LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Keldon Johnson and Immanuel Quickley each scored 15 points, Nick Richards grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds and No. 2 Kentucky rallied in the second half to beat Southern Illinois 71-59 on Friday night.
The Wildcats (1-1) bounced back from Tuesday night's 118-84 shellacking by No. 4 Duke, but had to work hard in the second half to overcome the veteran Salukis.
Richards' rebounding provided the biggest lift as Kentucky dominated SIU 48-19 on the glass. He had as many boards as the Salukis' combined total, surpassing his previous best of 15 last season against Fort Wayne. The Wildcats also shot 47 percent after halftime and limited SIU to 1 of 7 shooting from long range.
Aaron Cook had 18 points and Kavion Pippen 16 for the Salukis (0-1), who opened against their first ranked team since No. 13 Illinois in 2010.
NO. 6 TENNESSEE 87, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 65
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Grant Williams scored 31 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and showcased his newfound 3-point range for Tennessee.
Williams shot 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, matching his 2017-18 season total for 3-pointers. He shot 11 of 15 overall and led five Tennessee players in double figures.
Admiral Schofield had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Tennessee (2-0). Kyle Alexander, Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden added 10 points each.
JaKeenan Gant scored 18 points, Marcus Stroman had 11 and Justin Miller added 10 for Louisiana-Lafayette (1-1).
NO. 8 NORTH CAROLINA 116, ELON 67
ELON, N.C. (AP) — Cameron Johnson and freshman Nassir Little scored 21 points apiece in North Carolina's rout.
Freshman Coby White added 14 points to help the Tar Heels (2-0) sweep their two-game, season-opening barnstorming tour of regional mid-majors
Sheldon Eberhardt scored 16 points, Steven Santa Ana added 14 and Tyler Seibring finished with 10 for the Phoenix (1-1). They haven't beaten North Carolina since 1918 and remained winless against Top 25 opponents since moving to Division I in the late 1990s.
NO. 22 CLEMSON N.C. CENTRAL 51
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — David Skara scored 16 points and Clemson opened with two straight wins for the 17th time in 18 years.
Aamir Simms had 14 points and Shelton Mitchell 11 for Clemson. The team's leading scorer last season, Marcquise Reed, was held to six points on 1-of-7 shooting. Clemson started the game by hitting its first eight shots against the Eagles (0-1).
Raasean Davis, the Eagles' leading scorer at 15 points per game last season, was held to four points on 2-of-5 shooting in the opening period.
He finished with 14 points, and Zaccary Douglas had 12.
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