College Basketball Roundup : Ellison Returns, Louisville Loses

Florida State felt all along it belonged high in the rankings, even if few others did.

“We had our skeptics about our position in the top 20, yet our youngsters never questioned it and knew they could play with anybody,” Coach Pat Kennedy said after the 12th-ranked Seminoles shocked No. 4 Louisville, 81-78, Monday night.

George McCloud made two free throws with 5 seconds left as Florida State gained the Metro Conference victory at Louisville, Ky., and raised its record to 18-2 and 6-1, best in the conference. Louisville is 16-4 and 5-1.

Pervis Ellison, who was out for two games with a knee injury, returned to lead the Cardinals with 19 points.

Syracuse 85, Seton Hall 79--Sherman Douglas scored 28 points and Syracuse built a big second-half lead, then held off a furious closing rally to defeat No. 11 Seton Hall at East Rutherford, N.J., giving the Orangemen their seventh consecutive 20-victory season.

Stephen Thompson added 23 points as Syracuse (20-4) won its sixth game in a row. The victory was Syracuse’s 17th in a row over Seton Hall (19-4).

It also put the Orangemen and Pirates into a tie for second place in the Big East with 6-4 records. Georgetown (7-1) is in first place.

Oklahoma 126, Iowa State 97--Stacey King scored 33 points and Skeeter Henry scored 16 of his 18 in the second half as No. 5 Oklahoma broke away from Iowa State in a Big Eight Conference game at Norman, Okla.

The Sooners, coming off a loss to Oklahoma State Saturday that knocked them out of the No. 1 spot, shook off a listless first half to score 81 second-half points, a Big Eight record.

Ohio State 70, Purdue 58--Jay Burson scored 26 points and the No. 16 Buckeyes won a Big Ten conference game at Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State (16-5, 5-3) moved into a four-way tie for second place in the Big Ten behind Indiana. Purdue is 10-12, 3-6.

Virginia 78, Georgia Tech 71--Richard Morgan scored 23 points and the Cavaliers posted an Atlantic Coast Conference upset over No. 20 Georgia Tech at Charlottesville, Va.

Virginia, which routed highly ranked North Carolina and North Carolina State at home earlier this season, is tied with those teams for the ACC lead at 5-2. Virginia (13-6 overall) has won six straight games.

South Carolina 105, Southern Mississippi 63--Brent Price scored 22 points and had six assists to lead the Gamecocks in a Metro Conference game at Columbia, S.C.

South Carolina is 13-6 overall and 3-2 in conference.