COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : TCU’s Strickland Shoots Down Arkansas from Long Distance

Michael Strickland hit nine of 12 three-point shots as Texas Christian upset eighth-ranked Arkansas, 81-79, Wednesday night in a Southwest Conference game at Ft. Worth.

Strickland tied the SWC three-point record set by Texas’ Travis Mays last year against Rice. All 27 of his points came on three-point shots.

“I hit a couple of shots early, and that kept my confidence level up,” Strickland said. “I wanted to keep my head up because I hadn’t been shooting well lately.”

Arkansas’ Lee Mayberry had five three-point shots in the second half and scored 24 points for the Hogs, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a slow start.

Arkansas dropped to 20-4 in losing its second consecutive SWC game after 11 victories. TCU is 13-10 and 6-6.

The Razorbacks lost Saturday, 82-77, to Baylor.

No. 6 Duke 84, East Carolina 51--Freshman Billy McCaffrey, starting in place of injured Phil Henderson, scored 21 points to lead the Blue Devils at Durham, N.C.

Duke (21-4) beat East Carolina (12-15) for the 18th consecutive time. The Pirates of the Colonial Athletic Assn. have never beaten an Atlantic Coast Conference team, losing 45 consecutive games.

No. 11 Oklahoma 85, Kansas State 69--Skeeter Henry and Smokey McCovery scored 16 points apiece to lead the Sooners in a Big Eight Conference game at Norman, Okla.

It was the 42nd consecutive home victory for Oklahoma (18-3, 6-2). Steve Henson scored 21 points to lead Kansas State (14-13, 4-5).

No. 15 Illinois 88, Northwestern 75--Kendall Gill scored 25 points at Champaign, Ill., as the Illini handed the Wildcats their 35th consecutive Big Ten road defeat.

The Illini (18-5, 8-5) were in control most of the game, but had to hold off a Wildcat rally in the final minutes. Northwestern (8-14, 1-11) pulled within 74-67 on a three-point shot by Rex Walters with 3:40 remaining.

But a basket and free throw by Ervin Small and two free throws by Stephen Bardo put Illinois ahead, 79-67, with two minutes left.

No. 24 St. John’s 90, Seton Hall 81--Boo Harvey hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to force overtime and then scored 13 of his career-high 40 points in the extra session to lead the Redmen in a Big East Conference game at East Rutherford, N.J.

The victory was the third in a row for the Redmen (20-6, 8-4) after a three-game losing streak and gave Coach Lou Carnesecca his 17th season of at least 20 victories in 22 years at St. John’s.

The win also moved the Redmen into a tie with Syracuse for third place in the conference. Seton Hall (10-12, 3-8) lost its fifth consecutive game, its longest streak since dropping eight in a row during the 1985-86 season.

Virginia 81, North Carolina 80--John Crotty scored 21 of his 27 points from three-point range to lead the Cavaliers in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Charlottesville, Va.

Crotty made seven of 13 three-point shot attempts as Virginia (15-7, 4-6) defeated North Carolina for only the fourth time in 21 games.

North Carolina (17-9, 6-4) had a chance to win, but Scott Williams was long on a 15-foot jump shot as time expired.

Auburn 75, Florida 55--Derrick Dennison scored 22 points, hitting nine of 10 shots, as the Tigers handed the Gators their 10th consecutive loss in a Southeastern Conference game at Auburn, Ala.

Auburn (10-14, 6-7) is the last team to lose to Florida. Since then, two veteran starters have left the Gators (6-15, 2-11).

Notre Dame 79, Marquette 76--Joe Fredrick hit four free throws in the final two minutes and scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Fighting Irish at South Bend, Ind.

Marquette (11-10) was led by Trevor Powell’s game-high 29 points. Notre Dame is 13-8.

Mississippi 81, Tennessee 80--David Midlick’s three-point basket with 2:20 left broke a 77-77 tie and the Rebels held off the Volunteers in a Southeastern Conference game at Oxford, Miss.

Allan Houston had a game-high 37 points for Tennessee (12-10, 7-6). Gerald Glass had 30 for Mississippi (9-13, 6-7).

Texas 79, Southern Methodist 68--Travis Mays scored 25 points to lead the Longhorns in a Southwest Conference game at Austin, Tex.

Texas is 17-6 and 10-3, a game behind Arkansas for the conference lead.

Houston 74, Texas Tech 71--Carl Herrera scored a layup with 10 seconds remaining in overtime to lead the Cougars in a Southwest Conference game at Lubbock, Tex.

Will Flemons had 23 points and 23 rebounds for Texas Tech (5-17, 0-12). Byron Smith led Houston (18-6, 8-3) with 20 points.