COLLEGE BASKETBALL THE TOP 25 : Charleston Caps No. 8 Georgia Tech’s 6-Day Slide, 84-67

In just six days, Georgia Tech went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.

The eighth-ranked Yellow Jackets, who upset then-No. 1 Duke last Sunday, were stunned by College of Charleston, 84-67, Saturday night at Atlanta.

“I take full responsibility,” Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Cremins said. “We just were not ready to play. It’s my responsibility to get us up and ready to play, and it was obvious we were not.”

Marion Busby scored 29 points and Patrick King added 20 as Charleston (8-2) made 59% of its shots and never trailed in the second half.

Charleston moved up to NCAA Division I last season and lost at Georgia Tech, 77-70, despite outshooting and outrebounding the Yellow Jackets.

“I just asked them to do two things, play their hearts out and let it all hang out,” Cougar Coach John Kresse said. “Last year we scared them. And this year we didn’t fold in the last seven or eight minutes.”

Georgia Tech (9-3), which lost to fifth-ranked North Carolina on Wednesday night, couldn’t shoot straight. The Yellow Jackets made 41% of their shots and only 37.5% of their free throws.

Charleston took the lead for good, 27-25, on Busby’s layup 3:32 before halftime. Chris Jackson’s basket and a three-pointer by King gave the Cougars a 39-32 in the first three minutes of the second half and Georgia Tech didn’t get close again.

James Forrest scored 28 points for Georgia Tech.

No. 2 Michigan 70, Notre Dame 55--Chris Webber scored 22 points and led a second-half surge that carried the Wolverines past the Irish at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Michigan (13-2) led, 39-35, when Webber started and finished a 16-0 run with three-pointers. The Wolverines held Notre Dame (7-6) without a basket for nearly seven minutes.

Juwan Howard added 18 points and Jalen Rose had 14 for Michigan. Ryan Hoover had 23 points for Notre Dame.

No. 3 Duke 65, No. 13 Iowa 56--Thomas Hill scored 20 points and the Blue Devils won their 36th consecutive game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, rallying to beat the Hawkeyes at Durham, N.C.

Duke (12-1), which plays No. 14 Virginia (10-0) today at Cameron, has won 78 in a row against non-conference teams at home.

The Hawkeyes (12-3) led by seven points in the first half and were within 49-47 with 6:13 to play after a basket by Acie Earl, who was held to 10 points.

Cherokee Parks, Duke’s 6-foot-11 sophomore who didn’t score in the first half, started a 10-2 run with a basket and the Blue Devils had a 59-49 lead at 2:42.

Bobby Hurley added 14 points for Duke and Grant Hill had 12. Chris Street scored 14 points for Iowa, which had a 24-17 lead with 6:07 left in the first half.

No. 4 Kansas 98, Louisville 77--Rex Walters hit a three-pointer to trigger a 14-0 run in the first half and the Cardinals never recovered, losing to the Jayhawks at Louisville, Ky.

It was victory No. 1,500 for Kansas, which recorded its first win in 1899 under James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.

Walters scored 20 points and Adonis Jordan had 18 for Kansas. Morton had 19 points for Louisville (7-5).

Coach Denny Crum, hospitalized earlier in the week because of intestinal flu, was on the sideline for the Cardinals.

No. 5 North Carolina 82, Clemson 72--George Lynch had 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Tar Heels survived a poor shooting performance to beat the Tigers in an ACC game at Clemson, S.C.

The Tar Heels (14-1, 4-0), leading the ACC in shooting percentage, won their sixth consecutive game despite making just 27 of 63 shots (42.9%). They were 11 of 32 in the first half, but still had a 31-24 lead.

Eric Montross had 13 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina. Chris Whitney scored 17 points for Clemson (9-3, 0-3).

No. 6 Indiana 83, Illinois 79--Calbert Cheaney scored 30 points and the Hoosiers denied Illini Coach Lou Henson his 600th victory in a Big Ten Conference game at Champaign, Ill.

Illinois (9-5, 2-1) pulled to within 75-74 with 2:15 to play, but Cheaney hit four free throws in the next minute and Greg Graham added four more for Indiana (15-2, 4-0) in the final 23 seconds.

