CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Kofi Cockburn scored 21 points with 11 rebounds, and Alfonso Plummer and Jacob Grandison combined for nine of a program-record 18 3-pointers and 37 points in Illinois’ 106-48 win over St. Francis (Pennsylvania). Cockburn made 9 of 11 shots with four dunks and brought an intimidating defensive presence inside against the Red Storm. His double-double was the 34th in his career. Ronell Giles Jr. scored 16 points, Myles Thompson 12, and Ramiir Dixon-Conover 10 for St. Francis, which shot only 26%.
Also in Illinois:
NORMAL, Ill. (AP) — Josiah Strong scored 23 points, making six 3-pointers, Antonio Reeves scored 17 points and Illinois State blasted Ball State 85-64. Sy Chatman added 10 points for the Redbirds (7-5). Kendall Lewis had nine points and nine rebounds. Mark Freeman had six assists. Tyler Cochran scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench for Ball State (4-6). Payton Sparks added eight points.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Alexis Morris scored 17 points, Faustine Aifuwa had a double-double, and No. 22 LSU rolled to its eighth-straight win, 77-51 over Bradley. Aifuwa had 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who were just 1 of 14 from 3-point range but shot 31 of 58 inside the arc. Caroline Waite scored 14 points to lead the Braves. Bradley missed its first three shots, had six turnovers, and fell behind 13-0. LSU scored the last eight points of the first quarter to lead 28-10 and ran that run to 20 for a 40-10 lead midway through the second quarter.
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Ja’Shon Henry had 18 points to lead five in double figures as Bradley edged past Saint Joseph’s 77-73. Malevy Leons added 14 points for the Braves. Terry Roberts chipped in 13, Jayson Kent scored 11 and Connor Hickman had 10. Roberts also had six assists. Taylor Funk had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks (6-5). Ejike Obinna added 13 points. Erik Reynolds II had 13 points. Jordan Hall had a career-high 12 assists plus 10 points and seven rebounds.
Elsewhere in college basketball:
— Kendall Brown and James Akinjo each scored 17 points and No. 1 Baylor defeated Oregon 78-70. Adam Flagler made five 3-pointers en route to 16 points for the Bears, who broke a 51-51 tie with 12 straight points in the second half.
— No. 2 Duke beat last-minute replacement Elon 87-56 after two different opponents bowed out due to COVID-19 issues. The Blue Devils led 44-26 by halftime and never trailed. Duke’s Trevor Keels had a game-high 19 points, while Paolo Banchero had 12 points and nine rebounds.
— Jaden Ivey scored 22 points and Zach Edey finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 3 Purdue rout Butler 77-48 in the Crossroads Classic. The Boilermakers rebounded from their roughest week of the season with perhaps their most impressive win this year.
— Andrew Nembhard scored 16 points, Rahir Bolton added 15 and No. 5 Gonzaga outlasted No. 25 Texas Tech 69-55 in the Colangelo Classic. The Red Raiders collapsed in on Gonzaga big man Drew Timme (TIH’-mee), holding the preseason All-American to seven points on 2-of-4 shooting, but the Zags overcame it by hitting 13 3-pointers — five by Bolton.
— Keon Ellis had 20 points and 10 rebounds, giving No. 6 Alabama’s sputtering offense just enough to beat Jacksonville State 65-59. Ellis hit four of Alabama’s eight 3-pointers and also had three assists.
— Remy Martin hit a 3-pointer with one minute to go to extend a three-point lead and help No. 7 Kansas over Stephen F. Austin 80-72. Christian Braun scored a game-high 21 points, Ochai Agbaji had 18, Martin contributed 15 and Jalen Wilson scored 10.
— No. 8 Arizona shook off a slow start to beat Cal Baptist 84-60. Azuolas Tubelis had 19 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 as the 11-0 Wildcats continued their best start since opening the 2014-15 season with 12 straight wins.
—Boogie Ellis scored 16 points, Drew Peterson added 14, and No. 10 Southern California overcame a shaky start to beat Georgia Tech 67-53 in the Colangelo Classic. The Trojans needed some time to solve Georgia Tech’s aggressive zone, relying on their defense early before pulling away from the Yellow Jackets.
— No. 13 Auburn overcame a 13-point deficit to beat Saint Louis 74-70. Walter Kessler scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and blocked four shots, and Wendell Green Jr. and Jabari Smith each scored 13 points.
— No. 14 Houston beat Oklahoma State 72-61 in the lone game of the scheduled Hoop Hype XL College Basketball Showcase doubleheader at Dickies Arena. Jamal Shead scored 18 points and Fabian White had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, who have won 10 of 12 games. The scheduled preceding game between No. 23 Colorado State and Tulsa was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within Colorado State’s team.
— No. 19 LSU rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Louisiana Tech 66-57. The teams swapped the lead five times with seven ties in the second half. After Tech tied it at 57, Tari Eason’s 3-pointer put the Tigers ahead for good with 2:28 left. He finished with 21 points.
— Providence went on the road and beat No. 20 UConn 57-53 in the Big East opener for both teams. A.J. Reeves scored 16 points, Ed Croswell had 11 and Nate Watson added 10 for the Friars (11-1), who led by as many as 16 points in the second half but had to hold on at the end.
— No. 21 Kentucky beat North Carolina 98-69 in the CBS Sports Classic. Sahvir Wheeler scored 26 points, shooting a season-best 80% from the floor. He was one of four Wildcats to score in double figures in Kentucky’s first victory away from Rupp Arena.
— Dwon Odom scored a career-high 19 points and Nate Johnson added 17 to lift No. 22 Xavier over Marquette, 80-71, in their Big East Conference openers. Jack Nunge had 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Xavier, which has won seven straight.
— Former Arkansas big man Abayomi Iyiola scored 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Hofstra beat No. 24 Arkansas 89-81. Hofstra was up 40-32 at the half and didn’t relinquish the lead in the second half.
