HOUSTON — Freshman Willie Warren scored a career-high 31 points and Blake Griffin added 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 4 Oklahoma over Rice 70-58 on Monday night.
Warren went 4-for-9 from 3-point range and Griffin notched his ninth double-double of the season for the Sooners (12-0), who matched the program’s best start since 1989-90.
The Sooners went 5-for-20 from 3-point range, shot 50 percent from the free throw line (17-of-34) and matched a season high with 17 turnovers.
Corey Pflieger had 17 points and Lawrence Ghoram added 16 for the Owls (4-7), who have lost their last 17 games against ranked opponents.
The Sooners broke a 46-all tie with a 14-2 run.
Top 25 men
No. 6 Wake Forest 95,
East Carolina 54
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Al-Farouq Aminu had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Wake Forest. Chas McFarland had 14 points for the Demon Deacons (11-0), who are off to their best start since winning the first 11 games of 2003-04. Wake Forest led by four points then opened the second half with a 15-3 run.
No. 8 Notre Dame 81,
Savannah St. 49
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Luke Harangody had 23 points and 13 rebounds in his worst shooting game of the season for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish (9-2) led 37-21 at halftime despite shooting 34 percent, their second worst shooting half this season.
No. 10 Purdue 70, IPFW 55
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — JaJuan Johnson had career highs of 21 points and nine rebounds and blocked three shots for Purdue. E’Twaun Moore scored 19 points and Marcus Green had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Boilermakers (10-2), who won their fifth straight.
No. 15 Ohio St. 83,
UNC-Asheville 59
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Freshman B.J. Mullens, getting the most playing time of his brief career, scored 19 points to lead Ohio State. The 7-foot Mullens had never played more than 20 minutes nor scored more than 11 points, but he was 8-of-11 from the field, including six dunks, and added eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
No. 17 Syracuse 82,
Coppin St. 71
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Andy Rautins equaled a school record with nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 29 points to lead Syracuse. It was the final nonconference game for the Orange (12-1), who begin Big East play at home next week against Seton Hall. Coppin State (1-8) lost its eighth straight road game and dropped to 0-22 against the Big East.
No. 18 Villanova 78, Navy 68
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Dante Cunningham had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Scottie Reynolds added 23 points for Villanova. Corey Stokes had 11 points and Antonio Pena contributed 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (11-1), who played their first game in eight days since winning at city rival La Salle on Dec. 14.
No. 21 Baylor 74, Hartford 59
WACO, Texas — Curtis Jerrells had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Baylor’s first triple-double since Brian Skinner of the Los Angeles Clippers had one on Dec. 29, 1995. Henry Dugat scored 16 points, Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn added 14 points each for Baylor (10-1).
No. 24 Michigan 76,
Florida-Gulf Coast 59
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — DeShawn Sims had 20 points and a career-high 20 rebounds to lead Michigan to its fourth straight victory. It was Michigan’s first 20-20 since Washington Wizards assistant coach Phil Hubbard had 22 points and 26 rebounds in a victory over Detroit in the 1977 NCAA tournament.
Note
Three newcomers in Top 25
Minnesota moved into The Associated Press’ college basketball poll Monday at No. 23, its first appearance in the rankings since December 2002.
The Golden Gophers, off to their best start since opening 11-0 in 1976-77, beat Louisville 70-64 on Saturday.
Also moving into the poll for the first time this season were No. 24 Michigan (8-2) — last ranked in February 2006 — and No. 25 Missouri (9-1), which returned to the poll for the first time since December 2003.
The top four teams in the poll held their places from last week.
North Carolina (11-0) was again a unanimous No. 1 as it has been since the preseason poll, receiving all 71 first-place votes from the national media panel.
Connecticut (10-0), Pittsburgh (12-0) and Oklahoma (11-0) remained second through fourth.
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