Deon Thomas had 23 points and nine rebounds for Illinois, which held a 32-31 halftime lead.

No. 11 Cincinnati 70, DePaul 64--Nick Van Exel scored 25 points and the Bearcats hung on to down the Blue Demons in a Great Midwest Conference game at Rosemont, Ill.

It was the eighth consecutive victory for the Bearcats (11-1, 2-0), who had a 24-point halftime lead.

Cincinnati made just one field goal in the first 11 minutes of the second half and let DePaul (8-7, 0-2) trim a 47-23 deficit to 49-40 with a 17-2 run that was capped by Peter Patton’s three-pointer.

Van Exel ended the scoring drought with a three-point play and added two three-pointers in the span of a minute to build Cincinnati’s lead back up to 58-43 with 7:55 to go.

No. 15 Connecticut 66, No. 22 Boston College 64--Donyell Marshall hit a 18-foot jump shot with 1.6 seconds left to give the Huskies Big East victory over the Eagles at Boston.

Marshall also sank two free throws with 1:33 left to tie the game, 64-64.

Billy Curley’s basket gave Boston College (9-4, 3-2) a 64-62 lead with 2:57 remaining, but the Eagles did not score again.

Scott Burrell scored 19 points and Marshall had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Connecticut (8-3, 3-2).

Bill Curley scored 19 points for Boston College.

No. 17 Purdue 61, Penn State 54--Glenn Robinson had 21 points and 14 rebounds the Boilermakers pulled away in the second half for a Big Ten victory over the Nittany Lions at Sate College, Penn.

Matt Waddell’s free throw put Purdue (11-2, 2-2) ahead to stay, 47-46, with 8:10 left in the game, but Penn State (6-7, 1-3) stayed close until the finish by holding Robinson to one point in the last 12:05.

No. 18 UNLV 84, San Jose State 77--J.R. Rider scored 31 points and the Rebels gave Coach Rollie Massimino his 400th victory by beating the Spartans in a Big West Conference game at Las Vegas.

UNLV (9-1, 4-1) has won 55 consecutive Big West home games.

Jason Allen had 24 points for San Jose (3-9, 0-4).

Wisconsin 79, No. 19 Minnesota 70--Michael Finley and Tracy Webster each scored 21 points to lead the Badgers to an upset of the Gophers in a Big Ten game at Madison, Wis.

Minnesota (10-3, 2-2) erased a 39-32 halftime deficit with a 15-6 surge at the outset of the second half, but Finley scored seven points in a 13-2 burst that gave Wisconsin (8-4, 1-2) a 58-49 lead.

No. 20 Georgetown 66, Villanova 56--Freshman Othella Harrington scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half as the Hoyas downed the Wildcats in a Big East game at Philadelphia.

Villanova (5-6, 1-4) cut the Hoyas’ lead to 58-56 with 1:58 left on two free throws by Jonathan Haynes. But Harrington made a short jumper and two free throws to seal the victory for Georgetown (10-2, 3-2).

No. 23 Michigan State 80, Northwestern 75--Shawn Respert scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half and the Spartans rallied to beat the Wildcats in a Big Ten game at Evanston, Ill.

Michigan State (10-3, 2-2) took the lead for good, 65-64, lead on a three-pointer by Kris Weshinsky and Respert kept the Spartans in front the rest of the way.

Cedric Neloms scored 31 points for the Wildcats (5-7, 0-3).

No. 24 Syracuse 69, Providence 57--Lawrence Moten scored 15 of his 26 points in the second half and the Orangemen rallied from a halftime deficit to beat the Friars in a Big East game at Providence, R.I.

Syracuse (10-4, 2-4) held the Friars (7-5, 1-4) without a basket for over six minutes and surged ahead, 54-43.

No. 25 Utah 103, Fresno State 83--Byron Wilson scored 24 points and the Utes coasted past the Bulldogs in a Western Athletic Conference game at Fresno.

Utah (12-2, 5-0) led, 19-2, and was ahead, 62-31, at halftime.

Seth Marshall had 19 points for Fresno State (7-8, 2-4).