COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Top-Ranked Indiana Survives Michigan

Indiana needed no help from the officials to defeat Michigan on Sunday.

The top-ranked Hoosiers played solid defense and got a season-high 17 points from freshman Brian Evans for a 93-92 victory over Michigan in a Big Ten Conference game at Bloomington, Ind.

Indiana improved its record to 22-2, 11-0 in the Big Ten, with its 11th consecutive victory.

Indiana’s previous victory came in double overtime at Penn State on Tuesday night when an admitted blown call by an official gave the Hoosiers a chance to win.

Michigan (19-4, 8-3), which dropped from No. 4 to No. 5 in the Associated Press rankings after the game, made a season-high 12 of 22 three-point attempts and shot 58% from the field. The Wolverines led by as many as 13 points during the first half, but Indiana held Michigan without a field goal for 6 1/2 minutes of the second half until a last-minute three-point barrage.

“It nearly got away from us again, but we did a really good job of hanging in there and our guys off the bench really contributed,” Indiana Coach Bobby Knight said.

Two free throws by Jalen Rose with 6:01 to play gave Michigan its last lead, 78-76.

Evans, a 6-foot-8 freshman, made a three-point basket 10 seconds later to give Indiana the lead for good. Michigan turned the ball over on its next three possessions, and Indiana was able to convert two of them, the last on another three-point basket by Evans, who had made eight all season.

Indiana struggled from the foul line in the final minutes, making eight of 12 free throws during the final 1:40. Michigan made four three-point baskets, three by Chris Webber, to keep it close.

“I’ll tell you, I don’t want to play them ever again when they shoot that way on three-pointers,” Knight said. “Michigan is really, really tough.”

The victory was Indiana’s 27th in a row at home, the longest streak in the nation.

No. 3 North Carolina 77, Georgia Tech 66--The Tar Heels extended their record streak of consecutive 20-victory seasons to 23 with an Atlantic Coast Conference victory at Atlanta.

Reserve Donald Williams scored 14 of his 21 points during the final 10:38 as North Carolina (20-3, 9-2) moved into a first-place tie with Florida State in the ACC.

The Tar Heels, who trailed by nine points late in the first half, broke the game open with an 18-4 run with 8:43 to play to take a 77-63 lead.

North Carolina gave up only two field goals during the final 9:30--a three-point basket by Drew Barry with 8:51 to play and another by Travis Best with 12 seconds left. James Forrest led Georgia Tech (12-8, 5-6) with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Louisville 90, No. 15 Nevada Las Vegas 86--Dwayne Morton scored 27 points and Clifford Rozier added 19 as the Cardinals dominated inside to end the nation’s longest home winning streak at 59 games.

The loss at the Thomas & Mack center was UNLV’s first in more than four years. The Runnin’ Rebels last lost at their campus arena on Jan. 28, 1989, to Oklahoma.

UNLV (16-3) started no one taller than 6-foot-7 Evric Gray, and Louisville took advantage of its height to lead by as many as 16 points before a late UNLV rally pulled the Runnin’ Rebels close.

Louisville (14-6) finally got a road victory over a top-25 team after three last-minute losses, including a 62-60 defeat Thursday night at Tulane.

“We lost three games we had a real good chance to win,” Louisville Coach Denny Crum said. “We had not handled those situations exceptionally well. Today we did.”

Gray fouled out with 6:27 to play. UNLV, with 6-5 J.R. Rider as its biggest man on the court, could get no closer than four points.

OTHER GAMES

Jamal Phillips and Steve Worthy scored 18 points apiece as host Rutgers (11-12, 4-6) ended a five-game losing streak with a 90-81 Atlantic 10 victory over St. Joseph’s (14-7, 5-4). . . . Five players from Memphis State 16-7, 4-2) scored more than 10 points a 79-57 victory over DePaul (12-11, 2-5) in a Great Midwest Conference game at Memphis, Tenn.