COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Virginia had blown most of a 17-point lead and appeared in trouble as the sellout crowd at Maryland implored the home team to complete the comeback.
The Cavaliers had been in this situation before, and they knew exactly how to handle it.
Showing the kind of poise befitting the fourth-ranked team in the country, the Cavaliers took good care of the basketball and exhibited cool at the foul line in slipping past the No. 24 Terrapins 76-71 Wednesday night.
Hitting shots from long range and playing its usual stout defense, Virginia (7-0) built a 48-31 lead with 16:29 left. Maryland (6-1) closed to 63-59 before Ty Jerome popped a 3-pointer and Jack Salt added a dunk, and the Cavaliers closed it out by making six free throws in the final 37 seconds.
With a roster that includes several returnees from a team that entered last season’s NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed, the Cavaliers are already battle-tested.
“We do a really good job of never really worrying or wavering from our ways,” said Kyle Guy, who scored 18 points. “So there was never any panic or anything like that. We just knew what we had to do to pull away a little bit more.”
Guy nailed five 3-pointers and the Cavaliers went 10 for 22 beyond the arc. Virginia committed only two turnovers — both offensive fouls — which speaks volumes about the Cavaliers’ ball-handling prowess.
“We lost to a great team tonight that played at a high level,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “Only two turnovers against us in this building, shot a great percentage from 3 and made a lot of tough shots.”
De’Andre Hunter scored 15 for Virginia, which improved to 121-35 in nonconference games under coach Tony Bennett. Virginia has won 25 straight in November, dating back to 2015.
Bruno Fernando had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 15 for the Terrapins, whose 35-23 rebounding advantage was offset by 14 turnovers.
“It just comes down to turnovers,” Turgeon lamented.
“We took care of the ball,” Bennett said. “Our ability to only have two turnovers and not give them any loose-ball or live-ball turnovers was a big story line.”
Maryland was, however, the first team this season to break the 60-point barrier against the Cavaliers, no small accomplishment for a team with six freshmen and four sophomores.
NO. 6 TENNESSEE 95, EASTERN KENTUCKY 67
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Grant Williams had 21 points and 11 rebounds as No. 6 Tennessee bounced back from its first loss of the season.
Tennessee (5-1) was playing for the first time since falling in overtime to No. 2 Kansas on Friday at the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York.
Eastern Kentucky (3-4) and Tennessee were tied 11-all seven minutes into the game before the Volunteers scored 13 straight points to pull ahead for good.
Admiral Schofield scored 20 points and shot 8 of 9 from the floor for Tennessee. Jordan Bone added 14 points and seven assists. Williams had five assists to go along with his double-double.
Nick Mayo led Eastern Kentucky with 23 points and nine rebounds.
NO. 7 MICHIGAN 84,
NO. 11 N. CAROLINA 67
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Charles Matthews had 21 points and seven rebounds, and Zavier Simpson spearheaded another impressive defensive effort by Michigan, which rolled past North Carolina.
Jordan Poole scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half for the Wolverines (7-0), who led 39-35 at halftime and then shut down the Tar Heels’ fast-paced offense for a while. North Carolina (6-2) came in averaging 96.6 points per game, but Michigan was allowing half that at 48.3. The Tar Heels ended up a good deal closer to the lower number.
Michigan outscored North Carolina 34-16 in the first 12:13 of the second half. At times, just getting a shot to the rim felt like an accomplishment for the Tar Heels. An alley-oop dunk by Jon Teske put the Wolverines up 49-39, causing North Carolina to take a timeout.
Luke Maye had 11 points and 15 rebounds for North Carolina.
NO. 8 AUBURN 99,
SAINT PETER’S 49
AUBURN, Ala. — Anfernee McLemore and Bryce Brown each scored 19 points as Auburn rolled past Saint Peter’s.
The Tigers (6-1) scored the game’s first 13 points and led by as many as 32 before halftime over the Peacocks (1-5), who have lost five straight.
McLemore tied a career-high in points and Auburn had five players score in double figures.
Austin Wiley had 16 points and nine rebounds. Malik Dunbar scored 14 off the bench, including four 3-pointers, and Chuma Okeke added 12. Okeke was 5-of-5 shooting.
Davauhnte Turner and KC Ndefo scored 12 points each for the Peacocks.
NO. 10 KENTUCKY 90, MONMOUTH 44
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tyler Herro had 16 points, Keldon Johnson added 15 and Kentucky cruised past Monmouth for its sixth straight victory.
The Wildcats (6-1) never trailed, though the winless Hawks (0-8) used a 12-5 spurt to get within 22-18. Kentucky took charge from there, closing the first half on a 22-4 run over 8:46 for a 44-22 halftime lead and stretching the lead to as many as 47 with 2:40 remaining.
Quade Green had four 3-pointers for 14 points, and Reid Travis scored 13 for the Wildcats.
Ray Salnave had 14 points for Monmouth, which shot just 2 of 16 from behind the arc.
NO. 15 FLORIDA St. 73, NO. 19 PURDUE 72
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Trent Forrest forced a turnover with 16 seconds left and drove the lane to hit a pull-up jumper with 5.2 seconds remaining as Florida State rallied to beat Purdue.
The basket was Forrest’s only one of the second half, but the defensie play was part of a critical sequence as the Seminoles (6-1) held on after Purdue led by eight points with 3:43 left.
Purdue (5-2) didn’t score after holding that eight-point lead. That included a pair of missed free-throw attempts by Carsen Edwards, who led the Boilermakers with 24 points on 7 of 19 shooting.
Ryan Cline added 21 points, including four 3-pointers after halftime, for Purdue.
M.J. Walker scored 13 points to lead the Seminoles.
SYRACUSE 72,
NO. 16 OHIO STATE 62
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tyus Battle scored 20 points and Elijah Hughes added 18 to help Syracuse upset Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Syracuse (4-2) won its second straight by shooting 49 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range.
C.J. Jackson had 19 points for Ohio State, and Kaleb Wesson contributed 13 for the Buckeyes (6-1).
