocks and three steals, while Henri Veesaar finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Luka Bogavac added 15 points and Seth Trimble scored 12 for the Tar Heels (12-1), who hit 12 3-pointers and shot 54% from the field.

Gio Emejuru finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds for ECU (5-8). Jordan Riley, who came in averaging a team-high 21.7 points, scored a season-low 11 on 4-of-24 shooting.

ECU missed its first seven shots and went 5:46 without a field goal. Offense came easily for the Tar Heels, who rolled into halftime up 49-26 while shooting 58.6%.

The Tar Heels stretched their lead to 50 points in the second half.

NO. 17 KANSAS 90, DAVIDSON 61

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Tre White and Flory Bidunga each had 18 points and eight rebounds as Kansas used balanced scoring to beat Davidson.

Six players finished in double figures for the Jayhawks (10-3), including all five starters. Bryson Tiller added 11 points and Jamari McDowell scored 10. Melvin Council Jr. had 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Kohl Rosario provided 13 points off the bench as Kansas shot 58% from the field, including 11 for 21 (52%) on 3-pointers. The Jayhawks had 27 assists on 37 baskets and outrebounded Davidson 42-31. White nabbed four of the team’s 13 steals.

Roberts Blums was the only player in double figures for the Wildcats (8-4) with 13 points off the bench. Davidson was limited to 36% shooting from the floor and went 2 for 6 at the free-throw line.

NO. 20 ILLINOIS 91, MISSOURI 48

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Freshman guard Keaton Wagler made a career-best five 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead Illinois to a rout of Missouri.

Andrej Stojakovic returned from a first-half injury to score 16 points, and Tomislav Ivisic added 14 points as the Fighting Illini (9-3) rolled to the most lopsided victory in the history of the Braggin’ Rights rivalry.

Sebastian Mack had 17 points off the bench to lead Missouri (10-3) as coach Dennis Gates left his reserves in for much of the second half with the game out of hand.

After building a 16-point lead at halftime, the Illini poured it on with two 3-pointers from Ivisic in the opening minutes of the second half and finally pulled their starters with 2 1/2 minutes left.

The largest previous margin of victory in the series, which has been played 45 times since 1980, was Illinois’ 82-50 blowout in 2005, when it was coming off a Final Four run.

Wagler went 5 for 6 from 3-point range and improved to 12 for 18 in the past three games.

NO. 21 VIRGINIA 95, AMERICAN 51

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Thijs De Ridder scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Virginia rolled to a victory over American University.

Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis and Elijah Gertrude each added 11 points as the Cavaliers (11-1) headed into their holiday break on a six-game winning streak.

Julen Iturbe had 13 points to pace the Eagles (7-6), held to 32% shooting from the field and six free throws.

Virginia made 62% from the floor and outrebounded American 45-23.

Already up 45-25 at halftime, the Cavaliers opened the second half by outscoring American 20-8 in the first eight minutes.

NO. 23 GEORGIA 103, WEST GEORGIA 74

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Blue Cain had 20 points to lead Georgia to a win over West Georgia.

Georgia (11-1) entered the matchup as one of the top scoring offenses in Division I, averaging 99.5 points per game. The Bulldogs scored 90 or more points for the ninth time and eclipsed 100 points for the sixth time this season.

It was Cain’s second time this season scoring 20 or more points. He scored a career-high 22 in Georgia’s 84-65 win over Cincinnati on Dec. 13.

Somtochukwu Cyril had 15 points and 15 rebounds — both career highs — and four blocks. Jeremiah Wilkinson had 19 points for Georgia, which improved to 35-0 in home nonconference games in four seasons under coach Mike White.

Shelton Williams-Dryden led West Georgia (6-6) with 23 points. Malcolm Noel scored 16 and JaVar Daniel 15.

The Bulldogs forced 17 turnovers and scored 24 points off of them. They started the game on a 7-0 scoring run and led by at least seven points until West Georgia cut the lead to five, 46-41, to start the second quarter. The Bulldogs responded with a 15-2 run and led by double digits for the remainder of the game.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”