College Basketball Roundup : Pitt Upsets No. 9 Seton Hall, 82-79

Pittsburgh was struggling, and its January schedule read like the top 10. It turned out to be just what the Panthers needed to get going.

Jason Matthews scored all 15 of his points in the second half and hit the go-ahead free throws with 1:28 left as Pitt scored its third upset of the month by knocking off No. 9 Seton Hall, 82-79, Wednesday night at East Rutherford, N.J.

Earlier this month, the Panthers (10-7 overall, 3-3 in the Big East) upset then-No. 2 Syracuse, 91-86, and followed that with a 99-91 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma.

“Look around,” Evans said. “Most teams don’t have all five starters play well at one time. We don’t have a bench. We need all five starters to play well. When we do, we can compete with anybody.”

Pitt held Seton Hall (17-2, 4-2) to 1 field goal in the final 7 minutes in breaking the Pirates’ 7-game home-court winning streak.

“I thought when it mattered, they made the plays and we didn’t,” Seton Hall Coach P.J. Carlesimo said.

Pitt was trailing, 70-63, when Brain Shorter hit 2 free throws to ignite a 9-0 run that Bobby Martin capped with layup that gave the Panthers a 72-70 lead. Ramon Ramos hit 2 free throws and a basket to put Seton Hall ahead, 74-72, with 2:41 left.

Sean Miller’s basket tied it, and Matthews put the Panthers ahead for good with his 2 free throws.

Darelle Porter’s shot made it 78-74 with 29 seconds left. Gerald Greene got Seton Hall within 79-78 before Matthews sank 2 free throws to wrap it up.

Shorter scored 22 points for Pitt. John Morton had 23 for Seton Hall.

Oklahoma 122, Colorado 86--Stacey King scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half, and the fourth-ranked Sooners routed the Buffaloes in a Big Eight game at Norman, Okla.

Tony Martin also scored 26 points, while Mookie Blaylock had 24 for the Sooners (16-2, 4-0). Oklahoma’s 78 second-half points were the most ever scored against a Big Eight team.

Steve Wise had 14 points for Colorado 5-13, 0-5.

North Carolina 88, Wake Forest 74--The seventh-ranked Tar Heels made 13 of their first 15 shots and rolled past the Deacons at Greensboro, N.C.

J.R. Reid scored 11 of his 23 points in the first half, and Kevin Madden had 13 of his 15 as North Carolina (17-3, 4-1) built a 46-38 halftime lead.

Sam Ivy scored 24 points for Wake Forest (9-7, 2-5), which didn’t get closer than 7 points in the second half.

Kansas 86, Wichita State 66--Kevin Pritchard triggered a 15-4 run at the outset of the second half, and the No. 18 Jayhawks downed the Shockers at Lawrence, Kan.

After Pritchard turned 2 steals into layups to give Kansas (16-3) a 39-33 halftime lead, he hit a basket and a 3-pointer in a 7-point streak that started the Jayhawks’ second-half run. When it was over, Kansas had a 54-37 lead.

John Cooper scored 19 points for Wichita State (12-5) and Pritchard had 19 for Kansas.

Gonzaga 91, Portland 75--Doug Spradley scored 19 of his 31 points in the second half, and the Bulldogs beat the Pilots in a West Coast Athletic Conference game at Spokane, Wash.

The Bulldogs (11-7, 2-3) opened a 34-14 lead as Spradley scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes. Jim McPhee scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half as Gonzaga built a 45-29 halftime lead.

Josh Lowery scored 20 points for Portland (1-17, 1-4).