Texas and Big 12 Basketball Capsules: Moore leads No. 1 UConn in rout of No. 10 Texas

SAN ANTONIO — Defending champion Connecticut arrived in San Antonio five months before the Final Four begins here.

But from the looks of it, the top-ranked Huskies are already playing like it’s April.

Maya Moore had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Connecticut had no trouble with what was supposed to be its first real test of the season, easily beating No. 10 Texas 83-58 on Tuesday night in yet another blowout during the Huskies’ 41-game winning streak.

Against ranked or unranked teams, whether in November or April, it hasn’t mattered in a long time for the Huskies. After winning by an average of 30 points last season, UConn dominated Texas after demolishing Northeastern 105-35 in its season opener.

"There are a lot of things that came out of tonight that were good for our team, things you’d like to know about your team but you wouldn’t find out unless you played a pretty good team on the road," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.

He added, "It was a good test for us."

If he says so.

Tina Charles added 15 points and 11 rebounds as UConn (2-0) never trailed in what was basically a home game for the Longhorns. But the defending champion Huskies looked far more comfortable.

The Huskies played like they’ll be coming back this way. All five starters for Connecticut were in double figures as it dismantled another opponent, after going unbeaten last season with 39 double-digit victories.

On Tuesday, they took command early against Texas and never let up.

Kathleen Nash led Texas (1-1) with 22 points. The Longhorns remained winless in five tries against UConn, and this 25-point loss was among the worst yet.

It stands second only to the 34-point defeat the Huskies handed Texas in the second round of the 2008 NCAA tournament.

"Their intensity was at another level," Nash said. "For a team to come out and play that hard for that long and just do every little thing right makes them a great team."

Kalana Greene scored 14 points, Caroline Doty had 13 and Tiffany Hayes added 10 for UConn, which shot 48 percent from the floor while holding Texas to 32 percent.

Tempting as it might seem for UConn to be already thinking about coming back to San Antonio next spring, Auriemma said he didn’t even discuss it with his players.

"I haven’t said anything, have I?" Auriemma said, sitting between Charles and Moore after the game.

Charles shook her head. So did Moore.

"What’s the point in talking about it all the time?" Auriemma said. "They know exactly what they’re playing for. They know exactly why were here. They know what the road looks like between now and then."

Although the final score would suggest otherwise, the game was actually the marquee draw of a doubleheader at the AT&T Center. The Final Four will be at the Alamodome.

Brittainey Raven had 14 points for the Longhorns.

"They had five starters in double figures," Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Great teams have great balance, and they do. Not only are they skilled, but they work harder than anyone else."

Griner double-double, no dunk in Baylor home debut

WACO — For Baylor freshman sensation Brittney Griner, every game is still a learning experience.

Two lessons learned in her first home game Tuesday night: use two hands and play under control more when in foul trouble.

Griner had 10 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks, but missed her only dunk attempt — a one-hander — and fouled out with 10 minutes left in the eighth-ranked Lady Bears’ 100-55 victory over Tennessee Tech.

"It just rolled out. I should have just went up with two hands and slammed it," Griner said of the dunk attempt. "I will have more opportunities."

When the 6-foot-8 Griner tried a right-handed slam just over 3 minutes into the second half, the ball caromed off the back of the rim. She got the ball right back and was fouled on a putback try, then made one of the free throws to put Baylor up 51-29.

The Lady Bears (1-1) had stretched the lead to 65-38 by time she fouled out with 10:10 left. Coach Kim Mulkey had purposely left Griner in after her fourth foul only 38 seconds earlier.

"It’s definitely a learning experience having three or four fouls and learning how to play with them," Griner said. "Luckily this game wasn’t possession by possession, and we had a good enough lead."

When Griner committed her fifth foul and went to the bench, Mulkey met her and tenderly spoke with her.

"Teaching her how to play in games, where she has three (fouls), making her stay in there when she has four so she will learn next time she’s in that situation," Mulkey said. "Can I stay in the game, can I have confidence in your as a coach that you won’t foul out and you’ll keep playing good defense? That was the whole purpose of leaving her in there."

While Baylor appeared to be trying to get the ball inside to Griner several times, she had a rough shooting night (3 of 9) and wasn’t able to get a dunk against the Golden Eagles (1-2), whose 10-player traveling squad consisted of seven freshmen and three sophomores — all of them at least eight inches shorter than Griner.

"We tried to double (Griner), and offensively, we tried to go at her to get her in foul trouble," first-year Tech coach Sytia Messer said. "We were pleased once she fouled out."

