College Basketball Roundup : Illinois, in First Game as No. 1, Loses to Minnesota

After its long climb to the top of the hill, Illinois’ fall from grace was swift.

The top-ranked Illini, the last undefeated team in Division I, were knocked off their perch by Minnesota, 69-62, Thursday night in a Big Ten Conference game at Minneapolis.

“It’s a tribute to our young men and how hard they worked to be No. 1,” Illinois Coach Lou Henson said. “But (being ranked first) certainly doesn’t help you win ballgames.”

Illinois (17-1 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten) was playing its first game since rising to the No. 1 spot Monday. In 1952, the last time the Illini were No. 1 during the regular season, they were beaten by DePaul in their first game after reaching the top.

Minnesota (11-5, 3-3) was effective in its zone defense, especially since Illinois lost standout point guard Kendall Gill, third in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting, with a broken foot in its last game.

“We beat the No. 1 team,” Minnesota Coach Clem Haskins said. “Sure, they could have played better. But I’m very, very proud of my Gophers.”

Minnesota pulled off its second upset in 12 days, having beaten then-No. 5 Iowa on Jan. 14.

Willie Burton had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Gophers, but it was his passing that helped turn the game Minnesota’s way.

Burton made remarkable passes on three straight plays during a 13-0 run in the first half that gave the Gophers a 25-11 lead.

“I was so high because I’ve never played against a No. 1 team in college,” Burton said. “We were juiced up tonight.”

Minnesota built its lead to 20 points with 9:56 left and held off a late Illinois rally. Kenny Battle scored 5 points in a 10-0 run that got the Illini within 61-59 with 5:16 left. Then Burton hit a basket, Lynch added 2 free throws and it was over.

North Carolina State 88, Duke 73--Brian Howard scored 23 points, and the 15th-ranked Wolfpack handed the No. 8 Blue Devils their third straight defeat in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Raleigh, N.C.

Duke (13-3, 3-3), mired in a slump after winning its first 13 games, played without All-American Danny Ferry, who has been bothered by back spasms all season.

North Carolina State (13-2, 4-1) had a 48-38 lead on Chucky Brown’s basket with 15:39 left, but the Blue Devils rallied and surged ahead, 63-61, on Robert Brickey’s shot with 10:15 left.

But N.C. State turned 3 steals into baskets and pulled away.

Alaa Abdelnaby scored 24 points, and Brickey added 19, while Brown scored 15 for the Wolfpack.

Iowa 78, Wisconsin 70--Roy Marble got 24 points and became Iowa’s all-time leading scorer as the 12th-ranked Hawkeyes downed the Badgers in a Big Ten game at Iowa City, Iowa.

Marble, a 6-foot 6-inch senior, broke the record of 1,768 points set by Greg Stokes 4 years ago. Ed Horton added 22 points for Iowa (15-3, 2-2), which played its first home game since Dec. 30.

Iowa led by 11 points at halftime and made it 53-40 on B.J. Armstrong’s 3-point shot. But Wisconsin (15-3, 3-2) scored the next 3 baskets, including a 3-pointer by Tim Locum, to get within 53-47 with 10:46 remaining.

Wisconsin came within 66-62 with 3:42 left, but Horton scored 3 of Iowa’s next 5 points to finish off the Badgers.

Danny Jones scored 27 points for Wisconsin.

Louisville 95, So. Mississippi 76--Pervis Ellison scored 26 points, and the third-ranked Cardinals trounced the Golden Eagles in a Metro Conference game at Hattiesburg, Miss.

After taking a 43-39 halftime lead, Louisville (14-2, 3-0) broke it open with a 22-6 surge to open the second half and rolled to its 14th consecutive victory.

Louis Bates scored 17 points for Southern Mississippi (6-9, 2-3).

Florida State 69, South Carolina 67--George McCloud hit a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left to give the No. 11 Seminoles a Metro Conference victory over the Gamecocks at Columbia, S.C.

South Carolina (12-4, 2-2), which took the lead on Terry Dozier’s 2 free throws with 37 seconds left, couldn’t get off a shot after McCloud hit.

Tat Hunter scored 20 points for Florida State (15-1, 3-0).

Ohio State 100, Northwestern 68--Perry Carter scored 25 points as the No. 17 Buckeyes rolled past the Wildcats in a Big Ten game at Columbus, Ohio.

Jay Burson added 19 points, and Jerry Francis scored 11 for Ohio State (14-4, 4-2), which took a 23-4 lead and never was threatened. Northwestern is 8-9 and 1-6.