Tyler Nickel hit eight 3-pointers on his way to 26 points Sunday as No. 13 Vanderbilt (12-0) posted a 98-67 win at Wake Forest (9-4).
Former James Madison coach Mark Byington’s team continued its surprise season as one of a handful of schools in the country that are still undefeated. Nickel, a former star for East Rockingham High in the Harrisonburg area, is averaging 14.4 points this season. He’s flourishing in his second year with Vandy more than he did last year or in his one season each with North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
Duke Miles had 17 points and nine assists, Tyler Harris scored 14 off the bench and Devin McGlockton and Tyler Tanner scored 11 each for Vanderbilt, which holds its highest in-season ranking since 1992-93.
Nickel had eight 3s for the second time in a three-game span. Myles Colvin led Wake Forest with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Juke Harris had 19 points.
NC State 76, Mississippi 62: Paul McNeil Jr. made six 3-pointers and scored 19 points for the Wolfpack (9-4) in Greensboro. McNeil took all 12 of his shots from behind the arc and added six rebounds.
Quadir Copeland totaled 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for NC State. Reserve Tre Holloman made three 3-pointers, also scoring 16. Ven-Allen Lubin scored 15 on 7-for-8 shooting.
Travis Perry led the Rebels (7-5) with 21 points, and Malik Dia totaled 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Pittsburgh 80, Penn State 46: Freshman Roman Siulepa scored a season-high 28 points as Pittsburgh cruised in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Siupela made 10 of 16 shots, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range, for the Panthers (7-6) in the first matchup between the teams since 2017.
Freddie Dilione V had 23 points and six rebounds for the Nittany Lions (8-4).
Clemson 68, Cincinnati 65: Dillon Hunter made two free throws with three seconds left for Clemson (10-3) at the Greenville Winter Invitational after the Tigers saw almost all of a 27-point lead evaporate. Day Day Thomas had 17 points and three steals to lead the Bearcats (7-5).
George Mason 86, Loyola Maryland 79: Kory Mincy scored 26 points, hitting 10 of 11 free throws, for the Patriots (11-1) in Fairfax. They used an 11-0 run for a 46-43 lead with 15:21 remaining and held on.
Jahari Long had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Riley Allenspach shot 7 of 11 to finish with 16 points.
Braeden Speed finished with 24 points and six assists for the Greyhounds (4-9). Jacob Theodosiou added 22 points and four assists.
Purdue Fort Wayne 72, Notre Dame 69: Corey Hadnot II scored 29 points as the Mastadons (8-6) upset the Fighting Irish (9-4) in South Bend, Indiana.
Hadnot made 10 of 16 shots with four 3-pointers and 5 of 6 free throws for the Mastodons, who entered the game 0-6 on the road and 0-7 all-time versus Notre Dame.
Mikale Stevenson scored 18 for Purdue Fort Wayne. Jalen Haralson totaled 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists to pace the Irish (9-4).
Braeden Shrewsberry hit a 3-pointer to get Notre Dame within a point with four seconds left, but the Mastodons’ Maximus Nelson made two free throws before Haralson missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Miami 105, North Florida 67: Tre Donaldson scored 21 points, Shelton Henderson added 20, and the host Hurricanes (11-2) had four more players score in double figures against the Ospreys (2-10). Malik Reneau scored 19 points, Tru Washington and Timotej Malovec 11 each and Salih Altuntas 10.
Ernest Udeh Jr. had 14 rebounds, and Donaldson contributed nine assists.
SMU 99, Central Arkansas 82: Boopie Miller scored 23 points, Jaron Pierre Jr. had 21 and Samet Yigitoglu added 14 points and 11 rebounds for SMU. B.J. Edwards added 17 points for the Mustangs (10-2), who remained unbeaten in eight home games after shooting 59%. Ty Robinson scored a career-high 28 points for Central Arkansas (5-8).
Navy 70, Rosemont 23: Donovan Draper had 15 points, six rebounds and three steals as Navy (8-5) beat the Division III Ravens (2-9) of Pennsylvania in Annapolis, Maryland.
Radford 97, VMI 90: Dennis Parker Jr. had 26 points and five rebounds as the Highlanders (6-8) won at home. Jaylon Johnson added 23 points and six steals.
TJ Johnson finished with 21 points for the Keydets (5-8). Tan Yildizoglu added 15 points, seven assists and two steals.
No. 2 Michigan 102, La Salle 50: Freshman Trey McKenney led a balanced attack with 17 points, and the Wolverines (11-0) also had four other players in double figures as they reached the 100-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games. Aday Mara had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Elliot Cadeau also scored 14.
Jaeden Marshall led the Explorers (4-9) with 15 points.
No. 5 Connecticut 72, DePaul 54: Alex Karaban scored 21 points in Chicago as the Huskies (12-1, 2-0 Big East) won their eighth game in a row. Playing without Solo Ball, a 15.4-points-per-game scorer who has a minor injury, UConn improved to 22-1 against DePaul.Layden Blocker had 11 points for the Blue Demons (8-5, 0-2).
No. 16 Alabama 92, Kennesaw State 81: Sophomore Aiden Sherrell scored a career-high 21 points for the Crimson Tide (9-3) against the Owls (8-4) in a neutral-site game in Huntsville, Alabama. It included a pro-Tide crowd and hosted a coming-out party for Sherrell.
The sophomore from Detroit scored 15 points in the first half and helped Alabama build a 26-point lead. Simeon Cottle scored 20 to lead the Owls.
No. 20 Tennessee 94, Gardner-Webb 52: Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 15 points and nine assists, Amaree Abrams scored 15 points and the Volunteers won in Knoxville. Jaylen Carey added 12 points for Tennessee (9-3), and DeWayne Brown II finished with 14 rebounds.
Curtis Williams led Gardner-Webb (2-13) with 14 points and DJ Jefferson had 13. He spent his first two years at Tennessee, then a season at Longwood, before landing with the Runnin’ Bulldogs.
No. 23 Florida 90, Colgate 60: Xaivian Lee scored 19 points, Thomas Haugh added 17 and the Gators (8-4) extended their home winning streak against nonconference opponents to 18 by defeating the Raiders (6-6), who hit 11 of 17 3-point tries. Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon chipped in double-doubles.
Olivier Rioux, 7-foot-9, the world’s tallest teenager, played the final 1:29 but didn’t score. Officials drew the biggest boos of the day when one called Rioux for a foul in the final minute.
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