No. 4 North Carolina Is Upset

Travis Niesen scored 26 points and Kyle Bailey made three second-half three-point baskets, and Santa Clara spoiled No. 4 North Carolina’s season opener, 77-66, Friday night in the Pete Newell Challenge at Oakland.

The cold-shooting Tar Heels lost a season opener for only the fifth time since 1930 and will certainly lose their highest preseason ranking in seven years.

Sean May had 19 points and nine rebounds in North Carolina’s first game on the West Coast in four years and the first meeting between the schools since Michael Jordan’s days. Rashad McCants scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half before fouling out in the final minute.

North Carolina shot 37% from the field and was 14 for 24 from the free-throw line.

Bailey finished with 20 points for Santa Clara (3-1), which already played three games in the NABC Classic last week, including a 34-point loss to host New Mexico.

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No. 1 Kansas 69, Vermont 61 -- Wayne Simien had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and the Jayhawks pulled away in the last two minutes at Lawrence, Kan.

The Jayhawks, who haven’t started a season No. 1 since 1956-57, trailed the underdog Catamounts, 58-54, when Taylor Coppenrath hit a short jumper with 4:24 left.

Christian Moody, a walk-on starter, made two free throws to give Kansas a 61-59 lead with 2:49 left and start a 9-2 run that extinguished Vermont’s bid for what would have been one of the great upsets in school history.

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No. 3 Georgia Tech 74, Alabama State 37 -- Jarrett Jack scored 20 points and the Yellow Jackets held the Hornets scoreless for more than nine minutes at the start in Atlanta. Alabama State made only 13 of 51 from the field (25.5%).

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No. 5 Syracuse 77, No. 24 Memphis 62 -- Hakim Warrick had 25 points, and Gerry McNamara had 21 to lead the Orange in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at New York. Rodney Carney had 20 points in the first half for Memphis but only five in the second half.

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No. 6 Illinois 87, Delaware State 67 -- Dee Brown scored 17 points, including four three-pointers, to lead the Illini to a season-opening victory at Champaign, Ill. Brown scored five straight points to key an 11-0 first-half run.

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No. 7 Oklahoma State 91, Northwestern State 53 -- John Lucas scored 24 points and Joey Graham had 18 to lead the Cowboys at Stillwater, Okla. It was the Cowboys’ fifth straight win over the Demons.

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No. 12 Mississippi State 67, St. Mary’s 54 -- Lawrence Roberts scored 20 points to lead the Bulldogs in the third-place game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at New York. Mississippi State closed the first half with a 13-5 run and opened the second half with a 14-3 run.

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No. 13 Michigan State 104, Florida A&M; 72 -- Kelvin Torbert scored 21 points at East Lansing, Mich., and the Spartans won their 28th consecutive season opener. Maurice Ager had 20 points for the Spartans as six Michigan State players reached double figures.

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No. 15 Maryland 93, Jackson State 57 -- Travis Garrison scored a career-high 21 points and the Terrapins pulled away in the second half at College Park, Md. Ekene Ibekwe had a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds for Maryland.

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No. 16 Texas 95, Texas State 63 -- P.J. Tucker scored 18 points to lead the Longhorns to a season-opening win at Austin, Texas. Brad Buckman and Kenton Paulino each scored 13 for Texas, which had six players in double figures.

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No. 18 Alabama 97, Western Carolina 66 -- Kennedy Winston scored 24 points to lead the Crimson Tide at Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama led, 49-28, at halftime and its biggest lead was 85-47 with 8:42 left.

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No. 19 North Carolina State 100, East Carolina 66 -- Tony Bethel made his first five shots -- including four three-pointers -- and scored 22 points to lead the Wolfpack in the championship game of the BCA Invitational at Raleigh, N.C.

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No. 20 Notre Dame 66, Harvard 59 -- Chris Quinn scored 20 points and Chris Thomas had 17 as the Irish won after nearly blowing an 18-point lead at South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame made seven of 10 free throws down the stretch to clinch it.

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No. 22 Washington 89, Seattle Pacific 71 -- Brandon Roy scored 23 points and Nate Robinson had 22 to lead the Huskies at Seattle.

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No. 23 Florida 81, Jacksonville 59 -- Anthony Roberson scored 19 points, David Lee had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the Gators cruised at Jacksonville, Fla. Florida has won 14 consecutive season openers and extended its winning streak against in-state opponents to 24.

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No. 25 Gonzaga 98, Portland State 80 -- Ronny Turiaf scored a career-high 33 points and the Zags shot 65% from the field in a victory at Spokane, Wash.

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OTHERS

Oregon State 65, Elon 55 -- Sasa Cuic scored 22 points to lead the Beavers in the third-place game of the BCA Invitational at Raleigh, N.C.

Auburn 80, Temple 78 -- Ian Young made the winning three-pointer with 12 seconds left -- one of a team-record 18 -- in a victory at Philadelphia.

Utah 72, Stony Brook 63 -- Andrew Bogut scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Utes at Salt Lake City in the debut of Coach Ray Giacoletti.

Michigan 70, Sacramento State 49 -- Courtney Sims scored 17 points and Dion Harris had 14 to lead the Wolverines at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Miami (Ohio) 81, Purdue 71 -- Chet Mason scored 16, and Danny Horace had 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Redhawks at Oxford, Ohio.

Davidson 84, Missouri 81 -- Matt McKillop scored a career-high 28 points and the Wildcats nearly blew a 19-point lead at Columbia, Mo.