Tar Heels Wake Up, Smell the Tournament

It appears that even the worst start in 44 years of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball won’t keep North Carolina from making its 23rd consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

The No. 12-ranked Tar Heels have rebounded from an 0-3 start in the ACC, moving into fourth place with a 74-60 victory over No. 4 Wake Forest Wednesday night at Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina, 18-6 overall and 8-5 in conference, won its sixth in a row and ninth in 11 games. The Tar Heels had lost by 24 points in each of the last two games against the Demon Deacons (20-4, 9-4), who suffered successive losses for the first time in 75 games and fell 1 1/2 games behind first-place Duke.

Guard Vince Carter made nine of 10 shots and outscored Wake Forest by himself in the first half with 21 points to give North Carolina a 20-point halftime lead. Carter finished with career-high 26 points while Demon Deacon center Tim Duncan scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half in reaching double figures for the 51st game in a row.

“We’re on a roll right now,” said North Carolina forward Antawn Jamison, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds. “I told you at the beginning of the season that once this team gets to where we need to get it’s going to be very scary and you are kind of seeing that now.”

No. 2 Minnesota 60, Ohio State 48--The Golden Gophers (23-2, 12-1) overcame 40% shooting to defeat the Buckeyes (10-12, 5-8) at Minneapolis and move closer to their first Big Ten championship since 1982. Minnesota, which has its highest national ranking ever, has a 3 1/2-game lead over Purdue and Wisconsin with five games left.

No. 3 Kentucky 75, Alabama 61--The Wildcats (25-3, 11-2) overcame 38% shooting as forward Ron Mercer had 23 points and made two three-point shots after the Crimson Tide (14-12, 4-9) cut a 13-point deficit to four with four minutes left in the Southeastern Conference game at Tuscaloosa, Ala. Suspensions have reduced Alabama’s roster to eight players and point guard Brian Williams played 40 minutes for the third consecutive game--getting 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Texas 57, No. 7 Iowa State 56--Center Dennis Jordan’s tip-in with 3.3 seconds left was decisive as the Longhorns (15-8, 9-4) improved their NCAA tournament chances with a rare victory over a top 10 team in a Big 12 Conference game at Austin, Texas. The victory over Iowa State (18-5, 9-4) was Texas’ third in 24 games against top 10 teams in nine seasons under Coach Tom Penders.

No. 14 Maryland 76, Georgia Tech 68--Forward Keith Booth scored 11 of his 26 points over the final 10 minutes as the Terrapins (20-6, 9-4) took control, stretching a one-point lead to as many as 11 in the ACC game at Atlanta. Georgia Tech (9-14, 3-10) lost for the fifth time in six games.

No. 19 Villanova 65, St. John’s 54--Guard Alvin Williams led the Wildcats (19-7, 10-5) in scoring for the third consecutive game with 18 points while the Red Storm (11-13, 6-10) shot 33% in the Big East Conference game at Philadelphia. Williams had a career-high 27 and 25 points in his previous two games.

No. 21 Colorado 67, Kansas State 57--Guard Chauncey Billups had 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Buffaloes (18-7, 9-4)--losers by a combined 65 points in their last two games--were in control throughout the Big 12 game against the Wildcats (9-14, 2-11) at Boulder, Colo.

OTHER GAMES

A goaltending call on forward Mickey Curley’s blocked layup with 8.6 seconds left provided the decisive points for Boston College (15-8, 9-6) in a 59-57 Big East Conference victory at Miami (17-7, 11-5). . . . Wisconsin (16-9, 9-5) had its first five-game winning streak in 35 years after a 49-45 victory over Penn State (9-14, 2-12) at State College, Pa.. . . . Forward Ansu Sesay had career highs of 29 points and 13 rebounds and blocked a school-record eight shots for Mississippi (16-7, 8-5) in an 84-61 Southeastern Conference victory over Mississippi State (11-15, 5-8) at Oxford, Miss. . . . Forward Jerald Honeycutt became the first Division I player to get 2,000 points, 800 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals as Tulane (17-9, 8-3) ended a losing streak at four games in a 69-61 Conference USA victory over DePaul (3-20, 1-11) at Rosemont, Ill.

College Basketball Notes

Adam Walton, son of Basketball Hall of Fame member Bill Walton, was suspended the rest of Louisiana State’s season for violating an unspecified team rule. Walton, a sophomore forward who played 41 minutes and scored 23 points in 10 games, is the seventh player suspended by LSU Coach Dale Brown, who is retiring after this season. . . . A section of student seating at McArthur Court will be roped off and empty for Oregon’s game against No. 13 Arizona tonight because of bad behavior by some in the crowd at recent games. . . . Utah Coach Rick Majerus was selected by USA Basketball to lead the United States team in the 22-and-Under World Championships this summer in Melbourne, Australia.