UNDATED (AP) — No. 19 Tennessee jumped to a double-digit lead to start the game and kept No. 6 Arizona at bay handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season, 77-73.
Tennessee hit 7 of its first 11 shots and opened the game with a 16-2 advantage in the first 5 minutes.
John Fulkerson scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds, while Santiago Vescovi had 15 for the 9-2 Vols.
Bennedict Mathurin had 14 of his 28 points in the first half. He was the only Arizona starter to score in the first 20 minutes as Tennessee took a 34-21 lead. Kerr Kriisa scored 11 for Arizona.
In other college basketball action:
— Paolo Banchero had 23 points and second-ranked Duke shot 62% after halftime to beat Virginia Tech 76-65 in the Blue Devils’ Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Banchero scored 17 points in that dominant second half, fueled by the move to a smaller lineup around the versatile 6-foot-10 star freshman. That helped Duke erase an eight-point deficit early in the second half and improve to 11-1.
— Wendell Green Jr. and Jabari Smith both had double-doubles and No. 12 Auburn beat Murray State 71-58 for its eighth straight win. Green had 13 points and a career-best 10 rebounds off the bench for the Tigers, while Smith had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. The 11-1 Tigers held Murray State to 28 points below its season average and out-rebounded the Racers 48-33.
— Josh Carlton scored a season-high 20 points, Kyler Edwards added 14 and No. 13 Houston defeated Texas State 80-47. Marcus Sasser had 13 points and Jamal Shead finished with 12 points and 10 assists as Houston moved to 11-2. The Cougars shot 55%, including 13 of 28 on 3-pointers, in winning for the seventh time in eight games.
— Dylan Disu scored 14 points and made three blocks and No. 16 Texas pulled away in the second half to defeat Alabama State 68-48. Marcus Carr scored 13 for Texas, Andrew Jones had 12 and Timmy Allen produced 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Gerald Liddell, a former Longhorn who transferred to South Alabama this season, led the Hornets with 16 points.
— Darius Days scored 21 points and No. 17 LSU stayed unbeaten with a 95-60 win over Lipscomb. Xavier Pinson scored a season-high 17 points for the 12-0 Tigers, who never trailed. Eric Gaines had a career-high 13 points, Brandon Murray and Efton Reid also had 13, and Mwani Wilkinson scored a season-high 11.
— Kellan Grady shot 6 of 9 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 23 points as No. 20 Kentucky stretched its home win streak to eight games, romping past Western Kentucky 95-60. TyTy Washington Jr. added 20 points and six assists for the Wildcats. Oscar Tshiebwe (SHEEB’-way) had 14 points and 28 rebounds for Kentucky.
— Kevin Obanor had 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists as No. 25 Texas Tech dominated Eastern Washington 78-46. Adonis Arms and Bryson Williams each had 12 points for the 9-2 Red Raiders. Kevin McCullar had 10 points and five assists. The Red Raiders played without starting guard Terrence Shannon, who missed his second game in a row because of back spasms. Rylan Bergersen had 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting for 6-6 Eastern Washington.
