COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Robinson (Who Else?) Keys Purdue Victory

Penn State couldn’t stop Glenn Robinson when it counted.

Then again, who can?

Robinson, the nation’s leading scorer, had 14 of Purdue’s final 17 points and finished with 30 to lead the 14th-ranked Boilermakers to a 71-66 victory Saturday at West Lafayette, Ind.

“The first half a couple of my shots weren’t falling, but as they got closer they just started to fall,” Robinson said.

Purdue (23-4, 11-4 Big Ten) saw its 16-point halftime lead cut to one before Robinson took over.

“A lot of it was our fault because we always go out there and . . . think we’re going to run over them, especially at home,” he said.

Rahsaan Carlton scored 23 points for Penn State (11-12, 4-10).

The Nittany Lions cut Purdue’s lead to 56-55 on a three-pointer by Carlton and two free throws by John Amaechi with 5:47 remaining.

But then Robinson scored nine points in a row for Purdue to regain control.

No. 1 Arkansas 91, Auburn 81--Corey Beck and Clint McDaniel each made two free throws down the stretch at Fayetteville, Ark., in the Razorbacks’ 10th consecutive victory.

Arkansas (22-2, 12-2 Southeastern Conference) led by as many as 15 points early in the second half, but Lance Weems’ three-pointer cut it to 83-77 with 2:19 to play. The Tigers (10-14, 3-11) had a chance to get closer, but Wesley Person missed a baseline jumper.

The victory, coupled with Florida’s loss to Vanderbilt, put Arkansas on top of the SEC race. Auburn had won four in a row.

No. 4 North Carolina 78, Florida St. 75--For the second time in a week, the Seminoles tried a four-guard lineup against North Carolina, and the Tar Heels responded with their frontcourt making all 23 of their baskets at Chapel Hill, including Rasheed Wallace’s 15-footer with 1:23 to play that helped secure the victory.

North Carolina (23-5, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed the Seminoles (12-13, 5-10) the entire first half, then started the second with a 16-5 run to a nine point lead. The Tar Heels shot 78.3% in the second half, with Eric Montross scoring 18 points on seven-for-seven shooting.

No. 5 Connecticut 78, Pittsburgh 66--Donyell Marshall, Donny Marshall and Brian Fair each scored 15 points at Hartford, where the the Huskies (24-3, 14-2) won their first outright regular-season championship in the Big East.

Eric Mobley scored 21 point to lead Pittsburgh (13-12, 7-10), which dropped its seventh in a row for the first time since 1964-65.

No. 6 Missouri 99, Oklahoma 83--Reserve Mark Atkins tied his school record with seven three-pointers as the Tigers clinched the Big Eight title at Norman, Okla.

Missouri (22-2, 12-0) won its ninth Big Eight championship under Coach Norm Stewart and needs victories over Kansas State and Nebraska for the third unbeaten season in conference history. Kansas was the last to do it, in 1971.

Missouri has won 12 in a row and 21 of its last 22. Oklahoma (14-10, 5-7) has lost three in a row.

No. 10 Kansas 106, Colorado 62--Richard Scott returned to his pre-injury form with 18 points and the Jayhawks set a school record with 72 rebounds at Lawrence, Kan.

Colorado (10-14, 2-10) had only 29 rebounds in losing the 78th of its last 79 regular-season road games in the Big Eight.

Scott, who injured his shoulder Jan. 24, helped key first-half runs that put the Jayhawks (22-6, 7-5) in command.

No. 13 Louisville 85, Notre Dame 82--Freshman DeJuan Wheat hit four consecutive free throws in the final 25 seconds of regulation, then came up with two steals in the closing seconds of overtime for the Cardinals at South Bend, Ind.

The Irish (10-17) led, 82-78, on two free throws by Ryan Hoover with 1:15 left in overtime. Greg Minor pulled Louisville (22-4) within one point on a three-pointer, then Wheat stole the ball and passed to Tick Rogers for a fast-break layup with 23 seconds to go.

Vanderbilt 82, No. 16 Florida 78--Billy McCaffrey scored 31 points, including two free throws with nine seconds left, for the Commodores at Nashville, Tenn.

Frank Seckar hit a free throw with 11.7 seconds left to put Vanderbilt (14-10, 7-7 Southeastern) ahead, 80-78. He missed his second attempt, but Vanderbilt got the rebound and McCaffrey made the game-clinching free throws.

Dan Cross scored 21 points for Florida (22-5, 11-3).

No. 19 St. Louis 71, Memphis 66--Erwin Claggett and H Waldman scored 18 points each at Memphis for the Billikens.

The guards each made four three-pointers to lead St. Louis (22-3, 8-3 Great Midwest).

Rodney Newson led Memphis (10-14, 4-7) with 20 points.

Georgetown 78, No. 21 Boston College 68--John Thompson earned his 500th victory as the Hoyas’ coach at Landover, Md.

Thompson is 500-185 in 22 seasons.

George Butler scored a career-high 26 points to lead Georgetown (16-7, 9-5 Big East). Bill Curley made only four field goals but hit 16 of 18 free throws for 24 points for the Eagles (19-8, 9-6).

No. 23 Georgia Tech 81, North Carolina State 68--Travis Best scored 19 points and James Forrest had 18 before injuring his ankle at Atlanta.

The Yellow Jackets (15-10, 6-8 Atlantic Coast) broke the game open with a 12-0 second-half run.

Forrest left the game with 8:17 remaining after hurting his ankle.

Curtis Marshall led N.C. State (10-16, 4-10) with 13 points.

No. 24 Oklahoma St. 83, Iowa St. 81--Bryant Reeves scored a career-high 35 points, and Brooks Thompson made a follow shot with four seconds left for the Cowboys at Ames, Iowa.

A wild finish included two three-pointers by Iowa State’s Hurl Beechum and two by Thompson as the Cowboys (20-7, 9-3 Big Eight) won for the seventh time in eight games.

Iowa State (13-11, 3-9) got 25 points from Beechum.

OTHER GAMES

Doug Harris scored 24 points and Brooks Barnhard added 21 as San Diego (15-10, 7-7 West Coast) ended Gonzaga’s (20-6, 12-2) winning streak at six games with an 82-73 victory at San Diego. . . . Artie Griffin scored 18 points, including back-to-back three-pointers that sparked a 13-2 run and pushed Alabama (16-8, 10-4 Southeastern) to an 83-62 victory over Mississippi (12-12, 5-9) at Tuscaloosa, Ala. . . . Devin Gray had 14 of his 19 points in the second half and Clemson (14-13, 5-9 Atlantic Coast) won, 73-67, over Maryland (15-9, 7-7) at Clemson, S.C. . . . Travis Banks scored six of his 12 points in a second-half run that helped Wake Forest (18-9, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) extend a late-season slide by Virginia (14-10, 8-7) with a 63-45 victory at Charlottesville, Va.