Jordan Madden, another of Baylor’s five freshmen, had 21 points to lead five Lady Bears in double figures. Ashley Field had 16 points, lone senior Morghan Medlock had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Shanay Washington had 10 points.

Krystal Stirrup led Tennessee Tech with 19 points.

The Golden Eagles’ only lead was 3-2 when Kylie Cook, who finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers, hit her first one on their opening shot of the game. Medlock’s two free throws put Baylor back ahead, and the Lady Bears had already stretched the lead to 22-10 when Madden hit a 3-pointer midway through the first half.

In her college debut Sunday in the Lady Bears’ 74-65 loss at sixth-ranked Tennessee, Griner had 15 points, four rebounds and four blocks and didn’t attempt a dunk.

She knows she is still adjusting to the college game.

"I got used to it in high school. It is the same thing, but it just more physical at the college level," Griner said. "I just have to keep working on it."

Griner became a YouTube sensation at Houston’s Nimitz High, where she had 52 dunks in 32 games as a senior last season and had as many as seven in a game. Only six women have dunked in college basketball, a total of 15 dunks.

The next chance for Griner to become the seventh is Sunday at 17th-ranked California.

-- Stephen Hawkins

No. 6 Tennessee blows out Texas Tech 91-53

SAN ANTONIO — Returning to San Antonio likely won’t be this easy for No. 6 Tennessee.

Taber Spani scored 18 points and Glory Johnson added 17 as the Lady Vols crushed Texas Tech 91-53 on Tuesday night in what Tennessee hopes will be the first of two trips to the Final Four city this season.

The road back is bound to be tougher: Tennessee opened the second half on a 32-4 run, held Texas Tech to 30 percent shooting and handed the game over to Spani and the rest of the Lady Vols bench early.

About the only thing giving the game a Final Four feel was defending national champion Connecticut watching nearby, waiting to play No. 10 Texas in the second game of a doubleheader.

"It gives (the players) a taste of what it’s all about," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said about playing in the San Antonio showcase. "Clearly, we all want to be back. It kind of whets your whistle a little bit."

Shekinna Stricklen scored 16 points for the Tennessee and Angie Bjorklund sank four 3-pointers to finish with 14. The mostly burnt-orange crowd here for the Longhorns took in a dominating preview of Tennessee, which will face Texas at home Dec. 6.

Kierra Mallard scored 15 points and was the only player in double figures for Texas Tech. The Lady Raiders have never beaten the Lady Vols in six tries.

Tennessee flirted with holding Texas Tech to a single-game school record for poor field percentage before the Lady Raiders scored 21 of their points in the final 10 minutes. Before then, Texas Tech was shooting just under 24 percent from the floor.

Like the three other teams in the AT&T Center for the doubleheader, Texas Tech was once a Final Four contender before longtime coach Marsha Sharp retired after the 2005-06 season. Coach Kristy Curry has been trying to get Texas Tech back on track since.

"This does not define our season," Curry said. "When you’re called for this opportunity, do you turn it down? No. You know this is the right step to take to get Tech back to where we want to be."

The Lady Vols have now opened the year with two wins over Big 12 teams after beating No. 8 Baylor on Sunday. They’ll play another pair of rank teams starting Sunday at No. 12 Virginia, then Nov. 25 at No. 24 Middle Tennessee.

Stricklen just wants to be back in Texas come April.

"As a team that’s our main goal — to come back here," Stricklen said. "Being here for the first time we really enjoyed it and we want to be back. We know what it takes to come back."

-- Paul J. Weber

State Men

Arizona State edges TCU 52-49 to advance in NIT

Coleman helps Houston trump Nicholls State 92-60

HOUSTON — Aubrey Coleman scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds Tuesday night in Houston’s season-opening trouncing of Nicholls State 92-60.

Coleman was 12-for-25 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers. It was the fourth time in his career he scored 30 points or more.

Teammate Kelvin Lewis went six-for-10 from the floor, sinking all four of his 3-point tries and scoring 18 points. The Cougars forced 21 turnovers.

Fred Hunter shot a little less than 60 percent for the Colonels (0-2) and scored a team-high 24 points. Philip Ward went seven-for-16 for 14 points.

Houston did better from 3-point range, sinking half of their 20 attempts. Nicholls State made just two of 11.

Top 25 Big 12 Men

Top-rank Jayhawks hold off Memphis 57-55

ST. LOUIS — Cole Aldrich had 18 points, 11 rebounds and blocked five shots, helping top-ranked Kansas overcome a sloppy night to hold off Memphis 57-55 in a rematch of the 2008 national championship game Tuesday.

