DURHAM, N.C. — Mason Plumlee had 18 points and 11 rebounds as No. 2 Duke erased a slow start to beat North Carolina 73-68. DURHAM, N.C. — Mason Plumlee had 18 points and 11 rebounds as No. 2 Duke erased
DURHAM, N.C. — Mason Plumlee had 18 points and 11 rebounds as No. 2 Duke erased a slow start to beat North Carolina 73-68.
Quinn Cook scored 18 points, and Rasheed Sulaimon finished with 13 for the Blue Devils (22-2, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who gave coach Mike Krzyzewski a nice present on his 66th birthday, another win over the school’s main rival.
They shot 44 percent — 52 percent after halftime — and used a big run in the second half to win their sixth straight this season and sixth in eight meetings in college basketball’s fiercest rivalry.
P.J. Hairston matched a career high with 23 points and Reggie Bullock had 15 points with four 3-pointers for North Carolina (16-8, 6-5), which led for the first 26 minutes but lost its second straight.
The Tar Heels were 13 of 23 from the free throw line and missed seven of 10 during a critical late stretch while falling to 1-4 this season against ranked opponents.
No. 1 Indiana 76,
Nebraska 47
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Cody Zeller scored 16 points and Christian Watford finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 1 Indiana pull away from Nebraska 76-47 on Wednesday night.
The Hoosiers (22-3, 10-2 Big Ten) have won seven of eight and regained a share of the league lead. They are tied with Michigan State. But it wasn’t easy early against Nebraska (12-13, 3-9), which frustrated Indiana by limiting possessions and repeatedly taking the shot clock inside of 10 seconds in the first half. Dylan Talley scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half to lead the Cornhuskers.
Indiana took charge after Zeller went to the bench with his second foul midway through the first half. It used a 10-0 run to take a 21-14 lead and closed the half on a 6-0 run to make it 27-18, then opened the second half on another 6-0 run.
No. 3 MIAMI 74,
FLORIDA STATE 68
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Shane Larkin scored 13 of his 22 points in the final 7 minutes to help Miami hold off Florida State for its 12th straight victory.
Reggie Johnson added 15 points for Miami (20-3, 11-0), which became the first ACC team to start league play 11-0 since North Carolina in 2001. Two years earlier, Duke was the lone team in conference history to go 16-0.
The ACC has gone to 18 conference games now because of expansion.
Durand Scott had 13 points and Julian Gamble 10 for the Hurricanes.
A three-point play by Scott gave Miami a 51-39 lead with 13:05 left, but Florida State countered with a 12-0 run keyed by a pair of 3s by Terry Whisnant to tie the score on Okaro White’s basket. The Seminoles never could get the lead, though.
Miami built its lead back to 68-56, largely behind Larkin.
White led the Seminoles (13-11, 5-6) with 15 points before fouling out with 2:04 left.
CONNECTICUT 66,
No. 6 SYRACUSE 58
HARTFORD, Conn. — Freshman Omar Calhoun scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers in the deciding second-half run, and Connecticut beat Syracuse in the last scheduled game between the national powers.
Syracuse will play next season in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Connecticut will stay in the realigned Big East, although the Huskies could be enticed to head to another conference if asked.
There is no chance they would meet again this postseason as Connecticut has been banned from the Big East and NCAA tournaments as part of a punishment for failing to post a passable APR score.
Their last game was a close one until Calhoun started hitting from beyond the 3-point line.
He started the run with a 3 that gave the Huskies (17-6, 7-4 Big East) the lead for good at 45-42 with 9:49 to play.
Calhoun’s others 3s were the last two baskets of a 13-4 run that gave the Huskies a 55-46 lead with 6:14 to play. The Orange (20-4, 8-3), who dropped into a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Georgetown and Marquette, came up empty in four of their six possessions during the run.
Ryan Boatright had 17 points for Connecticut while Shabazz Napier had 10 points and seven assists.
CHARLOTTE 71,
No. 11 BUTLER 67
INDIANAPOLIS — Pierria Henry scored 17 points to help Charlotte hold off a late charge by Butler.
Chris Braswell and Willie Clayton each had 11 points for the 49ers, who ended a two-game skid.
Rotnei Clarke scored 18 and Roosevelt Jones had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (20-5, 7-3 Atlantic 10), who hadn’t lost at home in 12 games.
The 49ers (18-6, 6-4) went on a 7-1 run late in the game and then held on after Butller closed within one.
Butler played without Andrew Smith, who was out with an abdominal injury sustained in a victory over George Washington on Saturday. He will also miss Saturday’s game at Fordham.
