COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Michigan Establishes No. 1 Priority, 75-71

Michigan advanced to the NCAA championship game last season with a nucleus of freshmen who played with poise and maturity.

The Wolverines displayed the benefits of their experience Tuesday night against Rice in a 75-71 victory at Houston.

“We’re the No. 1 team in the country and you have to expect these kind of battles when you’re No. 1,” Michigan sophomore Chris Webber said. “They gave us their best shot in the first half and we gave them ours in the second half.”

Rice led, 31-30, at halftime and increased the lead to 52-46 in the second half before the Wolverines made their move with a 10-0 run that carried them to victory in the season opener for both teams.

“We’ll get better,” Michigan Coach Steve Fisher said. “This was just the first game. It was closer than many may have expected, but Rice is a very good team. They’ve got four starters from a team that won 20 games last year.”

Webber scored 13 of his game-high 20 points during the second half.

OTHER TOP 25 TEAMS

No. 3 Kansas 76, Georgia 65--Darrin Hancock, a junior college transfer, scored 14 points and had eight rebounds as the Jayhawks survived a sloppy second half for the victory at Lawrence, Kan., in the first meeting between the schools.

Carlos Strong and Dathon Brown each had 11 points for Georgia, which outshot the favored Jayhawks after trailing by 20 points at halftime of the season opener for both teams.

No. 4 Duke 110, Canisius 62--Grant Hill scored a career-high 28 points at Durham, N.C., as the Blue Devils began their bid for a third consecutive national title.

Hill missed only one of 13 shots. Thomas Hill scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, Bobby Hurley added 17, Cherokee Parks 16 and reserve Marty Clark 10 for the Blue Devils, who have won 49 of their last 50 games in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

No. 6 Seton Hall 87, Rider 74--Jerry Walker, shaking off an injury to his right knee, came off the bench and produced five points, three assists and a steal during a 13-2 second-half run that helped the Pirates to victory at South Orange, N.J.

Terry Dehere scored 27 points and Walker had 18 for Seton Hall (4-1).

No. 7 North Carolina 119, Old Dominion 82--Donald Williams scored 21 points and Eric Montross added 20 as the Tar Heels shot 75.4% (43 of 57) in their season-opening victory at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Williams made five of eight shots and nine of 10 free throws. Montross dominated inside, making all eight of his shots.

No. 10 Iowa 100, Mississippi Valley State 69--Acie Earl scored 23 points and blocked six shots and Chris Street added 17 points to lead the Hawkeyes at Iowa City.

Iowa led, 19-14, before a 10-4 spurt started the Hawkeyes on their way to a 49-28 halftime lead.

No. 13 Georgia Tech 112, Florida A&M; 83--Sophomore Travis Best scored 22 points and started a Yellow Jacket run early in the second half that led to the victory at Atlanta.

Florida A&M; trailed, 52-45, at halftime, but Georgia Tech had runs of 16-5 and 17-2 in the second half to put the game out of reach.

No. 17 Syracuse 97, Cornell 65--Lawrence Moten scored 18 of his 29 points during the first half at Syracuse, N.Y., as the Orangemen defeated the Big Red for the 24th consecutive time.

Freshman John Wallace added 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Orangemen won their season opener for the 16th time in Coach Jim Boeheim’s 17 seasons.

No. 18 Michigan State 121, Morehead State 53--Shawn Respert scored a career-high 32 points at East Lansing, Mich., in a record-setting opener for both teams.

Michigan State’s 121 points set a school record, topping the 118 against Oklahoma in 1963. Its victory margin record was safe, though. In 1902, Michigan State beat Alma, 102-3.

The 68-point defeat was the worst in school history for Morehead State. The previous worst came in 1969 when the Eagles lost to Jacksonville, 117-63.

No. 21 New Mexico State 73, Eastern New Mexico 64--Corey Rogers, substituting for injured point guard Sam Crawford, scored 16 points to lead the Aggies (4-0) at Las Cruces, N.M.

No. 22 Cincinnati 87, Texas Southern 44--Nick Van Exel scored 21 points and Erik Martin added 19 for the Bearcats in their opener at Cincinnati.

OTHER GAMES

Freshman Jason Kidd had 11 points, 10 assists and six steals in 28 minutes as California defeated Sacramento State, 86-67, at the Oakland Coliseum. . . . Chad Scott scored 24 points and center Scott Haskin added 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Oregon State to a 79-62 victory over Pacific at Corvallis.

Gyland Dottin scored 21 points and had 13 rebounds as San Diego spoiled former UCLA assistant Tony Fuller’s debut as coach of San Diego State, 85-60. . . . Jared Miller scored 31 points at Provo, Utah, as Brigham Young survived Arizona State’s three-point basket barrage for a 108-98 victory. Arizona State attempted 51 three-point shots, two shy of the NCAA record of 53, set by Kentucky against Southwest Louisiana in 1989.

Brian Mahoney’s debut as coach of St. John’s was a success as the Redmen beat St. Francis, 101-68, at New York in the opening round of the Lapchick Memorial Tournament. The Redmen, who have won each of the 17 tournaments they have hosted, will meet Iona in tonight’s championship game. . . . Sean Gipson scored 23 points to lead Louisiana State to an 83-72 victory over McNeese State at Baton Rouge, La.

Terrence Rencher scored 28 points as Texas set a school record for points on the road in a 136-97 victory over Oral Roberts at Tulsa, Okla. The previous Texas record also came at Oral Roberts, a 119-91 victory in 1989. . . . Lawrence Funderburke scored 23 points, including seven during a 20-8 run in the second half, as Ohio State held off Ohio University for a 77-61 victory at Columbus.

Bryant Reeves established career highs with 29 points and 13 rebounds in leading Oklahoma State to an 86-74 victory over Midwestern State at Stillwater, Okla.