Berkeley, Calif. • Some games, Sean Miller notices an anxiety with his Arizona team immediately after tipoff.

He sure saw that at California on Wednesday night, when the Wildcats needed a firm talk about taking care of the ball.

Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 14 Arizona overcame a slow, sloppy start by warming up from long range against a high zone to beat Cal 79-58.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright scored 14 points with three 3-pointers during a decisive stretch spanning halftime as the Wildcats won their third straight since losing at Colorado on Jan. 6.

“I don’t think offense is our issue,” Jackson-Cartwright said. “If we turn the ball over and give teams possessions the game feels funny. We talked about it.”

Dylan Smith made all four of his 3s and added 14 points in a fill-in start and Allonzo Trier scored 15 as Arizona (15-4, 5-1 Pac-12) played without sophomore guard Rawle Alkins, held out as a precaution with what the school said was mild right foot soreness.

“Parker, he can really shoot it. I thought him and Dylan both in the first half were a big reason we had the 10-point lead,” Miller said. “Cal’s zone is very extended. You watch it on film, I think it’s one of those defenses sometimes your players have to get into a rhythm and understand and get a sense of how to move the ball against it. ... Once we got through that stretch, no doubt turnovers plagued us throughout but we also had some good moments. Deandre Ayton was the difference.”

Justice Sueing scored 19 points to lead Cal (7-12, 1-5) but missed all six of his 3-point attempts for the cold-shooting Golden Bears, held to 35.3 percent and outrebounded 36-22. Don Coleman had 11 points but shot just 3 of 13.

Ayton made 9 of 11 shots and Arizona shot 62 percent, going 11 for 19 from deep.

Arizona connected on six straight 3-pointers from the 9:20 mark until 2:32 left before halftime to take control, three by Jackson-Cartwright, then seven in all spanning halftime. Cal got within single digits, down by nine, for all of 17 seconds in the second half.

The Wildcats went four possessions until getting their first shot off while committing three quick turnovers and falling behind 6-0. They had turnovers on six of their initial nine possessions and 21 overall but still wound up shooting 70 percent in the opening half.

Arizona won its fourth straight in the series, outscoring Cal 33-3 on 3-pointers.

“Part of it is guys forcing the issue, but part of it is also using more clock to get a good shot,” Cal coach Wyking Jones said. “In conference, everybody knows what everybody wants to run. In order to get a good shot, you have to work a little harder, you have to execute more, you have to do a better job of setting the screen.”

No. 1 Villanova 88, Georgetown 56 • In Washington, Villanova led by as many as 44 points — 44! — and gave Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing a rude welcome back to the schools' rivalry, handing the Hoyas their worst loss in more than 40 years.

Jalen Brunson led the way with 18 points and seven assists for Villanova (17-1, 5-1 Big East), which finished 17 for 33 on 3s, while Georgetown went 4 for 15.

Mikal Bridges scored 17 for the Wildcats, winners of seven consecutive games against the Hoyas, Villanova's longest streak in a series that dates to 1922.

The last time Ewing faced Villanova in any capacity was in the last game of his college playing career at Georgetown, a surprising 66-64 victory for the underdog Wildcats in the 1985 NCAA championship game. It was quite clear, quite quickly, on Wednesday that there would be no such tight outcome —nor any chance of an upset by Georgetown (12-6, 2-5).

SMU 83, No. 7 Wichita St. 78 • In Wichita, Kan., Shake Milton hit five 3-pointers en route to a career-best 33 points and SMU beat Wichita State.

Wichita State (15-3, 5-1 American Athletic Conference) had won 27 straight and 67 of 68 at Koch Arena.

The Mustangs (13-6, 3-3) snapped a three-game skid with their first victory since Dec. 31. It was their first road win against a top-10 team since Jan. 16, 1982 at No. 10 Houston.

Milton was 11 of 14 from the floor and 5 of 6 from deep while playing 40 minutes. Jahmal McMurray scored 16 points for the Mustangs, who shot 63.8 percent.

Landry Shamet led the Shockers with 20 points.

Texas 67, No. 8 Texas Tech 58 • In Austin, Texas, Kerwin Roach II scored 20 points in a surprise return to the lineup and Texas got another home win over a Top 25 opponent in a week, beating Texas Tech.

Roach, who had missed the previous two games with a fracture in his left, non-shooting hand, was expected to miss a few more. But he suited up for pregame warmups and was cleared to play right before tipoff.

Roach gave the Longhorns (12-6, 3-3 Big 12) a new threat both inside and out with his 3-point shooting and aggressive drives to the basket. The Longhorns — who beat then-No. 16 TCU 99-98 in double-overtime last Wednesday — also played their best defense in weeks, anchored by freshman center Mo Bamba under the basket. Bamba had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.

