UNDATED (AP) — Bill Self and Rick Pitino have been college basketball head coaches for decades, but they had never squared off until Sunday.
Self got the better of Pitino as Christian Braun had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead fourth-ranked Kansas to a 96-83 win over Iona at the ESPN Events Invitational. Ochai Agbaji added 17 points for Kansas, which was coming off its first loss of the season, 74-73 to Dayton on a buzzer-beater.
In other Top 25 men’s action:
— Collin Gillespie scored 13 points in a balanced team effort, and No. 7 Villanova hammered La Salle 72-46. Brandon Slater added 12 points and Caleb Daniels and Eric Dixon each had 11 for the 4-2 Wildcats, who played for the first time since a Nov. 21 loss to No. 3 Purdue.
— Keon Ellis had 22 points, Jaden Shackelford contributed 15 and No. 10 Alabama defeated Miami 96-64 in the fifth-place game at the ESPN Events Invitational. The 6-1 Crimson Tide also got 13 points each from JD Davison and Juwan Gary in their second straight victory since a loss to Iona in the tournament opener.
— JD Notae scored 28 points and No. 13 Arkansas handled Pennsylvania 76-60. Stanley Umude had 19 points and Au’Diese Toney scored 12 for the 6-0 Razorbacks.
— Jared Rhoden scored 18 points and Alexis Yetna added 14 points with 13 rebounds as No. 21 Seton Hall toppled Bethune-Cookman, 84-70. Bethune-Cookman had a one-point lead at halftime, but Rhoden’s jumper a minute into the second half started a 9-0 before the Pirates stretched their lead to 23.
— Myreon Jones and Tyree Appleby scored 12 points apiece and No. 23 Florida remained unbeaten with an 84-45 rout of Troy. Gators leading scorer Colin Castleton finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