No. 17 OKLAHOMA STATE 91,
TEXAS TECH 67
LUBBOCK, Texas — Markel Brown scored 25 points and matched a career high with seven 3-pointers — all in the first half — to lead Oklahoma State over Texas Tech.
Phil Forte added 14 points for the Cowboys (18-5, 8-3 Big 12), who have won six straight.
Brown was 8 for 11 from the field, including 7 of 8 from beyond the arc. He was held scoreless in 7 minutes of playing time after halftime.
Brown’s first five shots were from beyond the arc and he hit each one. Oklahoma State jumped out to a 24-6 lead and never trailed.
Oklahoma State shot 56 percent from the field (32 of 57) and 60 percent from 3-point range.
Cowboys sophomore Michael Cobbins had his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Dusty Hannahs scored 14 points for the Red Raiders (9-13, 2-9), who have lost five in a row.
No. 19 NEW MEXICO 54,
FRESNO STATE 48
FRESNO, Calif. — Kendall Williams scored 13 points, capped by an emphatic dunk just before the final buzzer, and New Mexico overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Fresno State.
Alex Kirk and Tony Snell added 10 points apiece for the Lobos (21-4, 8-2 Mountain West Conference).
Snell’s 18-foot leaner with 16 seconds left and the shot clock about to expire sealed the victory.
Kevin Olekaibe led Fresno State (8-15, 2-8) with 11 points, while Kevin Foster had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 21 NOTRE DAME 82,
DePAUL 78 (OT)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jerian Grant scored 21 points, including a big three-point play in overtime, to lift Notre Dame past DePaul in overtime for the second time in 11 days.
It appeared the Fighting Irish (20-5, 8-4 Big East) might cruise to victory until the Blue Demons (10-14, 1-10) used an 11-1 run to take the lead. Notre Dame then rallied to force overtime — four days after beating Louisville in five overtimes.
Grant, who scored 12 points in the final minute of regulation against Louisville, came up big in the extra session this time.
Jack Cooley added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Irish, who beat DePaul for the eighth straight time.
Cleveland Melvin led DePaul with 23 points and Brandon Young added 20, but the Blue Demons lost their ninth straight.
No. 22 MEMPHIS 93,
UCF 71
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Joe Jackson had 21 points and 10 assists, four other Memphis players scored in double figures and the Tigers beat Central Florida for their 15th straight victory.
Jackson was 10 of 12 from the field, hitting his only 3-pointer. Geron Johnson had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Memphis (21-3, 10-0 Conference USA), while Adonis Thomas added 17 points.
Isaiah Sykes led the Knights (17-7, 7-3) with 17 points and six rebounds. Keith Clanton, UCF’s leading scorer at 16 points per game, was limited to 10 on 3-of-10 shooting.
Memphis put the game out of reach in the first 13 minutes of the second half, highlighted by a 21-1 run that featured 3-point shooting, strong defense and fast-break layups.
No. 23 Oregon 65,
Washington 52
SEATTLE — Johnathan Loyd scored all 11 of his points in the second half, Damyean Doston finished with 13 and No. 23 Oregon snapped a two-game road losing streak.
The Ducks (20-5, 9-3 Pac-12) had dropped three of four, losing their grasp on sole possession of first place in the conference. They regained it for at least for 24 hours, moving a half-game ahead of Oregon and UCLA, who both play on Thursday night.
Oregon played its sixth straight game without Dominic Artis, out with a foot injury. The Ducks continued to stumble offensively without their starting point guard, but their defensive effort was enough to hand Washington its seventh loss in eight games. It was the first time Oregon has swept Washington in the regular season since 1995.
Abdul Gaddy led Washington (13-12, 5-7) with 17 points.
No. 24 COLORADO STATE 66,
SAN DIEGO STATE 60
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Dorian Green hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with a minute remaining and a three-point play with 19 seconds left as Colorado State celebrated its first game as a ranked team in 59 years with a thrilling win over San Diego State.
The Rams (20-4, 7-2 Mountain West) matched their win total from last season and extended their homecourt winning streak to 27 games.
Green’s 3-pointer with 1:03 left gave Colorado State a 61-60 lead — the 15th lead change of the game. After Xavier Thames’ airball, Green’s three-point play made it 64-60, and the Rams capped the victory with Jon Octeus’ breakaway dunk with 10 seconds left.
Green led the Rams with 16 points, the same total that Chase Tapley had for the Aztecs (18-6, 6-4).
