DURHAM, N.C. ? Mike Krzyzewski had a feeling his Duke players were headed for a post-North Carolina letdown. Fortunately for the Blue Devils, it only lasted until halftime.
Behind 24 points and 11 rebounds from Kyle Singler, No. 2 Duke shook off some early uninspired play Saturday to beat Boston College 90-80, extended its winning streak to 11 and helped continue the momentum of its victory against the third-ranked Tar Heels.
“I was more worried about this game than (North Carolina),” Krzyzewski said. “Not that I was sure we were going to win on Wednesday, but I was sure we’d be ready, sure that we were going to be there. This one, the last two days I’ve been on them like crazy. We just weren’t sharp.”
DeMarcus Nelson added 23 points for the Blue Devils (21-1, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who turned 21 BC turnovers into 21 points and overcame a huge game from Tyrese Rice with a late 17-2 run.
Rice, the ACC’s second-leading scorer, scored 18 of his 28 points in the first half for the Eagles (12-10, 3-6), the second straight game usually stingy Duke has allowed a 28-point scorer.
“He had the ball in his hands at all times,” Nelson said of Rice. “He has the freedom at any time to create, and he can create. He’s great off the dribble in creating shots, and he’s crafty. … He was hitting shots, and we didn’t do a good job of defending him, myself included. We changed that in the second half.”
BC shot 55 percent but allowed an eight-point first-half lead to slip away in losing its sixth straight and falling to 0-4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Louisville 59, No. 6 Georgetown 51
Louisville, Ky. – David Padgett scored 18 points, Jerry Smith added 16 and the Cardinals shook up the Big East with a win over the Hoyas.
Louisville (18-6, 8-3 Big East) held Georgetown (19-3, 9-2) to 20 points in the second half, snapping the Hoyas’ six-game winning streak.
No. 7 Tennessee 47, LSU 45
Baton Rouge, La. – JaJuan Smith’s steal and layup with 11 seconds left gave the Volunteers a win over the Tigers in their first game since the firing of coach John Brady.
Tennessee (21-2, 8-1 SEC) was led by Curtis Lofton’s 15 points, while Tyler Smith finished with 12.
No. 24 Purdue 72, No. 8 Wisconsin 67
Madison, Wis. – Freshman Robbie Hummel scored a career-best 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and Purdue upset Wisconsin to extend the Boilermakers’ winning streak to nine. Purdue (19-5, 10-1 Big Ten) last beat a team ranked in the Top 10 on the road on March 1, 1998.
No. 9 Stanford 71, Oregon St. 56
Stanford, Calif. – Lawrence Hill scored 14 points and reserves Kenny Brown and Taj Finger sparked a big first-half run that helped the Cardinal reach the 20-win plateau for the first time under fourth-year coach Trent Johnson.
No. 10 Butler 62, Wisconsin-Green Bay 57
Green Bay, Wis. – A.J. Graves led four players in double figures with 16 points, and the Bulldogs survived a scare to win their fifth straight contest.
Mike Green scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and Pete Campbell and Matt Howard each chipped in 10 apiece for the Bulldogs (21-2, 10-2 Horizon League).
Terry Evans led the Phoenix (13-10, 7-6) with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Ryan Tillema also had 14 points, and Rahmon Fletcher added 12.
Graves made just 4-of-11 shots from the field, but he made six straight free throws over the final 1:27 to help clinch the win.
No. 11 Michigan St. 70, Northwestern 55
East Lansing, Mich. – Drew Neitzel scored 13 of his 21 points in less than 4 minutes to help the Spartans rally past lowly Northwestern.
Raymar Morgan and Drew Naymick each had 10 points, and Naymick had eight rebounds for the Spartans (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten), winners of 18 straight at Breslin Center.
No. 15 Drake 73, Evansville 65
Des Moines, Iowa – Jonathan Cox scored 10 of his season-high 21 points during a decisive second-half run that carried Drake to its 21st straight victory.
Leonard Houston added 15 points and Josh Young 13 for Drake (22-1).
No. 22 Notre Dame 86, No. 16 Marquette 83
South Bend, Ind. – Luke Harangody scored 18 points, including four free throws in the final 26 seconds, and the Irish survived going the final 6:22 without a field goal to win.
No. 17 Washington St. 74, Southern Cal 50
Spokane, Wash. – Kyle Weaver scored 17 points to help the Cougars break a three-game home losing streak and make it a season sweep of the Trojans.
O.J. Mayo scored 14 points and Davon Jefferson 13 for Southern Cal (15-8, 6-5), which lost for only the second time in the past eight games and never really threatened.
No 19. Connecticut 80, Georgia Tech 68
Storrs, Conn. – Hasheem Thabeet scored a career-high 24 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked six shots in leading UConn to its seventh consecutive win.
Jeff Adrien had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies (18-5), his 12th double-double of the season, and A.J. Price added 14 points, all but four after intermission.
No. 23 Vanderbilt 66, South Carolina 65
Columbia, S.C. – Jermaine Beal drove the length of the court and hit a short fadeaway jumper with 0.6 seconds left to give the Commodores the win.
South Carolina’s defense got no pressure on Beal until he got within a few feet of the basket. The shot came after Devan Downey’s driving reverse lay-up with six seconds to go put South Carolina (11-11, 3-5 SEC) ahead.
Shan Foster led Vanderbilt (20-4, 5-4) with 21 points, while A.J. Oglivy added 15.
