COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NATIONAL ROUNDUP : A Miss by Tennessee Hits Kentucky, 78-77

Tennessee’s Allan Houston deliberately missed a free throw Wednesday night and it could keep Kentucky from becoming the No. 1 team in the nation.

“I tried to shoot hard and a little off center,” said Houston, whose free throw miss allowed Tennessee’s Corey Allen to make a three-point play with 1.5 seconds left that gave the Volunteers a 78-77 upset of No. 2 Kentucky in a Southeastern Conference game at Knoxville, Tenn.

“There was no pressure (on Allen’s free throw) because the game was tied, and the worst we could do was go into overtime,” Allen said. “So this wasn’t any pressure. I just concentrated.”

The loss probably cost Kentucky (20-3, 10-3) a chance to move up to No. 1 in the next poll. Top-ranked Indiana lost to Ohio State in overtime Tuesday.

Tennessee (12-13, 4-9) trailed, 77-74, when Houston was fouled with 4.9 seconds left. He made the free throw to make it 77-75, then missed the second.

“Someone said after the game that was the best miss I’ve ever had,” said Houston, an 88% free-throw shooter, who led Tennessee with 27 points. Allen scored 24 for the Volunteers.

Jamal Mashburn led Kentucky with 26 points.

No. 9 Duke 98, No. 6 Florida State 75--Bobby Hurley set a school record with 16 assists and scored 16 points as the Blue Devils shut down the Seminoles in a key Atlantic Coast Conference game at Durham, N.C.

Antonio Lang, picking up the slack for an injured Grant Hill, scored a career-high 17 points as the Blue Devils (21-5, 9-5) ended Florida State’s eight-game winning streak.

Hurley, chasing the NCAA career assist record, has 1,019 assists, 20 shy of breaking the mark held by Chris Corchiani of North Carolina State.

“Guys are finishing for me and doing a great job of completing the play,” Hurley said. “I’m getting more and more comfortable of playing my role of just being a point guard and getting everybody involved. The guys are gaining more confidence in knowing that I’m going to get them the ball and they want to take those shots.”

The Seminoles (21-7, 11-3), who fell half a game off the conference lead held by No. 3 North Carolina, were led by Bobby Sura’s 29 points.

No. 8 Vanderbilt 87, Georgia 83--Billy McCaffrey scored a career-high 35 points, including eight consecutive free throws in the final 1:46 of overtime, to lead the Commodores to a Southeastern Conference victory at Athens, Ga.

McCaffrey made 11 of 16 shots, including five of nine from three-point range, for Vanderbilt (22-4, 11-2), which has won five consecutive games and 11 of its last 12.

Georgia (11-12, 5-8) had forced the extra period on Dathon Brown’s three-point basket with six seconds left for a 76-76 tie. Cleveland Jackson led the Bulldogs with 18 points.

Clemson 76, No. 12 Wake Forest 74--Chris Whitney scored 20 points and stripped the ball from Rodney Rogers in the final seconds, preserving the Tigers’ upset ACC victory at Clemson, S.C.

Clemson (13-10, 3-10) defeated a ranked team for the first time in 10 tries this season. Wake Forest (17-6, 8-5) lost its second consecutive game.

Rogers, the ACC’s leading scorer, had 21 points in the second half. But with 3.8 seconds left, Whitney stole the ball from Rogers and ran out the clock before Wake Forest could foul.

No. 18 Iowa 58, Penn State 38--Val Barnes cooled off considerably, but still led the Hawkeyes past the Nittany Lions in a Big Ten game at Iowa City.

Iowa (18-6, 7-5) had defeated Penn State (6-17, 1-13) by a 74-58 margin on Monday behind Barnes’ career-high 33 points. However, Barnes had only 11 points in the rematch as Iowa won its fifth consecutive game.

OTHER GAMES

Clarence (Bighouse) Gaines, the NCAA’s winningest active coach, said goodby to his profession with one of his more lopsided losses as Elizabeth City State defeated Winston-Salem State, 105-64, in the opening round of the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assn. tournament at Richmond, Va. Winston-Salem (6-17) went into the tournament with the second-worst record in the 14-team league for predominantly black schools and was no match for Elizabeth City (18-9). . . . Eddie Jones scored 18 points and Rick Brunson and Aaron McKie added 16 apiece as Temple (13-10) rallied in the second half to defeat Memphis State (17-9), 65-58, at Philadelphia. Anfernee Hardaway led Memphis State with 20 points. . . . Terry Davis scored 21 points to lead DePaul (15-11) over Texas Christian (5-17), 79-68, at Rosemont, Ill.