The Beat Goes On for Massachusetts

This was the point in the season that Massachusetts figured to lose its distinction as the only unbeaten major college basketball team, and even its No. 1 ranking.

The Minutemen had already been taken into overtime by three inferior opponents and Saturday’s Atlantic 10 Conference game against No. 10 Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Va., marked the first time they would play on the home court of a nationally ranked opponent.

But, just like its other seven encounters with teams that have been nationally ranked, this one was not close as Massachusetts beat Virginia Tech, 74-58--ending the Hokies’ home winning streak at 17.

The Minutemen, 25-0 overall and 13-0 in the conference, have beaten ranked opponents by an average of 10 points and the recurring theme in these victories is the dominance of center Marcus Camby, who had 31 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

“We’ve heard a lot about how tough the crowd here is,” Camby said. “We just wanted to come out and prove we are the No. 1 team in the country, especially when a lot of people were saying this was the game we were going to lose.”

Virginia Tech’s inside players seemed intimidated by Camby. Forward Ace Custis, the Hokies’ leading scorer at 14 points a game, made only three of 13 shots for seven points while centers Travis Jackson and Keefe Matthews combined to miss eight of 10 shots.

“Travis and Keefe were worried too much about where Marcus was defensively, instead of going to the basket,” said Virginia Tech Coach Bill Foster, whose team is 19-3 and 10-2. “He’s not going to block every shot. You may think he is, but he’s not. He doesn’t have a red ‘S’ on his shirt.”

Massachusetts’ next major test figures to be at home next Saturday against George Washington (16-4), which has also beaten Virginia Tech.

No. 2 Kentucky 90, Tennessee 50--The Wildcats (22-1, 12-0) scored the first 17 points of the second half and coasted to their 21st consecutive victory in a Southeastern Conference game at Knoxville, Tenn.

Tennessee (11-11, 4-8) held Kentucky to a season-low 61 points in a Jan. 13 loss at Lexington, Ky., but the Wildcats passed that total five minutes into the second half.

No. 3 Connecticut 85, Notre Dame 65--Guard Ray Allen had 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Huskies (24-1, 14-0) stretched their winning streak to 23 in a Big East game at Storrs, Conn. The Irish (8-14, 3-11) scored one field goal in the game’s final 8:20.

Allen became Connecticut’s No. 4 career scorer with 1,685 points, passing Clifford Robinson (1,664 points from 1986-89) and Wes Bialosuknia (1,673 from 1965-67).

No. 4 Villanova 67, Pittsburgh 64--Guard Kerry Kittles had 25 points and 11 rebounds and the Wildcats (23-3, 15-2) overcame a dreadful start in a Big East game at Pittsburgh for their 10th consecutive victory.

Villanova was scoreless from the field in the first seven minutes and fell behind, 15-2. The Wildcats didn’t lead until 11:27 remained in the game, when reserve guard Zeffie Penn’s only basket put them ahead, 43-40.

Pittsburgh (9-13, 4-10), which had lost by 33 points in its previous game with Villanova, had a chance to force overtime but guard Andre Aldridge missed a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded.

No. 5 Kansas 61, No. 22 Iowa State 50--The Jayhawks (21-2, 9-1), who have struggled with their free-throw shooting at times this season, made eight of nine in the final 2:20 to pull away from the Cyclones (18-6, 7-3) in a Big Eight game at Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State missed its first 11 shots but came back to take its only lead of the game at 32-30 with 15:06 to go. The Cyclones, who also missed their first 11 shots in a victory over Nebraska last Saturday, reverted to their cold-shooting ways from that point and finished at 36%.

No. 6 Cincinnati 87, DePaul 60--Seldom-used freshman Melvin Levett had 17 points in a Conference USA game at Rosemont, Ill., as the Bearcats (19-2, 8-1) handed the Blue Demons (7-16, 0-11) their 13th consecutive loss.

Levett, the ninth Cincinnati player to enter the game, had played more than 10 minutes only twice and his previous high point total was seven.

No. 7 Utah 88, San Diego State 74--Forward Keith Van Horn had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Utes (21-4, 13-2) led throughout the Western Athletic Conference game at Salt Lake City. Forward Kareem Anderson had 21 points for San Diego State (13-10, 7-7).

Georgia Tech 64, No. 8 Wake Forest 63--The Yellow Jackets (16-10, 9-3) moved into a tie for the Atlantic Coast Conference lead with the Demon Deacons (17-4, 9-3) as an apparent game-winning Wake Forest basket was disallowed at Atlanta.

Drew Barry helped put Wake Forest in position to win by missing two free throws with 8.1 seconds. After the second miss, Tony Rutland got the ball, dribbled down court and attempted a three-point shot that bounced off the rim to Rusty LaRue, who made a follow shot. But officials ruled LaRue’s shot came after the buzzer sounded and television replays later supported their decision.

