College Basketball: No. 5 Gators Drop Third Straight

Gainesville, Fla. — Aundre Jackson scored 23 points, Cameron Krutwig added 14 and Loyola-Chicago stunned No. 5 Florida 63-59 on Wednesday night, handing the Gators a third consecutive loss.

Less than 48 hours after Florida coach Mike White said his team’s performance against rival Florida State was “the epitome of soft,” the Gators delivered another dud.

This one could knock them out of The Associated Press Top 25 next week, especially if they lose to 17th-ranked Cincinnati in New Jersey on Saturday. Arizona went from No. 2 to unranked earlier this season.

The Gators (5-3) shot 36.9 percent from the field, missed 17 of 19 3-point attempts and finished with seven assists.

The Ramblers (9-1) were much more efficient, shooting 52 percent from the field and making half their 12 shots from behind the arc.

No. 13 Xavier 96, Kent State 70

Cincinnati — Trevon Bluiett scored 26 points — the seventh time he’s had 20 this season — and Xavier took control with an 18-point run.

The Musketeers (8-1) built upon their impressive week. They beat No. 16 Baylor 76-63 last Tuesday at the Cintas Center. Four days later, they hosted crosstown rival Cincinnati, got ahead by 23 points and beat the then-No. 11 Bearcats 89-76.

No. 11 North Carolina 104 W. Carolina 61

Chapel Hill, n.c. — Luke Maye had 12 points and 12 rebounds while No. 11 North Carolina hit a season-high 16 3-pointers to beat Western Carolina.

The Tar Heels (9-1) ran off 20 straight points during a 33-3 first-half run that put this one away early. UNC shot 57 percent and made 16 of 22 3-point attempts for the game, coming one shy of matching the program record for made 3s in a game.

Harvard 47, Fordham 45

New York — Seth Towns made a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to cap an 8-0 run and Harvard (4-6) edged Fordham.

George Washington 71, Princeton 60

Washington, d.c. — Jair Bolden scored a career-high 25 points, Yuta Watanabe added 13 and George Washington beat Princeton (2-6) for its third straight victory.

Providence 77, Brown 72 (ot)

Providence, r.i. — Rodney Bullock, Alpha Diallo and Makai Ashton-Langford combined to score 38 points after halftime as Providence (7-2) rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Brown (4-5) in overtime.

Women

No. 3 Notre Dame 90, Michigan St. 59

South Bend, Ind. — Arike Ogunbowale scored 23 points and Notre Dame beat Michigan State in its first home game in 25 days.

No. 11 Tennessee 131, Troy 69

Knoxville, Tenn. — Jaime Nared scored 20 of her 27 points in the first half, Tennessee set a record for points in a quarter and the Lady Vols had their highest point total of their storied history.

No. 12 Ohio State, 103 Florida 77

Gainesville, Fla. — Kelsey Mitchell became Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer in the first quarter as the Buckeyes beat Florida.

Mitchell, who leads the nation with 25.7 points per game, needed just eight points to tie the record and she broke it on a runner in the lane. She passed Jantel Lavender (2,818 points, 2008-11) of the Los Angeles Sparks.

No. 15 Maryland 97Mount St. Mary’s 57

College Park, Md. — Reserve Ieshia Small scored 21 points, three starters added 16 and Maryland rolled to its sixth straight win.

No. 21 Texas A&M 71, TCU 58

College Station, Texas — Freshman Chennedy Carter had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, Khaalia Hillsman added 22 points and Texas A&M beat TCU.

No. 22 Villanova 73Fairfield 44

Fairfield, Conn. — Adrianna Hahn made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, Bridget Herlihy added four 3s and a career-high 19 points and Villanova beat Fairfield.

No. 23 Green Bay 75, Dayton 64

Dayton, Ohio — Jessica Lindstrom had a career-high 29 points and 17 rebounds to help Green Bay beat Dayton.