Storrs, Conn. — Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon are gone, but Connecticut's latest inside-outside combination showed it can be just as potent.
Rashad Anderson scored 23 points, hitting four of nine from three-point range, and Josh Boone got all his 18 points from the paint in the Huskies' 90-68 victory Saturday over Buffalo.
It was the season opener for both teams as the No. 8 Huskies began defense of their NCAA title.
"We just came out and played hard. We played Connecticut basketball," Anderson said.
The Huskies wasted little time putting this one away. Boone and Anderson combined for 11 points in UConn's opening 13-2 run. The Bulls got their first basket in the first minute, then went scoreless during the next five.
No. 9 Kentucky 77, Coppin State 46
Lexington, Ky. -- Patrick Sparks and Rajon Rondo -- Kentucky's new starting guards -- combined for 21 points and led a strong defensive effort to help the ninth-ranked Wildcats beat Coppin State in the season opener for both teams.
Antwan Harrison led Coppin State with eight points and five rebounds.
No. 11 Duke 88,
Tennessee-Martin 46
Durham, N.C. -- J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing each had 20 points, and Duke turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to beat the Skyhawks in the opener for both teams. Sheldon Williams added 13 points and 15 rebounds for the 11th-ranked Blue Devils. Jared Newson led the Skyhawks with 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
No. 17 Pittsburgh 81, Howard 55
Pittsburgh -- Chevon Troutman, Pittsburgh's only senior starter, had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while the Panthers showed off a new look offensively in beating Howard.
Howard (0-2), one of the nation's worst Division One teams last season with a 6-22 record, scored only two points in the opening 10:17.
No. 21 Wisconsin 77, Penn 44
Madison, Wis. -- Mike Wilkinson scored all but two of his 19 points in the second half, and Brian Butch had a memorable debut for Wisconsin. Butch, a 6-foot-11 red-shirt freshman who spent last season bulking up, had 10 points and four rebounds. Wilkinson, the only returning starter for the Badgers, added 11 rebounds.
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