CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? North Carolina didn’t put on much of a crowd-pleasing show to celebrate its return to No. 1.
Tyler Hansbrough had 20 points, and Ty Lawson added 10 in his first home game in a month to help the Tar Heels beat Florida State, 90-77, on Tuesday night, keeping them in position to play for the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title this weekend at No. 6 Duke.
Marcus Ginyard added 13 points for North Carolina (28-2, 13-2), which led by 12 at halftime and maintained a comfortable margin through most of the second half for its seventh straight victory. The Tar Heels have won eight straight meetings and 19 of 22 in the series, and now can turn their attention to traveling to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face the Blue Devils on Saturday.
North Carolina, which shot 70 percent in the second half, spent 11 weeks atop the national rankings before losing 82-80 to Maryland here in January. The Tar Heels returned to No. 1 on Monday following Tennessee’s loss at Vanderbilt last week.
Ohio State 80, No. 15 Purdue 77, OT
Columbus, Ohio – Othello Hunter, one of Ohio State’s worst free-throw shooters, hit two foul shots and made a big defensive play down the stretch as the Buckeyes defeated Purdue.
No. 21 Marquette 67, Florida Gulf Coast 37
Milwaukee – Lazar Hayward had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Marquette.
