Raleigh, N.C. ? Sidney Lowe always knew how to beat North Carolina as a player. The first-year coach proved he could also top the Tar Heels from the sideline.
The former North Carolina State point guard earned his first big victory as its coach when the Wolfpack upset No. 3 North Carolina, 83-79, on Saturday in just the kind of rivalry game he was hired to win.
“It’s one win, but it’s a big win. I’ve never shied away from the rivalry of the three schools down here, and it’s a big win,” Lowe said. “It’s not something that I made up – this was here long before me, and when I got here they told me this was a big game, and I believed them. I don’t see it ever changing.”
Courtney Fells scored 21 points, Ben McCauley had 17 and Gavin Grant added 16 for N.C. State – which led by 12, and held off the Tar Heels’ frantic comeback bid.
The Tar Heels had their five-game winning streak snapped and blew a chance to move up in the rankings with No. 2 Wisconsin’s midweek loss to Indiana.
“Nobody should have given us the trophy last Saturday when we beat Arizona, and nobody’s going to stop us from playing basketball now just because we got our tails kicked today,” Williams said.
No. 1 Florida 94, Tennessee 78
Gainesville, Fla. – Al Horford had a career-high 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two key second-half blocks to help the Gators extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 14 games.
The defending national champions opened up a 27-point lead that the Volunteers couldn’t overcome, especially without Southeastern Conference leading scorer Chris Lofton.
No. 2 Wisconsin 69, Northwestern 52
Madison, Wis. – Alando Tucker scored 20 points, and the Badgers rebounded from their first conference loss.
But it wasn’t easy, as Wisconsin was forced to grind it out at Northwestern’s deliberate pace early on, then weather a late rally that allowed the Wildcats to give Wisconsin a scare in the final minutes.
No. 4 Ohio State 63, Michigan State 54
East Lansing, Mich. – Greg Oden had 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, and the Buckeyes won their seventh straight game.
The Spartans have lost three straight and will have to stop the slide soon to earn an NCAA Tournament bid for the 10th straight year.
No. 5 UCLA 82, Oregon State 35
Los Angeles – Arron Afflalo scored 16 points, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added 14, and the Bruins led all the way in their 17th consecutive home victory.
It was the lowest point total allowed by UCLA in Pauley Pavilion since Oregon State scored 35 in 1966.
Southern California 71, No. 9 Oregon 68
Los Angeles – Taj Gibson scored 18 points, and Southern California held off a late rally to give the Trojans a season sweep of the Ducks for the first time in six years.
Gibson went 7-for-9 from the field and hit a free throw with 16.9 seconds to play to give USC a three-point lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
No. 11 Memphis 88, SMU 52
Memphis, Tenn. – Doneal Mack scored 17 points, hitting all five of his three-point attempts, and the Tigers remained undefeated in Conference USA.
Memphis finished 15-for-25 on three-pointers.
No. 13 Butler 66, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 47
Indianapolis – A.J. Graves scored 20 points, Mike Green added 14 points and nine rebounds, and the Bulldogs finished their busiest stretch of the season with a victory.
It was Butler’s eighth consecutive win and 20th in a row at home.
No. 14 Marquette 69, Providence 62
Milwaukee – Jerel McNeal had 18 points and 12 rebounds to help the Golden Eagles win their seventh consecutive game.
Dan Fitzgerald tied a season high with 14 points, including four three-pointers, for Marquette.
No. 15 Nevada 69, Hawaii 68
Reno, Nev. – Marcelus Kemp scored 23 points, including Nevada’s first 14 points of the second half, and Nick Fazekas had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Wolf Pack survived a wild finish.
Nevada escaped with its 14th victory in the last 15 games.
Boston College 80, No. 16 Virginia Tech 59
Boston – Jared Dudley had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and the Eagles coasted even after he left the game with foul trouble.
No. 17 Air Force 88, Wyoming 43
Air Force Academy, Colo. – With three of their starters sitting out for fighting and another sidelined with a bum ankle, the Cowboys had no chance against Air Force.
Dan Nwaelele and Jacob Burtschi each scored 18 points in limited minutes, and the Falcons led by as many as 50 in the second half.
No. 18 Washington State 48, Arizona State 47
Tempe, Ariz. – Daven Harmeling scored 16 points as the Cougars blew a 16-point second-half lead but held on for the victory.
No. 19 Alabama 64, South Carolina 61
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Mykal Riley scored 14 of his 15 points over the final 12 minutes, and the Crimson Tide rallied from an eight-point deficit.
South Florida 69, No. 21 Notre Dame 63
Tampa, Fla. – McHugh Mattis scored 13 of his season-high 23 points in the second half and also grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to lead the Bulls.
No. 23 Stanford 90, California 71
Berkeley, Calif. – Fred Washington scored a season-high 21 points to go with eight assists and six rebounds, leading the Cardinal.
No. 20 Arizona 84, Washington 54
Tucson, Ariz. – Freshman Jordan Hill scored a career-high 16 points, and Jawann McClellan added 15 off the bench for the Wildcats.
Arizona avoided its first three-game home losing streak since 1983-84.
No. 24 Vanderbilt 66, Georgia 61
Nashville, Tenn. – Derrick Byars scored 20 points, and Dan Cage had all 19 of his points in the second half to help the Commodores hold off Georgia.
Georgia Tech 80, No. 25 Clemson 62
Atlanta – Javaris Crittenton scored a career-high 26 points, and Thaddeus Young added 14 to help the Yellow Jackets end a four-game losing streak.