There were a few surprises in college basketball on Saturday, but plenty of ranked teams did survive, with a couple narrowly avoiding the upset bug. Duke, Oklahoma State, Memphis and UConn all fell, but Florida, Louisville and others restored order to the polls with hard-fought wins.
College basketball roundup: Florida rallies, Iowa State stays unbeaten
Florida and Louisville both survived scares, while UMass and Iowa State continued their surprising starts.
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Here’s a look at more of the action from around the country on Saturday:
No. 12 Florida 67 Richmond 58
The Gators used a 12-0 run late in the second half to take the lead for good and defeat the Spiders. Michael Frazier II had 18 points in the victory, including three second-half threes. Dorian Finney-Smith came off the bench to grab 13 rebounds to help Florida double up Richmond on the boards, 44-22. The win gave Florida 23 straight at home, but it did not come easy. Even after reclaiming the lead, the Gators struggled to seal the game, missing six free throws in the final minute. The Gators start SEC play on Wednesday with a home game against South Carolina.
No. 13 Iowa State 73 Texas Tech 62
Of the remaining undefeated teams, Iowa State might be the most unlikely. The Cyclones tied a school record with their 13th straight victory, this one coming on the road to open Big 12 play. Georges Niang had 17 points and played 38 minutes, while Melvin Ejim added 16 more. DeAndre Kane had 15 points, six assists and four steals. Iowa State will face its biggest test of the season so far when it hosts No. 9 Baylor on Tuesday.
No. 14 Louisville 83 Rutgers 76
With the game on the line, Russ Smith scored 15 of Louisville's final 23 points to help the Cardinals outlast Rutgers at the RAC. The Cardinals also shot 41-for-46 from the foul line with Smith and Luke Hancock combining to shoot 24-for-26 from the charity stripe. Louisville has now beaten Rutgers 12 times in their last 13 meetings and improved to 2-0 in AAC play.
No. 23 Massachusetts 73 Miami (Ohio) 65
Chaz Williams had 18 points and eight assists to lead four Minutemen in double figures, as UMass improved to 12-1 with Atlantic 10 play on the horizon. The Minutemen shot 51 percent for the game, which helped counteract a 34-27 disadvantage on the glass. Will Felder had 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting to lead Miami, but the RedHawks were just 1-for-14 from three in the game.
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