Georgia Tech freshman Stephon Marbury had a game-high 25 points, while center Tim Duncan led Wake Forest with 20.

No. 11 Purdue 66, No. 9 Penn State 49--The Boilermakers (21-4, 11-2) held the Nittany Lions (18-4, 9-4) to 37% shooting at West Lafayette, Ind., as they took an important step toward winning their third consecutive Big Ten championship.

Purdue held Penn State without a field goal during an eight-minute stretch in which it took command, increasing a two-point lead to 13. Forward Glenn Sekunda, the Nittany Lions’ leading scorer at 14.8 points a game, took only two shots and was scoreless.

No. 12 Texas Tech 93, Houston 84--Forward Jason Sasser scored 30 points to lead the Red Raiders (13-9, 7-3) to their 15th consecutive victory in a Southwest Conference game at Houston. Forward Tim Moore had 21 points for Houston (13-9, 7-3).

No. 14 Georgetown 81, No. 15 Memphis 60--Center Othella Harrington had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hoyas (21-5) to a surprisingly lopsided nonconference victory over the Tigers (17-5) at Memphis.

Harrington, who made 11 of 17 shots, outplayed Memphis center Lorenzen Wright, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Five of Wright’s baskets came on dunks; he missed 10 of his other 11 shots.

Guard Allen Iverson had a game-high 30 points for Georgetown, which plays host to Connecticut on Monday.

No. 17 North Carolina 71, Virginia 66--Guard Shammond Williams’ three-point basket and fastbreak dunk 34 seconds apart sparked a late 18-3 run that allowed the Tar Heels (18-7, 9-4) to avoid a third consecutive ACC home loss.

Virginia (11-12, 5-8) had only six scholarship players available following two suspensions and losing starting forward Jamal Robinson to injury earlier this week. Guard Chris Staples had a game-high 21 points, making seven of the Cavaliers’ season-high 14 three-point baskets.

No. 21 Boston College 70, Providence 68--Michael Brown missed a desperation shot at the buzzer in overtime while he and Derrick Brown each missed two free throws in the final seconds of regulation, allowing the Eagles (16-6, 9-5) to beat the Friars (14-9, 7-8) at Providence, R.I., for the first time since 1985.

No. 23 Eastern Michigan 91, Ball State 75--The Eagles (19-3, 12-2) shot 56% and made 31 of 38 free throws to overcome a 41-point performance by Cardinal forward Bonzi Wells in a Mid-American Conference game at Muncie, Ind.

Wells, the nation’s sixth-leading scorer starting the week at 24.8 points a game, made 15 of 27 shots and 10 of 12 free throws for Ball State (13-9, 9-5), which otherwise shot 33% from the field (12 of 36).

Mississippi 71, No. 25 Mississippi State 64--The Rebels (10-12, 4-8), the worst free-throw shooting team in the SEC (61%), made seven without a miss in the closing minutes at Oxford, Miss.

Guard Darryl Wilson scored 12 of his game-high 25 points in the final 90 seconds for Mississippi State (16-6, 7-5), which had won its previous five games.

OTHER GAMES

North Carolina State (14-11, 3-9) lost its third overtime game of the season in bizarre fashion as Duke (15-10, 6-7) posted a 79-76 victory at Durham, N.C. Regulation ended in controversy as the officiating crew had to use a courtside monitor to correct an apparent mistake. The Wolfpack’s Todd Fuller took a three-point shot that missed the rim as the shot clock was running down. Al Pinkins grabbed the rebound and was fouled as he went for the follow shot, by which time the shot clock had sounded as well as the buzzer to end the game. After officials and coaches conferred at the scorer’s table for about seven minutes, the officials ruled that the shot clock had expired before Pinkins was fouled on his shot attempt and put 3.6 seconds on the game clock. Duke’s Jeff Capel missed a 40-foot shot as time finally ran out in regulation.

Charles Lott’s layup at the buzzer gave last-place James Madison (7-19, 3-10) a 76-75 Colonial Athletic Assn. victory over first-place Virginia Commonwealth (19-8, 12-2) at Harrisonburg, Va. The victory was the 664th for James Madison Coach Lefty Driesell, who is tied with John Wooden at 14th on the NCAA’s all-time list. . . . Dayton (12-11, 3-8) was a 66-58 Atlantic 10 winner over St. Bonaventure (8-14, 3-9) in its first home game since the death of center Chris Daniels on Feb. 8. . . . Antonio Daniels, the brother of Chris Daniels, had 19 points as Bowling Green was a 65-53 Mid-American Conference winner at Toledo (14-11, 7-7). . . . Visiting Gonzaga (18-6, 9-3) gained sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference over idle Santa Clara with a 69-59 victory over San Diego (10-13, 4-8).