College basketball: No. 1 Gonzaga beats No. 6 Kansas 102-90 in season opener

Drew Timme scored 25 points, Jalen Suggs added 24 and Corey Kispert had 23 to help No. 1 Gonzaga beat No. 6 Kansas 102-90 on Thursday in the season opener for both teams.

The Bulldogs built a double-digit lead in the first half at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off, then saw the Jayhawks tie it twice in the second half before putting them away. Gonzaga went on a 22-7 run to go up 96-78.

Suggs, who got in foul trouble in the first half, scored 17 of his 24 in the second half.

Marcus Garrett led Kansas with 22 points, and Ochai Agbaji added 17 points. Agbai picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half, which hurt the Jayhawks. When he left, Kansas trailed 70-67.

The Jayhawks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first half to tie it at 57.

On Friday, Gonzaga will play Auburn, and Kansas will face St. Joseph’s.

No. 8 Illinois 97, Chicago State 38

Ayo Dosunmu scored 22 points, freshman Andres Curbelo added 18 and Illinois routed Chicago State.

The Illini (2-0) scored the first nine points and led 47-17 at halftime. They will host Ohio in the third round of the multi-team event Friday before facing No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday.

Adam Miller added 15 points and Kofi Cockburn finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Illinois shot 60% from the field.

Xavier Johnson led Chicago State (0-2) with 10 points. Chicago State coach Lance Irvin has opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns. Assistant Rodell Davis is coaching the team in Irvin’s absence.

No. 15 West Virginia 78, VCU 66

Derek Culver had 23 points and 15 rebounds to help No. 15 West Virginia beat VCU 78-66 in the Bad Boys Mowers Crossover Classic semifinals.

West Virginia (2-0) will face Western Kentucky in the final Friday.

Culver rebounded from a seven-point game Wednesday night in the Mountaineers’ opening victory over South Dakota State, finishing two shy of his career high. He was 8 of 14 from the field.

Sean McNeil added 16 points, and Oscar Tshiebwe had 11 points and 16 rebounds.

Nah’Shon Hyland led the Rams (1-1) with 13 points.