College Basketball Roundup : North Carolina State Stuns North Carolina in ACC Final, 68-67

Vinny Del Negro made two free throws with 14 seconds left to give North Carolina State a 68-67 upset victory over second-ranked North Carolina Sunday in the final of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament at Landover, Md.

The victory was the sixth straight for the Wolfpack (20-14), which gained an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning its first conference title since 1983. It was North Carolina’s first loss to a conference team this season.

Joe Wolf and Ranzino Smith missed shots in the final seconds for North Carolina (29-3).

Kenny Smith gave the Tar Heels a 67-66 lead on a driving layup with 27 seconds left after N.C. State botched an inbounds play at midcourt.

The Tar Heels, who got 17 points from J.R. Reid, had an 11-game winning streak snapped. North Carolina beat the Wolfpack twice by a total of 35 points in the regular season.

Chucky Brown scored 18 points for the Wolfpack.

Other tournaments:

BIG EAST

Georgetown 69, Syracuse 59--Reggie Williams scored 25 points and the seventh-ranked Hoyas won the Big East tournament for the fifth time in eight years by stopping the No. 11 Orangemen at New York.

Georgetown (26-4), which has won 11 straight games, made the NCAA tournament for the ninth straight year.

Syracuse (26-6), which squandered a 10-point lead in the first half, closed to 63-59 with 2:27 to go on a three-pointer by Sherman Douglas. Williams made a pair of free throws and, after Douglas missed a free throw, Georgetown’s Dwayne Bryant sealed the victory by making two free throws with 17 seconds left.

The Orangemen made 8 of their first 9 shots and had a 21-11 lead with 6:41 gone, but Williams hit three three-point shots, and the Hoyas took the lead with a 20-5 surge. Georgetown led at halftime, 39-32.

Douglas scored 20 points for Syracuse, and Rony Seikaly had 19.

BIG EIGHT

Missouri 67, Kansas 65--Freshman Lee Coward hit a jump shot from the free-throw line with four seconds left to push the 19th-ranked Tigers past the Jayhawks in the Big Eight championship game at Kansas City, Mo.

Mike Sandbothe of Missouri (24-9) missed a free throw, but Lynn Hardy outfought Danny Manning of Kansas for the rebound and passed to Coward, who was wide open.

Manning, who scored 31 points, had the last 11 points for Kansas (23-10). His two free throws with 1:33 left gave the Jayhawks a 65-63 lead. But Derrick Chievous, who scored 27 points for Missouri, hit a fadeaway jumper to tie the score with 58 seconds left.

Kansas took the lead for the first time in the second half on Manning’s five straight points that made it 59-58 with 4:35 left.

SOUTHEASTERN

Alabama 69, LSU 62--Terry Coner scored five straight points in a 2 1/2-minute span late in the game, and the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide turned back the Tigers at Atlanta to win the SEC title.

It was the ninth victory in a row for the Crimson Tide (26-4), the SEC’s regular-season champion.

LSU (21-14), playing for the fourth day in a row and coming off a two-overtime semifinal victory over Georgia, made it a battle until Coner’s spurt gave the Tide a 56-49 lead with 5:38 to play.

Alabama had a 32-30 halftime lead, and Jim Farmer hit a three-pointer to put the Crimson Tide ahead for good, 35-32, in the opening moments of the second half.

Nikita Wilson scored 26 points to keep LSU close.

Derrick McKey scored 16 points for Alabama, and Coner added 15.

SOUTHWEST

Texas A&M; 71, Baylor 46--Winston Crite ignited a 15-4 streak midway through the first half as the Aggies, who finished eighth in the SWC regular-season standings, won the conference tournament by trouncing the Bears at Dallas.

Texas A&M; (17-13) dropped seven of its last nine regular-season games, but beat three of the top four seeded teams in the tournament by a total of 44 points and made the NCAA tournament field.

Baylor (18-12) was trying to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in 37 years.

Crite, who scored 30 and 26 points in A&M;’s two previous tournament victories, added 16 against Baylor. Darryl McDonald had 17, and Todd Holloway had 16.

Michael Williams scored 16 points for Baylor.

METRO

Memphis State 75, Louisville 52--Marvin Alexander scored 18 points, and the Tigers routed the Cardinals in the Metro final at Louisville, Ky.

However, Memphis State (26-8) is on probation and cannot play in the NCAA tournament, so the Metro Conference forfeited its automatic berth.

The Tigers beat defending national champion Louisville (18-14) three times this season.

Louisville tied the score, 19-19, on a free throw by Pervis Ellison with 8:52 left in the first half, but the Cardinals were scoreless for the next 6:06, and Memphis State finished the half with a 14-2 run for a 33-21 lead.

Ellison, the MVP of last year’s NCAA Final Four, did not take a shot after his free throw, and didn’t get a rebound in the second half.

NON-TOURNAMENT

Iowa 81, Wisconsin 71--Roy Marble scored 20 points, and the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes wrapped up the Big Ten season by downing the Badgers at Madison, Wis.

Brad Armstrong hit a three-point goal and a lay-up to give Iowa (27-4 overall, 14-4 in the Big Ten) a 68-54 lead with 7:16 left.

Wisconsin (14-17, 4-14) cut the margin to 75-69 with 1:23 left on two three-pointers by Mike Heineman, who scored 20 points, but the Hawkeyes held on despite missing three free throws in the final minute.