Kansas (2-0) led most of the night despite 21 turnovers, but could never shake the scrappy and supposedly overmatched Tigers.

Memphis (1-1) closed within three on Doneal Mack’s 3-pointer with a minute left, then cut the lead to 56-55 on Elliot Williams’ long 3 with 16.7 seconds left.

Sherron Collins hit 1 of 2 free throws at the other end to give Memphis a final chance, but Williams’ contested 3-pointer clanged off the back iron.

Collins scored 12 points while struggling with leg cramps and former Memphis recruit Xavier Henry added 11.

Memphis wasn’t supposed to have much of a chance against the depth and talent of Kansas, and had a miserable night from 3-point range, hitting 6 of 25. The Tigers hung around with scrappy defense, keeping the score low and the Jayhawks within reach far longer than anyone expected against the nation’s top-ranked team.

Williams had 21 points to lead Memphis, 0-9 all-time against No. 1 teams.

The last time these teams played, it turned into one of the greatest games in Final Four history.

That was 18 months ago. These aren’t the same teams. Not even close.

Collins is the only major contributor left. Aldrich, despite outplaying North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough in the semifinals, logged four minutes in the final. The rest of the Jayhawks were either buried on the bench or watched it on TV.

Memphis’ Pierre Henderson-Niles, Willie Kemp and Mack played a combined seven minutes in the title game. None of the other Tigers were even on the roster.

Different teams, certainly a different feel.

The Tigers came out jittery, shooting airballs and wild 3-pointers that caromed high off the glass, getting their pockets picked from behind.

Kansas played out of control out of the gate, forcing up shots, turning it over on poor post entry passes and weak dribbles into the lane.

At the 15:55 mark, Kansas led 4-2.

Fed up with the foolishness, Kansas coach Bill Self yelled out to Collins: "1 game, get the ball to the big fella." The Jayhawks did and Aldrich hit a layup, then a rebound slam before sitting out the final 1:34 after picking up his second foul.

Kansas went right back to the big fella in the second half.

Tyshawn Taylor found Aldrich on an alley-oop to open the half and Collins set up another dunk on an over-the-top pass to the post. That seemed to jump start the Jayhawks, who finally pushed their lead to double digits, 38-28 on Henry’s fastbreak layup.

Aldrich added a dunk on a dish from Collins to put Kansas up 52-45 with just under 3 minutes left. He finished 7 for 10 from the field after taking just five shots against Hofstra on Friday.

-- John Marshall

No. 17 Sooners push past ULM 72-61

NORMAN, Okla. — A heralded class of freshmen made their presence known in Oklahoma’s season opener. Then it was time for their first lesson.

Willie Warren scored 24 points, Tony Crocker added 13 and the No. 17 Sooners notched the 1,500th win in the program’s history by beating Louisiana-Monroe 72-61 on Tuesday night.

But coach Jeff Capel was disappointed in the second game for a group of newcomers featuring the first tandem of McDonald’s All-Americans in school history.

"Sometimes when young people have success, they don’t understand that you need to try to have sustained success," Capel said. "It can’t just be one game with success and then you think you’ve arrived.

"And it’s not just our young (players). It’s everyone on our team. We have a long way to go as far as maturing."

The lack of maturity is to be expected for Oklahoma this season after the departure of national player of the year Blake Griffin and his older brother, Taylor, to the NBA. Half of the team’s eight-man rotation is made up of freshmen, and Warren is only a sophomore.

"It’s a great lesson for this team and especially our new guys to understand that you can’t just turn it on. We aren’t good enough to just turn it on," Capel said. "There are very few people in the world that are good enough to just turn it on — and usually guys that can and don’t do it."

Oklahoma (2-0) struggled early with ULM’s zone pressure, but eventually took the lead for good with a 9-0 run with about 14 minutes remaining.

Tony Hooper scored 17 points for the Warhawks (1-2) before fouling out with just under 5 minutes remaining. Rudy Turner had 12 points and Dynile Forbes 11. Forbes, who led the Warhawks with seven first-half points, had to sit out for 10 minutes after picking up his fourth foul early in the second half.

"I think the foul trouble hurt us all game. I guess I’ve got to do a better job of coaching our guys. It was 23 to 9 on fouls tonight. We’ve got to do a better job not fouling," ULM coach Orlando Early said.

"To go on the road and we shoot five free throws and they shoot 29 — but again, I guess we put our hands on them and we fouled them. We’ve got to do better at that."

Ryan Wright hit a pair of free throws to put Oklahoma ahead 40-39 with 13:52 to play, and the Sooners took advantage of Hooper’s brief rest to build on their lead. Freshman Steven Pledger hit a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to push the lead to eight before Hooper returned and immediately converted a three-point play.

