College basketball: Short-handed Florida shocks No. 6 Tennessee

Florida guard Noah Locke works around Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi.

By Associated Press

Associated Press

Jan. 19, 2021 8:55 PM PT

Noah Locke scored 14 points, Tyree Appleby added 13 and short-handed Florida stunned No. 6 Tennessee 75-49 on Tuesday night

Tre Mann chipped in 12 points for the Gators, who got unexpected help from several bench guys to offset being without three of their best four players. Guard Scottie Lewis (COVID-19 protocols) and forward Colin Castleton (ankle) missed the game.

But forward Omar Payne, starting for the first time in nearly a year, finished with nine points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots for Florida (7-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference). Seldom-used subs Jason Jitoboh, Osayi Osifo, Niels Lane and Ques Glover also delivered quality minutes against the SEC’s top team.

The Volunteers (10-2, 4-2) had a woeful shooting performance and were equally ineffective on the other end. Tennessee shot 29% from the field and hit 3 of 18 from 3-point range. John Fulkerson led the Vols with 15 points, four rebounds and five assists.

The Gators outrebounded the Vols by eight and outscored them 42-22 in the paint. Tennessee’s 49 points were a season low.

No. 3 Villanova 76, Seton Hall 74

Cole Swider hit the winning free throw in the final seconds and Collin Gillespie scored 22 points to help Villanova beat Seton Hall, the Wildcats’ first game in 27 days.

The Wildcats (9-1, 4-0 Big East) withstood a scare to stay unbeaten in the Big East.

Jermaine Samuels scored 20 points for Villanova.

The Pirates (9-6, 6-3) were led in scoring by Sandro Mamukelashvili’s 23 points and 19 from Jared Rhoden.

No. 7 Michigan 87, Maryland 63

Mike Smith made three early 3-pointers as Michigan raced to a 17-3 lead and cruised past Maryland.

Michigan made its first five 3s — Isaiah Livers had the other two — in an opening flurry that put the Wolverines (12-1, 7-1 Big Ten) in immediate control. Livers led Michigan with 20 points and Franz Wagner contributed 15. Smith had 11.

Maryland (8-7, 2-6) was led by Donta Scott’s 13 points.

Purdue 67, No. 15 Ohio State 65

Jaden Ivey scored 15 points and made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining, and Purdue rallied to beat Ohio State.

Trevion Williams scored 16 points for the surging Boilermakers (11-5, 6-3 Big Ten), who have won four straight, three of them on the road. Sasha Stefanovic also had 15 points.

Duane Washington Jr. led Ohio State (11-4, 5-4) with 21 points, shooting 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Justin Ahrens added 12 points for the Buckeyes, whose three-game winning streak ended.

No. 18 Alabama 105, LSU 75

John Petty scored 24 points on eight 3-pointers, and Alabama made a Southeastern Conference-record 23 shots from beyond the arc in beating LSU.

Petty was 8 of 10 from long range. Joshua Primo was 6 of 8 from deep and scored 22 points, and Jahvon Quinerly also scored 22 on 6-of-7 3-point shooting as the three players combined for all but three of Alabama’s 3-pointers. Herb Jones had 13 points while making just one 3 for the Crimson Tide (12-3, 7-0 SEC).

Cam Thomas led LSU (10-3, 5-2) with 21 points. Javonte Smart scored 12 points and Trendon Watford had 11.

No. 19 Missouri 81, South Carolina 70

Jeremiah Tilmon had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Missouri beat South Carolina.

Missouri (9-2, 3-2 SEC) had its best shooting performance overall at 58.3%. Mark Smith scored 18 points and went 3 for 5 from 3-point range. Dru Smith added 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Reserve Keyshawn Bryant scored 19 points for South Carolina (3-4, 1-2) and Trey Anderson had 17, also off the bench.