Jarrett Culver scored 16 points to lead Texas Tech (15-3, 4-2).

No. 11 Xavier 88, St. John’s 82 • In Cincinnati, Kerem Kanter had 22 points and led a late run that swept Xavier to a victory over St. John's that gave Chris Mack the Musketeers record for career coaching wins.

Kanter had eight points and an emphatic block during a 17-2 run that kept Xavier (17-3, 5-3 Big East) unbeaten in 13 games at the Cintas Center this season. He also matched his career high with 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

Mack got his 203rd coaching victory at his alma mater, passing Pete Gillen for the school record in his ninth season.

Trevon Bluiett emerged from a shooting slump by scoring 24 points during a 92-70 win over then-No. 25 Creighton on Saturday. He followed with 23 points on Wednesday.

St. John's (10-9, 0-7) led midway through the second half before Xavier surged ahead 79-67 with 2:56 left. The Red Storm dropped its seventh straight. Justin Simon had a career-high 28 points.

Alabama 76, No. 17 Auburn 71 • In Tuscaloosa, Ala., John Petty scored 27 points, Dazon Ingram added 16, and short-handed Alabama defeated Auburn.

Alabama played without its starting point guard and leading scorer, Collin Sexton, who sat out with an abdominal injury. But Petty more than made up for the loss. The freshman guard made eight of 13 3-point attempts and helped the Crimson Tide (12-6, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) surge ahead of Auburn with a 15-5 run in the second half.

It wasn't always easy for Alabama. Coach Avery Johnson's team struggled to take care of the basketball without its primary ball handler. The Crimson Tide turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, just two shy of its average per game this season. Despite the sloppy play, Alabama's 3-point shooting helped hide some of the mistakes. Petty, who took Sexton's place in the starting lineup, knocked down three of his 3-point baskets in the first half to help Alabama keep the game close.

Bryce Brown scored a team-high 12 points for Auburn (16-2, 4-1).

Creighton 80, No. 19 Seton Hall 63 • In Omaha, Neb., Marcus Foster scored 25 points and reserve Ronnie Harrell Jr. had a career-high 18, and Creighton never trailed against Seton Hall.

The Bluejays (15-4, 5-2 Big East) split the season series with the Pirates (15-4, 4-2), avenging a 90-84 road loss last month in which they blew a double-digit lead and failed to score the last 3 ½ minutes.

Creighton led by 16 points early but saw the Pirates pull to 39-32 at half. Harrell scored seven points during a 17-9 run to open the second half that put Creighton up 58-43.

Myles Powell led the Pirates with 19 points. Seton Hall shot a season-low 38.1 percent, committed 17 turnovers and scored its fewest points of the season.

Creighton shot 51.7 percent, making it the first Seton Hall opponent to hit more than half its shots.

Missouri 59, No. 21 Tennessee 55 • In Columbia, Mo., Kevin Puryear had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Missouri rallied in the second half to beat Tennessee.

Jontay Porter added 10 points and seven rebounds for Missouri (13-5, 3-2 Southeastern Conference). The Tigers found their rhythm in the second half, using 3s from Kassius Robertson, Jordan Geist and Porter to fuel a 13-2 run starting with 10 minutes remaining.

Grant Williams led Tennessee (12-5, 3-3) with 15 points. Kyle Alexander had 12 points and Admiral Schofield added 11. The rest of the Volunteers only scored 17 points, and the team as a whole shot 38.9 percent, including 23.8 percent from deep.

Ohio St. 71, Northwestern 65 • In Rosemont, Ill., Chris Holtmann became the first coach in 95 years to win his first seven Big Ten games as Ohio State defeated Northwestern.

C.J. Jackson had 12 points, eight assists and three steals, Micah Potter scored 13 points off the bench, Jae'Sean Tate added 12 and Keita Bates-Diop had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Buckeyes (16-4, 7-0), who won their sixth straight overall.

Holtmann is the third Big Ten coach to win his first seven conference games, joining Wisconsin's Walter Meanwell (1911-12) and Iowa's Sam Barry (1922-23). Holtmann replaced Thad Matta, the program's all-time wins leader, this season.

Vic Law scored 14 points and Scottie Lindsey added 13 for Northwestern (11-9, 2-5) as the Wildcats suffered their second straight double-digit loss.

No. 24 TCU 96, Iowa St. 73 • In Fort Worth, Texas, Vladimir Brodziansky had 26 points and TCU snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Iowa State while playing for the first time without injured starting point guard Jaylen Fisher.

Alex Robinson, who started at point guard, scored eight points and had a school-record 17 assists for the Horned Frogs (14-4, 2-4 Big 12), who never trailed and shot 60 percent from the field. He had only one turnover in 38 minutes.

Brodziansky shot 11 of 13 for his third 20-point game in five games. JD Miller added 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five 3-pointers.