Pledger answered with a 3 at the other end and Crocker added another off an inbound play with 3 seconds left on the shot clock to make it 53-42. Louisiana-Monroe never got closer than nine the rest of the way.

"We didn’t come out with the energy that we need to come out with. For what reason, I don’t know. It took us getting down and getting punched in the mouth for us to start finally punching back," Capel said.

Freshman Tiny Gallon had 10 rebounds, but the Sooners didn’t get nearly as much out of their new recruits as in their season opener. In a 95-71 win against Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday, Oklahoma’s four freshmen combined for 64 points. They had 20 on Tuesday night.

Instead, Capel credited one of the few veterans — junior Cade Davis — with providing the burst of energy the Sooners needed to pull ahead.

"He’s mature and he’s into the team. We don’t have everyone like that right now. We need everyone like that, and it may be me removing some guys that can’t do that," Capel said.

Oklahoma scored the first five points of the game, but then yielded an 11-0 run sparked by three straight turnovers by Gallon, a McDonald’s All-American. Forbes pushed ULM’s lead to 16-8 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 9:48 left in the first half.

By then, the Sooners had already committed eight turnovers.

"You practice the way you play, and we turned the ball over consistently the day before and it showed up today in the game," Warren said.

Oklahoma pulled back ahead on Warren’s reverse layup that made it 23-22 with 1:37 left before halftime. The Warhawks, who added seven new players this season after back-to-back 10-win seasons, took their only lead of the second half on Jarvis Hill’s double-pump layup from the right block that made it 39-38.

"We have to trust more. That’s a big thing," Capel said. "Collectively as a group, I think some guys trust some guys but we have to trust each other all the time out there on the floor.

"That’s part of the maturing process and the growing process."

-- Jeff Latzke

Big 12 Men

Bowers leads Missouri over UT-Martin, 83-68

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Frontcourt scoring was supposed to be Missouri’s question mark. In the Tigers’ regular-season opener on Tuesday night, it was more like an exclamation point.

Forward Laurence Bowers came off the bench to score 16 points and Keith Ramsey added a career-high 15 as Missouri rolled to an 83-68 victory over Tennessee-Martin.

After losing forwards DeMarre Carroll (16.6 points a game in 2008-09) and Leo Lyons (14.6) from a squad that finished one game from the Final Four, Missouri (1-0) needed contributions from such players as Bowers and Steve Moore, both sophomores, and Ramsey, a senior. None of them averaged more than 14 minutes last year.

It appeared Tuesday that they were ready to assume the responsibility. Bowers, who last year was known more for his explosive dunking than all-around play, had a career-high eight rebounds and blocked four shots.

"I came into this year trying to be an all-around guy," Bowers said. "I didn’t want to base my game on offense or highlight plays."

Missouri coach Mike Anderson said of Bowers, "He’s not just a dunker anymore. People are going to have to guard him."

The 6-foot-9 Moore dropped 40 pounds during the off-season to get down to a listed weight of 264. He had a career-high seven points in 18 minutes.

"I can compete (more) this year versus last year," Moore said. "I was a lot heavier. I’m a hundred times more ready."

The Tigers had 45 points off the bench.

"I think it was a team effort," Anderson said. "They all really wear and tear."

UT-Martin (0-2) kept the game somewhat close in the first half, trailing by 12 at halftime thanks in part to 13 points from junior Benzor Simmons, who finished with a game-high 30. But with only eight players dressed, the Skyhawks wore down, committing 23 turnovers.

Junior guard Reuben Clayton, UT-Martin’s leading scorer in its opener against Southern Illinois, was not in uniform. Neither was top returning scorer Marquis Weddle, who is ineligible until at least Christmas.

"We just got worn down," first-year Skyhawks coach Jason James said. "We couldn’t run guys in like we wanted to, and as they kept pressing, our guys got tired."

Missouri got 10 points from sophomore Marcus Denmon and seven from highly-touted freshman Michael Dixon.

The Tigers had a scary moment when senior guard and 2008-09 Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year J.T. Tiller left the game after a hard foul from 6-foot-10 Skyhawks center Dominique Mpondo with 17:28 remaining.

Tiller suffered a sprained left foot and will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

"He does so much for our basketball team," Anderson said. "It was very evident that he was not on the floor."

Missouri’s Tiller leaves game with injury

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri guard J.T. Tiller, the 2009 Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, left the Tigers’ season opener against Tennessee-Martin on Tuesday night with an apparent left leg injury.

