No. 3 Purdue survives furious second-half charge from Maryland

NO. 3 PURDUE 58, MARYLAND 55: Zach Edey had 24 points and 16 rebounds, and Braden Smith’s two free throws with 3.9 seconds left helped Purdue fend off a furious second-half charge from visiting Maryland.

The Boilermakers are off to the best start in school history (19-1, 8-1 Big Ten). They’ve won six straight and are the fifth conference team since 2000 to win 19 of its first 20 games. Edey had his 16th double-double this season.

Julian Reese scored 19 points to help the Terrapins (12-7, 3-5) overcome a 14-point halftime deficit to have a chance to force to overtime.

Maryland got as close as three points four times but it wasn’t until Jahmir Young made two free throws with 5.3 seconds left that the Terps pulled within one.

Smith then made his free throws, and Young’s 30-foot heave to force overtime hit the backboard as the buzzer sounded. The Terrapins have lost four of their last six.

NO. 15 UCONN 86, BUTLER 56: The NCAA championship trophy made a visit to Connecticut this weekend, providing just the inspiration the struggling Huskies needed. Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn snapped a three-game losing streak in emphatic fashion by routing Butler.

“Just having that (trophy) around us, just reminded us what the main goal is,” Hawkins said. “Just keep pushing, even through this hard stretch and brighter days will come.”

Adama Sanogo added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Huskies (16-5, 5-5 Big East), who won their first 14 games this season but dropped five of six coming into this matchup with the Bulldogs (11-10, 3-7).

Chuck Harris had 16 points and Simas Lukosius added 12 for Butler, which was playing its third straight game without center Manny Bates, who is still recovering from a knee injury suffered earlier this month against St. John’s.