COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Free Throws Cost UMass in Loss to Kansas

Kansas used its balanced offense and avoided the foul pitfalls that plagued top-ranked North Carolina two days earlier as the sixth-ranked Jayhawks beat No. 18 Massachusetts, 86-75, Friday night to win the Preseason NIT in New York.

Kansas (4-0) has been to the tournament three times and reached the championship game each time, winning in 1989 and again this year for an eight-game NIT winning streak.

Massachusetts hung in until the final minutes despite a horrible night at the free-throw line for Lou Roe, who made seven of 20 foul shots.

The Minutemen (3-1) had beaten defending national champion North Carolina, 91-86, in overtime in the semifinals and they again were relentless on the boards.

Richard Scott, the tournament’s most valuable player, had 16 points as six Jayhawks scored in double figures.

Kansas’ second-half lead reached 56-40 with 13:16 left, but the Minutemen made a game of it as foul trouble sent the Jayhawks’ big men, Greg Ostertag and Scott, to the bench.

No. 1 North Carolina 90, No. 9 Minnesota 76--Led by Donald Williams’ career-high 28 points, the top-ranked Tar Heels (3-1) bounced back from their loss to Massachusetts with a victory over the Golden Gophers (2-2) in New York to take third place in the Preseason NIT.

Williams connected on nine of 14 shots for the Tar Heels, who opened a 74-58 lead with 7:10 to play only to have the Golden Gophers get within 81-76 with 2:11 left. North Carolina went nine for 14 from the free-throw line the rest of the way as Minnesota missed its last eight shots.

No. 5 Michigan 80, Georgia Tech 70--Jalen Rose scored 28 points and sophomore Dugan Fife contributed excellent floor leadership and defense as the Wolverines (1-0) beat the Yellow Jackets (0-1) in the Tip-Off Classic at Springfield, Mass.

Fife, who didn’t score a basket as a freshman last season, had nine points--all in the first half--for the Wolverines. He hit a pair of three-pointers, including a 25-footer with 1.1 seconds left in the first half.

No. 10 Oklahoma State 113, Providence 102--Brooks Thompson’s driving layup with seven seconds left in regulation tied the score, and he scored eight of his 33 points in overtime to carry the Cowboys to a victory over the Friars (0-1) at Tulsa, Okla.

Thompson, who scored 27 points after halftime, hit a three-pointer with 22 seconds left to pull the Cowboys (1-0) to 88-87. After Franklin Western made one of two free throws, Thompson drove through a gap in the lane for his score-tying layup.

Western, who led the Friars with 28 points, made two free throws to tie the score, 91-91, but Thompson took over from there.

Maryland 84, No. 15 Georgetown 83--Duane Simpkins’ driving layup with three seconds left in overtime gave the Terrapins (1-0) an emotional and improbable upset of the Hoyas (0-1) in Landover, Md.

Maryland trailed by 13 points in the second half.

It was the first meeting between the two Washington-area teams since 1980.

No. 24 Vanderbilt 83, Penn State 60--The Commodores (1-0) opened the second half with a 16-2 run and Ronnie McMahan scored 25 points in a rout of the Nittany Lions (0-1) in Nashville, Tenn.

Vanderbilt, which trailed, 33-29, at halftime, took control of the game early in the second half as McMahan’s basket with 14:31 left built a 45-35 lead.

Tennessee 97, Tennessee-Martin 80--Former Riverside North High standout Ed Gray got his career off to a fast start with 29 points to lead the Volunteers (1-0) past the Pacers (0-1) in Knoxville, Tenn.

Gray scored 19 points in the first half, including four three-pointers, as the Volunteers built a 55-35 lead.

Louisiana State 86, Texas 66--Freshman Ronnie Henderson made a big impact in his first game, sinking five three-pointers and scoring 21 points to lead the Tigers (1-0) in Baton Rouge, La.

The 6-5 Henderson is one-half of LSU’s highly touted freshman backcourt. The other, Randy Livingston, is sidelined because of a knee injury, but expected back about Jan. 1.

Michigan State 83, Pacific 64--The Spartans (1-0) raced to a 25-2 lead and, and led by Quinton Brooks’ 23 points, beat Pacific (0-1) in the first round of the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico.

Michigan State shot 63% from the field.