Tiller, a senior, was hurt early in the second half. He walked to the locker room under his own power, but did not return.

The injury occurred when the 6-foot-3 Tiller went up for a shot in the lane and was fouled by 6-10 center Dominique Mpondo with 17:28 remaining.

The Marietta, Ga., native averaged 8.4 points and led the team in assists (3.6) and steals (1.8) last season.

Missouri adds coveted hoops recruit for 2010-11

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Top basketball recruit Tony Mitchell of Dallas will join the Missouri Tigers next season.

The university announced Mitchell’s commitment Tuesday. He is considered one of the top 20 high school seniors and the highest-rated recruit to sign with Missouri in 15 years.

The 6-foot-8 forward will play this year for L.G. Pinkston High School in Texas after a junior season at Center of Life Academy in Miami.

He joins point guard Phil Pressey of Dallas, power forward Kadeem Green of Charlotte, N.C., and shooting guard Ricky Kreklow of Columbia in Missouri’s 2010 recruiting class.

Iowa State thumps Drake 90-70

DES MOINES, Iowa — The shot clock was winding down and Iowa State’s Lucca Staiger was 25 feet from the basket with a defender in his face.

Staiger put the ball on the floor, stepped back and chucked a high-arching fadeaway at the rim.

Like nearly everything else Staiger threw up against Drake on Tuesday night, it dropped straight through the net.

Staiger scored a career-high 32 points, including a school-record 10 3-pointers, and Iowa State defeated Drake 90-70 Tuesday night to snap a three-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.

"It’s a great feeling. That’s what’s fun about basketball," Staiger said.

Forward Craig Brackins added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the visiting Cyclones (3-0). Iowa State jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way, erasing some bad memories of their last trip to Des Moines.

The Cyclones suffered their worst loss ever at Drake, 79-44, in 2007. This time, Iowa State dominated its in-state rivals from the opening tip — thanks to the outside shooting of Staiger, the inside presence of Brackins and solid contributions from guards Scott Christopherson and Diante Garrett.

But this one belonged to Staiger.

The long-range shooter from Germany was inconsistent at times last season, but he was nearly unstoppable against the Bulldogs. That fadeaway 25-footer broke the team record of nine 3-pointers set by Dedric Willoughby against Kansas in 1997.

Staiger finished 10-of-16 from 3-point range.

"They had a lot of weapons working tonight. Staiger was pretty amazing," Drake coach Mark Phelps said.

Drake looked like it might make things interesting early in the second half, as Adam Templeton’s 3 brought the Bulldogs within 54-41. The Cyclones answered by going to Brackins, who poured in four quick buckets — including a mid-range jumper and a 3-point play through the lane — to give Iowa State a 71-46 lead with 11:15 left.

The Bulldogs crept back within 75-62, but Staiger answered with a pair of 3s to put the Cyclones ahead 81-64 with just over five minutes left.

Freshman Ben Simons had 24 points for Drake (0-2) and Ryan Wedel added 13. Bulldogs star Josh Young, who missed the opener with a hip injury, scored 11 points.

Iowa State outrebounded the Bulldogs 39-21, shot 56.3 percent from 3-point range and dished out 23 assists.

The Cyclones took control with a 31-14 run late in the first half, spreading the ball around to jump ahead by as much as 51-29.

Brackins converted a 3-point play to push the Cyclones lead to 11, and Jamie Vanderbeken’s layup put Iowa State ahead 42-24 with 4:22 left in the first half. Garrett followed with a floater, and Christopherson hit a 3 to put the Cyclones ahead by 22 with 45 seconds left in the first half.

Staiger opened the game with four 3-pointers in the first six minutes, and he caught the Bulldogs napping on the last one. Staiger threw a high inbounds pass to Garrett at the top of the key, cut across the paint while the Bulldogs were eyeing the ball and hit an uncontested 3.

Staiger said that play was a prime example of the chemistry he and Garrett, Iowa State’s point guard, have developed in their second season playing together.

"That’s a play we could not have completed last year. That’s what makes it so much fun this year," Staiger said. "We know each other better now."

Christopherson had 15 points and Garrett, who seems to be settling into his role as a distributor, had 11 assists.

"I’ve got guys on the team that can shoot better than I can, so why not give it to them?" Garrett said.

Drake is now two seasons removed from winning the Missouri Valley Conference title, and the Bulldogs are in a major rebuilding mode with 10 newcomers on its roster.

"Their physicality and athleticism is much improved from last year," Phelps said. "That proved to be the difference certainly in a game where the most physical team would come out on top. It’s not surprising they were able to come in here and get a win."

-- Luke Meredith