CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Collin Dixon caught two touchdown passes including a record-breaker and Illinois used a trick play to set up its go-ahead TD as the Illini defeated Nebraska 24-13 to become bowl eligible with their fourth straight victory. Dixon’s 3- and 6-yard TD receptions gave him 12 for the year, breaking Illinois’ all-time single-season by two. He caught eight passes for 129 yards from Katin Houser, who was 22 of 36 through the air for 292 yards and three TDs. Nebraska (5-4, 2-4) lost its fourth straight. Anthony Colandrea was 32 of 43 for 284 yards and a TD to Jacory Brown Jr., who had six catches for 93 yards.
BOSTON (AP) — Braylon Mullins scored 23 points and connected on 10 of 11 free throws to help No. 4 UConn beat No. 16 Michigan 85-77 in a rematch of last season’s NCAA championship game. Silas Demary Jr. finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Colben Landrew added 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Huskies at TD Garden, home to the Boston Celtics. In last season’s title game, the Wolverines held off UConn 69-63 despite making only two 3-pointers. This time, Michigan again struggled from beyond the arc, going 7 of 28 against a Huskies team that led by 18 in the first half. Trey McKenney led the Wolverines with 22 points.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nikola Kusturica was flawless in the first half of UCLA's 114-63 win over North Florida. The 17-year-old freshman from Serbia scored 26 points, making every shot he took, and finished with 29 overall. He says seeing the first basket go in boosted his confidence. Kusturica credits teammates for helping him adjust to college basketball. UCLA coach Mick Cronin praised the newcomer's performance, noting his maturity. Kusturica finished with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in 23 minutes during the Bruins' home opener.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nikola Kusturica scored 26 of his 29 points in the first half on perfect shooting, leading No. 22 UCLA to a 114-63 rout of North Florida. The 17-year-old freshman from Serbia hit all nine shots from the floor and four from 3-point range in the half. UCLA turned a one-point deficit into a 52-20 halftime lead with a 35-point run. The Bruins continued their scoring spree after halftime, opening with a 17-4 run to lead by 45. They later went ahead by 58 points. UCLA improves to 2-0. North Florida fell to 1-1. The Ospreys were led by Kent Jackson with 11 points.
DENVER (AP) — Federal judges handed the NCAA a significant victory in its struggle to implement a new five-year eligibility ruling, though the win does nothing to tamp down dozens of similar lawsuits playing out in state courts across the country. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver reversed a lower-court decision that had granted players across the country who graduated high school in 2022 a fifth year of eligibility. That lower-court ruling had against the NCAA’s new rule that granted five years of eligibility to athletes starting in the next year’s class, though many of those players still found their way onto rosters thanks to favorable rulings in state courts.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Andrej Stojakovic scored 25 points and Quentin Coleman had 19, including 15 in the second half, to lead No. 3 Illinois to a 112-70 victory Thursday night over Penn. Zavier Zens had 18 points, Ethan Brown had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Lincoln Williams had 12 points and nine rebounds in his collegiate debut and Stefan Vaaks had 11 points for the Illini (2-0), who shot 59% from the field (43 of 73) and outrebounded Penn 62-33. Michael Zanoni scored 16 points for Penn (0-1) and Lucas Lueth had 14 points and three blocked shots.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Peyton McCollum scored 14 points and fellow reserve Ty’Reek Coleman scored 13 as Iowa’s bench alone outscored Eastern Illinois in a 91-47 victory. Backup Tre Thompson scored 11 points as the Hawkeyes bench scored 61 points. Tate Sage was the only Iowa starter in double-figures scoring with 10 points. Reserve Tanner Vogel scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Eastern Illinois. Isaia Howard threw down a dunk with 13:42 before halftime to give Iowa its first double-digit lead of the night at 20-10. By halftime the lead was 41-20. Iowa scored 50 in the second half on 65.4% shooting.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Jake West scored 23 points and Northwestern never trailed in a 78-65 victory over Stony Brook. West made 8 of 16 shots with four 3-pointers for the Wildcats (2-0), adding six assists. LA Pratt totaled 16 points and six rebounds for Northwestern, while Phoenix Gill came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers and score 14. Bryan Ndjonga had 19 points to lead the Seawolves (1-1). Ozgur Cengiz added 13 points and Morris Ugusuk scored 12. Colin Smith buried a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats up 15-2 less than four minutes in before cruising to halftime with a 44-30 lead.
