Top 25 roundup: No. 14 FAU gets by No. 4 Arizona in 2-OT thriller

Field Level Media|published: Sat 23rd December, 20:35 2023

Dec 5, 2023; New York, New York, USA; Florida Atlantic Owls head coach Dusty May coaches against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Madison Square Garden. credits: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Johnell Davis scored a season-high 35 points, and Caleb Love's last-possession 3-pointer rattled out, as No. 14 Florida Atlantic won one of its biggest regular-season games in school history, knocking off No. 4 Arizona 96-95 in double overtime on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Davis made 15 of 27 shots for FAU (10-2), which is coming off a Final Four run but was in rare air with this kind of marquee showdown between highly ranked teams. Arizona (9-2) had a chance to win at the end, but Love, who scored a team-best 26 points, missed from about 25 feet.

Davis hit a series of big buckets in a game that had a late-March electricity to it, but it was Giancarlo Rosado who provided the winning margin when he hit 1 of 2 free throws with 57.2 seconds left after being fouled while shooting with one second remaining on the shot clock.

On the ensuing possession, Love missed a reverse layup and Oumar Ballo (13 points, 21 rebounds) failed to convert the tip, but the Wildcats got one more chance to win at T-Mobile Arena after Alijah Martin missed a 3-pointer for the Owls. Arizona called timeout with 6.7 seconds left to set up the final shot.

No. 23 Memphis 77, Vanderbilt 75

The Tigers, led by 28 points and nine rebounds from David Jones, came from behind to knock off the visiting Commodores.

Memphis (10-2) trailed by eight, 62-54, with 8:21 remaining in the second half, but its ensuing 12-0 run keyed the team's fifth win in a row. Jahvon Quinerly scored 13 points and led the Tigers with four assists.

Vanderbilt (4-8) shot 42.9 percent from the field to Memphis' 38.2 percent, but the Commodores turned it over 17 times. The Tigers had nine turnovers. Ezra Manjon led Vanderbilt with 22 points with Tyrin Lawrence, Jason Rivera-Torres and Tasos Kamateros each adding 12.

No. 25 Ole Miss 89, Southern Miss 72

Matthew Murrell scored 26 points and Jaylen Murray added 21 to help the Rebels record a win over the Golden Eagles in Biloxi, Miss.

Jaemyn Brakefield scored 15 points and Allen Flanigan added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Ole Miss (12-0), which took a 19-point lead late in the first half and never let the margin fall into single digits after that.

Cobie Montgomery scored 15 points and Andre Curbelo, Victor Iwuakor and Victor Hart scored 13 apiece to lead Southern Miss (6-6). Curbelo made all four of his field-goal attempts, including his only 3-point attempt, before fouling out after playing 25 minutes.

—Field Level Media