Perfect dominance

Good morning! College hoops came back with a purpose last night. More than 60 games, including 13 with ranked teams. Let’s dive in.

Daily News for Curious Minds

Be the smartest person in the room by reading 1440! Dive into 1440, where 4 million Americans find their daily, fact-based news fix. We navigate through 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive roundup from every corner of the internet – politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a quick, 5-minute newsletter. It's completely free and devoid of bias or political influence, ensuring you get the facts straight. Subscribe to 1440 today.

Sign up now!

1. Michigan, Arizona, Iowa St., Vandy all stay perfect

If it feels like Michigan hasn’t had a close game in weeks, well, that’s because it hasn’t.

The No. 2 Wolverines ran over McNeese on Monday night, 112-71. It’s the seventh time they’ve topped 100 points this season and the sixth time they’ve won by at least 40 points. They haven’t had a single-digit victory since Nov. 14 and are in historic territory for their wins. Heck, they’ve COVERED the spread by 20 points over their last eight games.

Morez Johnson (24 points, 11 rebounds) was the top performer, while Yaxel Landerborg (16 points, 8 boards) and Aday Mara (13 points, 6 rebounds, five assists) overwhelmed McNeese (10-3). This pass and finish summed it up.

Michigan (12-0) hosts USC on Friday and might not be pushed until visiting Michigan State on Jan. 30.

No. 1 Arizona didn’t have quite the same margin of victory, but the 99-71 win over South Dakota State did mark its eighth-straight victory by at least 20 points.

“I’ll let you guys be the judge of how good it went. I’m not good at comparing one thing to the next. I’m just right now thankful to beat South Dakota State,” coach tommy Lloyd said. “I feel like the month of December, we got a lot better, and so I like how it’s set up, with the challenges early that we found a way to get through.”

Six players scored in double figures for the Wildcats (13-0), led by Koa Peat’s 19 points, his most since the season opener vs. Florida. Jaden Bradley added 13 points and 10 assists.

Meanwhile, Joshua Jefferson (23 points, 8 rebounds, five assists) stuffed the box score once again for No. 3 Iowa State in its 89-61 win over Houston Christian.

That was a season-high in points for Jefferson, who remains the biggest challenger to Cam Boozer for NPOY. One more win will match the best start in school history. Coach TJ Otzelberger spent most of his postgame press conference focused on non-basketball things, though.

Finally, No. 11 Vanderbilt put the finishing touches on its non-conference slate with a 96-53 win over New Haven. It played without guards Frankie Collins (injury) and Duke Miles (illness).

Tyler Tanner (23 points, 5 rebounds, seven assists) was superb once again, while Jalen Washington added 21 points and five rebounds off the bench. Vandy (13-0) shot 58% from the field and scored 1.4 points per possession, the fourth time they’ve topped that mark this season.

“Tonight, (Tanner) was unbelievable,” coach Mark Byington said. “You don’t expect that every night.”

2. Houston ‘outscrapped’ but still wins + more results

No. 8 Houston wasn’t sharp offensively in its 69-60 win over Middle Tennessee State. And it didn’t sit well with coach Kelvin Sampson.

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.