Florida picks up where it left off

Top-ranked Florida opened this season much like it finished the last one: running the court, creating easy baskets and dominating another opponent.

Once again, Joakim Noah was at the center of it all.

Noah scored 11 points, tied a career high with 15 rebounds and added six assists and four blocks as the defending national champions began their bid to repeat with a 79-54 victory over Samford on Friday night at Gainesville, Fla.

The Gators won their 16th consecutive opener and improved to 11-0 on opening night under Coach Billy Donovan.

No. 7 Ohio State 107, Virginia Military 69 -- The Buckeyes opened the season with a record-setting victory in the opening round of the BCA Classic. The 107 points was an Ohio State record at Value City Arena, breaking by three points the mark set a year ago in a victory over Penn State.

No. 11 Alabama 96, Jackson State 65 -- Trey Jackson, the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s preseason player of the year, scored 36 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Tigers at Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Crimson Tide never trailed.

No. 13 Texas A&M; 81, Prairie View 49 -- The Aggies, who entered the season ranked for the first time since 1980, won their seventh consecutive home opener. They led by as many as 35 points in the second half and the Panthers didn’t get within 30 points the rest of the way.

No. 15 Boston College 86, New Hampshire 47 -- The visiting Wildcats led, 11-8, before the Eagles scored 22 of the next 25 points to put the game out of reach midway through the first half. Boston College won its opener for the 32nd time in 34 years.

No. 16 Marquette 76, Hillsdale 66 -- The Golden Eagles pulled away with a 12-2 run started by Dan Fitzgerald’s three-point basket and finished by Jamil Lott’s four points that gave them a 72-60 lead with 1:08 left to play at Milwaukee.

No. 18 Connecticut 53, Quinnipiac 46 -- The host Huskies saw a 35-16 halftime lead shrink to 39-33 as the Bobcats went on a 17-4 run to open the second half.

When Adam Gonzalez made a three-point basket with only 2:33 to play, Quinnipiac was within two at 48-46. But sophomore Craig Austrie made a three-point basket, and the Huskies’ defense didn’t give up another basket.

No. 20 Syracuse 83, St. Francis, N.Y. 51 -- After missing eight of its first 11 shots, the host Orange finally got untracked when Josh Wright made a driving layup to start a 15-1 run that gave it a commanding lead it never squandered.

No. 21 Texas 92, Chicago State 66 -- A.J. Abrams scored 28 points, including eight three-point baskets, to lead the Longhorns in the Austin regional championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.

No. 23 Georgia Tech 83, Elon 49 -- Freshmen Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young had impressive debuts, combining for 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead the Yellow Jackets at Atlanta.

No. 24 Nevada 85, Alaska Anchorage 72 -- Senior forward Nick Fazekas had 29 points and 10 rebounds in only 21 minutes to lead the Wolf Pack over the visiting Seawolves.

Nevada, which went on a 17-0 run early in the second half to take control, is 46-5 at home since the start of the 2003-04 season.

No. 25 Tennessee 83, Middle Tennessee 52 -- The host Volunteers built a 22-point lead three minutes after halftime on a basket credited to Dane Bradshaw on a goaltending call. The Blue Raiders scored only two baskets in the final five minutes.

OTHER GAMES

Gonzaga defeated local rival Eastern Washington, 90-75, to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 41 games. The Bulldogs beat the Eagles for the 21st consecutive time since 1990.... Brandon Heath stole a pass in the final seconds then made a three-point basket from inside the half-court line at the buzzer, lifting San Diego State to an 87-84 win over Murray State in the first round of the Shamrock Invitational at Moraga, Calif.... Freshman Tajuan Porter had a game-high 27 points to lead Oregon to a 77-65 win over Lehigh in the Basketball Travelers Classic at Eugene, Ore.... Derrick Low scored 28 points to help Washington State defeat Alabama Birmingham, 71-60, at Milwaukee in a matchup of teams opening the season with new coaches -- Tony Bennett for Washington State and Mike Davis for Alabama Birmingham.... Marcel Jones scored 25 points to lead Oregon State to a 65-48 victory over Portland in the Oregon Rain Invitational at Corvallis.... Engin Atsur helped make Sidney Lowe’s coaching debut with North Carolina State a success by making a go-ahead layup in the final minute at Raleigh, N.C., as the Wolfpack beat Wofford, 92-88.