COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : No. 18 Pitt Overcomes Mistakes, Oklahoma State

It’s a measure of Pittsburgh’s strength that even on a bad night the 18th-ranked Panthers can still beat another ranked team.

Behind the 28 points of Jason Matthews, Pittsburgh pulled away to beat No. 23 Oklahoma State, 102-90, in the first game of the Tournament of Champions Friday night at Charlotte, N.C.

Pitt had 18 turnovers and made only 15 of 28 free throws, but few of the mistakes and misses came with the game on the line.

No. 1 Syracuse 100, Virginia Commonwealth 73--The Orangemen (3-0) used a 21-4 spurt early in the first half to advance to the finals of the Carrier tournament at Syracuse, N.Y. Billy Owens and Stephen Thompson each scored 21 points for Syracuse.

No. 16 Temple 65, Arkansas State 41--Duane Causwell scored eight of his 17 points during a 17-2 spurt in the first half to lead the Owls (2-0) in the opening round of the Carrier tournament at Syracuse, N.Y.

No. 24 Florida 82, Florida State 69--The Gators made a successful debut under interim Coach Don DeVoe behind 25 points from 7-foot-2 center Dwayne Schintzius.

No. 25 North Carolina State 68, Ohio State 54--Rodney Monroe had 18 points despite making six of 17 from the field and Chris Corchiani added 17, leading the Wolfpack to the Tournament of Champions final against Pittsburgh.

Stanford 82, Lehigh 59--Adam Keefe had 19 points and 15 rebounds and center Derek Bruton scored a career-high 16 for the Cardinal in the opening game of the Apple Invitational at Stanford.

UC Santa Barbara 86, Bradley 60--Carrick DeHart scored 19 points to spark the Gauchos (3-0) in the first round of the Hawkeye tournament at Iowa City, Iowa.