College basketball: No. 8 Michigan State outlasts No. 6 Duke; No. 8 Kansas edges No. 20 Kentucky

Rocket Watts scored 20 points and Julius Marble had a career-high 12 to help No. 8 Michigan State beat No. 6 Duke 75-69 on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic.

The Spartans (3-0) trailed by 10 early in the game but closed the first half with a 13-4 surge to take a 37-33 lead at halftime. Michigan State maintained control in the second half, leading by as many as 16.

The Blue Devils (1-1) rallied late and pulled within five in the final minute. Duke shot just 32% from the field and allowed five Spartans to score in double figures.

Joey Hauser had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan State. Aaron Henry had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks. Malik Hall added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Matthew Hurt had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Duke. Freshman Jalen Johnson was limited to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting, Jaemyn Brakefield added 11 points and Jordan Goldwire had 10.

No. 4 Wisconsin 82, Green Bay 42

Micah Potter scored 14 points, Tyler Wahl had 11 points and 15 rebounds, and Wisconsin breezed past Green Bay in Phoenix coach Will Ryan’s return to Madison.

Ryan is the son of former Badgers head coach Bo Ryan. Will Ryan and current Badgers coach Greg Gard worked together on Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin staff from 2002-07.

Aleem Ford and Nate Reuvers each scored 13 points for the Badgers (3-0), and Brad Davison added 10 points.

Josh Jefferson led Green Bay (0-2) with 12 points.

No. 7 Kansas 65, No. 20 Kentucky 62

Jalen Wilson scored 21 of his career-high 23 points in the second half and posted his first double-double to help Kansas get past Kentucky in the Champions Classic.

Wilson grabbed 10 rebounds as the Jayhawks (2-1) won their second straight since losing their opener to top-ranked Gonzaga. Ochai Agbaji had 17 points.

Kentucky (1-2) was led by Brandon Boston Jr. and Davion Mintz, who each scored 12.

Mintz had a chance to tie it with five seconds to go but his 3-pointer was off the mark and Kansas grabbed the rebound.

No. 9 Creighton 94, Omaha 67

Christian Bishop scored 18 points to lead Creighton in the rout of Omaha.

The Bluejays (2-0) shot 61% while bolting to a 50-26 halftime lead.

Denzel Mahoney, who sat out the opener because of COVID-19 issues, finished with 17 points, Antwann Jones scored 12, Marcus Zegarowski had 11 points and 11 assists, Damien Jefferson added 11 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner 10.

Marlon Ruffin scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and Matt Pile had a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Mavericks (1-3).

No. 12 Villanova 87, Hartford 53

Justin Moore led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points and Villanova bounced back from its first loss of the season to rout Hartford.

Eric Dixon had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (3-1), who had six players score in double figures.

The Wildcats, coming off an overtime loss to Virginia Tech, shot 52% from the floor and made 15 of their 37 3-point shots.

Traci Carter had 13 points and Austin Williams added 11 points for Hartford (0-2).

No. 15 Virginia 76, St. Francis (Pa.) 51

Jay Huff scored 13 points and Virginia rebounded from a stunning loss to San Francisco with a win over St. Francis (Pa.) .

Kadin Shedrick had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers (2-1), who won their 24th consecutive home opener. Sam Hauser added 11 points and Trey Murphy III had 10.

Bryce Laskey led the Red Flash (1-2) with 12 points and Mark Flagg had 11.

No. 17 Texas 66, Indiana 44

Matt Coleman III scored 16 points and Texas beat Indiana in the semifinals of the relocated Maui Invitational, reaching the tournament’s championship game for the first time.

Courtney Ramey added 13 points for the Longhorns (3-0), who locked down to force a rough offensive performance for the Hoosiers.

Texas will face No. 14 North Carolina in the title game on Wednesday.

Indiana shot just 24% and finished with more turnovers (14) than field goals (11).

Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 17 points to lead Indiana (2-1), which made 20 of 29 free throws in what amounted to its most reliable source of scoring.