College Basketball Roundup : DePaul Scores an 81-72 Upset Over St. John’s

Dallas Comegys scored 21 points, and Rod Strickland contributed 17 to lead DePaul to an 81-72 nationally televised upset over No. 6-ranked St. John’s Saturday at Rosemont, Ill.

The Blue Demons (15-10) reeled off 14 points midway through the first half and came back with a 10-point spurt midway through the second half to hand the Redmen their fourth loss against 25 wins.

Mark Jackson led St. John’s with 23 points, and Walter Berry had 21, 16 in the second half, as the Redmen had their five-game winning streak snapped. Kevin Holmes came off the bench to add 15 for DePaul.

St. John’s trailed by as many as 10 in the final 4 1/2 minutes before rallying to close the lead to 69-66 on a basket by Jackson with 2:29 left. The teams exchanged baskets, and DePaul iced the game on layups by Tony Jackson and Strickland over the next minute.

The Blue Demons, who used a tightly packed zone defense to frustrate St. John’s throughout the game, expanded a 38-31 halftime lead into a 10-point advantage in the opening two minutes of the second half.

But Berry got hot and brought St. John’s within 49-47 with 12:05 left in the game.

DePaul then scored 10 straight points, 6 by Holmes, to open up a 59-47 lead with 9:29 remaining.

St. John’s Coach Lou Carnesecca said DePaul obviously is much better than its record.

“I made the statement before the game this team was capable of getting into the NCAAs and going all the way,” Carnesecca said. “I’ve seen it before. Villanova last year, North Carolina State a couple of years ago. If DePaul gets in and plays the way they did today, they have the chance to go all the way.”

Duke 93, Oklahoma 84--David Henderson scored 28 points as the Blue Devils (27-2), after almost blowing a 23-point lead, held off the Sooners (23-5) at Durham, N.C. Oklahoma’s David Johnson led all scorers with 31 points, while Tim McCalister added 19.

Kansas 84, Kansas State 69--Ron Kellogg scored 30 points as the Jayhawks (26-3 and 11-1) clinched their first Big Eight title since 1978. Joe Wright scored 27 points, and Norris Coleman added 21 points for the Wildcats, who fell to 16-11 and 4-8.

Kentucky 80, Georgia 75--Kenny Walker scored 22 points, and Winston Bennett added 20 for the Wildcats (24-3 and 15-1) as they clinched the Southeastern Conference title at Athens, Ga. The title is the 36th in history for Kentucky. Donald Hartry and Horace McMillan each had 14 points for the Bulldogs (14-11 and 7-9). James Blackmon (K) 16.

TCU 54, Texas 53--Jamie Dixon, a product of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High School, hit a desperation 30-footer at the buzzer as the Horned Frogs (20-5 and 12-2) moved within one win of their first Southwest Conference title in 15 years at Fort Worth, Tex. It was the eighth straight win for the Horned Frogs, their longest streak in 61 years. Texas, which had won eight straight, fell to 17-9 and 12-3. John Brownlee (T) 17.

Michigan 62, Alabama Birmingham 54--Antoine Joubert scored 20 points, and Gary Grant added 14 as the Wolverines (23-4) overcame a 45-38 deficit in the second half to turn back the Blazers (22-9) at Ann Arbor, Mich. Steve Mitchell (UAB) 16.

Florida State 82, Memphis State 80--Freshman Pat Conner slammed in a missed shot with one second remaining at Tallahassee, Fla., as the last-place Seminoles (10-15) upset the Tigers (23-3) in a Metro Conference game. Freshman Peewee Barber scored 27 points for the Seminoles, while William Bedford had 19 for the Tigers, followed by Andre Turner with 16.

Georgia Tech 77, Maryland 70--John Salley scored five of his 22 points during a seven-point streak that put the Yellow Jackets in command midway through the second half at College Park, Md. Tech is 21-4 and 9-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Maryland 15-12 and 4-8. Len Bias of Maryland led all scorers with 30 points. He made eight straight free throws, running his streak to 30, tying the school record set by Albert King. Mark Price (GT) 16.

Notre Dame 126, Miami 73--Ken Barlow scored 28 points, and David Rivers added 19 as the Irish (19-5) outclassed the Hurricanes (12-13) at Miami. It was Miami’s second worst loss in history. The worst was a 127-69 defeat by UCLA in 1969-70.

Illinois 66, Ohio State 62--Ken Norman had 24 points and Efrem Winters 16 for the Illini, who improved to 18-8 overall and 9-6 in the Big Ten at Champaign, Ill. Ohio State dropped to 12-12 and 6-8.