Kingston Flemings puts up 22 points, Chris Cencac Jr. 18 as No. 1 Houston fends off No. 22 Auburn

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings scored 22 points, Chris Cenac Jr. had 18 points and nine rebounds and top-ranked Houston held on for a 73-72 victory over No. 22 Auburn on Sunday.

In a matchup of Final Four teams from last season, the Cougars (4-0) led throughout the second half, building multiple eight-point margins. Auburn (3-1) rallied behind a raucous neutral-site home crowd and had two chances to take the lead on the final possession. Two driving attempts by Tahaad Pettiford were nixed by Houston’s defense, including a block by Flemings. Auburn’s out-of-bounds lob play with 1 second left was batted away at the rim.

Keyshawn Hall led the Tigers with 20 points and 11 rebounds — his third consecutive double-double — though he made only 6 of 16 shots. He wasn’t around for the climactic possession. He injured his right foot after being fouled with 4:14 left. He sank two free throws before hobbling to the bench.

Steven Pearl lost his first game since taking over Auburn’s program after his father, Bruce, retired in September.

Pettiford scored 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting, while Auburn’s Kevin Overton scored 13 points.

Houston’s Emanuel Sharp added 13 points and Milos Uzan scored 11.

The Tigers held a massive edge in free-throw attempts, but didn’t fully capitalize, making 21 of 33 to the Cougars’ 10 of 12.

NO. 2 PURDUE 97, AKRON 79

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Trey Kaufman-Renn had 17 points and Oscar Cluff added 14 to power Purdue to a romp over Akron.

Kaufmann-Renn also had 15 rebounds while Cluff had 14 for the Boilermakers. Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer each scored 16 points and Omer Mayer had 14 points. Smith also had a team-high 10 assists while having an off-shooting night (4-of-12).

Purdue held a 45-26 rebounding edge, including a 19 offensive rebounds. That helped the Boilermakers to a 46-18 edge in points in the paint.

Tavari Johnson led the Zips with 20 points. Evan Mahaffey had 12 points and Eric Mahaffey 10 for Akron. Shammah Scott, who was averaging 14.3 points per game for Akron, was held to nine points on 4-of-13 shooting.

The Boilermakers sank 8 of 12 3-pointers en route to a 52-39 halftime lead. Purdue did struggle from 3-point line in the second half, making just 1 of 11.

NO. 10 FLORIDA 82, MIAMI 68

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Alex Condon scored 19 points, Thomas Haugh added 17 and Florida held on to beat rival Miami.

Condon and fellow big man Rueben Chinyelu fouled out with more than five minutes to play, but the Gators (3-1) had enough cushion to close it out with the two starters on the bench. It didn’t help that backup center Micah Handlogten took a shot to the head in the first half and did not return.

Chinyelu finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the defending national champion Gators (3-1), who swept in-state foes Florida State and Miami for the first time in two decades.

Condon did his part before fouling out. He made 8 of 12 shot. And after turning the ball over 13 times in Florida’s first three games, the 6-foot-11 Australian was determined to play cleaner and finished with just two giveaways.

Equally important for the Gators: they hit 9 of 29 from behind the arc. Urban Klavžar made four of those. Florida entered the weekend ranked 354th in the country (out of 355 teams) in 3-point shooting, hitting a paltry 21% from long range. Nine was their season high.