NEW YORK – Georgia Tech might be the best kept secret in college basketball.

The Yellow Jackets’ defense smothered Texas Tech on Friday night and Georgia Tech beat the Red Raiders 85-65 to win the Preseason NIT.

Jarrett Jack scored eight straight points midway through the first half and Georgia Tech pulled away gradually, often denying Texas Tech any kind of decent shot. Jack finished with 17 points while reserve Isma’il Muhammad had 16.

No. 1 UConn 76, Utah 44

NEW YORK – Connecticut’s Preseason NIT stumble turned out to be a temporary condition.

Emeka Okafor shrugged off his aching back to dominate inside as the Huskies demonstrated the resolve coach Jim Calhoun said was missing in their loss to Georgia Tech. UConn (3-1) ran off 13 straight points in the game’s opening minutes. Okafor had nine points in 7 minutes, matching his total in the Georgia Tech game.

No. 8 Florida 78, No. 4 Arizona 77

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Bonell Colas’ layup on an inbounds pass with 7.3 seconds left – his only points of the game – gave No. 8 Florida a 78-77 victory over No. 4 Arizona in the Tipoff Classic.

Colas, the 6-foot-9 senior starting center for the Gators (2-0), was limited to one minute in the first half because of foul trouble and he missed the only shot he took until making the game-winner on the inbounds pass from Christian Drejer.

No. 10 Kentucky 108, Tennessee Tech 81

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Gerald Fitch scored a career-high 36 points and Kentucky’s starters fueled a late 26-4 run to lead the 10th-ranked Wildcats past Tennessee Tech 108-81.

Kentucky (2-0) led the Golden Eagles 78-69 with 8:47 left when coach Tubby Smith called a timeout and put his five starters back in the game.

No. 22 Pittsburgh 83, Albany 54

PITTSBURGH – Carl Krauser scored 16 of his career-high 22 points in the second half to help No. 22 Pittsburgh beat Albany 83-54.

Krauser shot 8-for-12 from the field and accounted for six of Pitt’s 14 3-pointers. He scored at least 20 points for the third time in four games.

No. 25 N.C. State 92, Florida A&M 62

RALEIGH, N.C. – Scooter Sherrill scored 22 points and Julius Hodge added 16 to lift No. 25 North Carolina State to a 92-62 victory over Florida A&M.

Levi Watkins scored 15 for the Wolfpack (3-0), who improved to 60-6 at home against nonconference opponents under eighth-year coach Herb Sendek.

Women

No. 2 Texas 97, Navy 46

HONOLULU – Nina Norman scored 18 points and Heather Schreiber added 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 2 Texas to a 97-46 victory over Navy in the opening round of the Rainbow Wahine Classic.

Texas (4-0) used its size to dominate the Midshipmen, outrebounding them 49-30, and posting up for layups to shoot 50.6 percent on 39-of-77 shooting.

No. 5 Texas Tech 74, Michigan 61

DALLAS – Reserve Alesha Robertson scored 13 points, and Casey Jackson ignited a key second-half run as fifth-ranked Texas Tech beat Michigan 74-61 in the SMU Hoops for the Cure tournament.

No. 8 Penn St. 77,

George Washington 51

FREEPORT, Bahamas – Tanisha Wright scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half, added six assists and five rebounds, and No. 8 Penn State beat George Washington 77-51 in the Junkanoo Shootout.

No. 11 Minnesota 88, Texas A&M 72

FREEPORT, Bahamas – Kadidja Andersson scored 10 of her 18 points in the second half and finished with seven rebounds, leading No. 11 Minnesota to an 88-72 victory over Texas A&M at the Junkanoo Shootout. Texas A&M cut a 32-point deficit to 11 in the second half.

, but was unable to complete the comeback.