Tradition Restored at North Carolina

A lot was at stake for North Carolina’s basketball team as it started play in February.

The Tar Heels’ record streaks of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and 20-victory seasons appeared likely to end as they entered the month 3-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 12-6 overall with an unaccustomed low national ranking at No. 19.

Thanks to an 8-0 run in February, North Carolina--now ranked No. 8--added to those streaks, clinching a 27th consecutive 20-win season with a 76-69 victory at No. 12 Clemson on Wednesday night and solidifying its bid for a high regional seeding in what will be its 23rd NCAA tournament appearance in a row.

Also alive is Dean Smith’s bid to become college basketball’s winningest coach before the season ends. He needs six victories to pass Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp (876), which is quite possible the way the Tar Heels, 20-6 and 10-5 in the ACC, are playing.

North Carolina made 11 of 15 shots during a 33-14 run that erased a 13-point deficit in the first half, and guard Shammond Williams scored nine of his 16 points in the game’s final three minutes, when the Tar Heels’ saw leads cut to one and two points.

Clemson (20-8, 8-7) has gone 4-7 since Jan. 20, when it received its highest national ranking ever at No. 2. Guard Terrell McIntyre had 24 points for the Tigers, but leading scorer Greg Buckner had eight--half his average.

“I don’t think we’ve lost our confidence,” said McIntyre, at 5 feet 9 the smallest player in the ACC. “But a win would bring us even more confidence.”

No. 2 Minnesota 55, No. 24 Michigan 54--Guard Bobby Jackson’s free throw with 2.9 seconds to lay was the decisive point at Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Golden Gophers (25-2, 14-1), who won their first outright Big Ten championship since 1982 and joined Princeton as one of two teams to gain an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

“I know it’s always going to be special,” said Minnesota Coach Clem Haskins said of winning the Big Ten title with three games remaining. “I’m going to have pictures, and I’m going to have all the news stories and I’m going to say Minnesota beat every team in the Big Ten. The most important thing was to get 20 wins, and then the most important thing was to win the Big Ten championship. The important thing now is that we not let down.”

Michigan (17-9, 7-8) had a chance to win the game, but a long pass for center Robert Traylor was batted away by forward Courtney James as time ran out. The Wolverines have lost four consecutive games for the first time since 1991, the last year they failed to make the NCAA tournament.

No. 6 South Carolina 74, Vanderbilt 53--The Gamecocks (22-6, 14-1) clinched at least a tie for their first Southeastern Conference regular-season championship (Eastern Division) with a victory over Commodores (17-10, 8-7) at Columbia, S.C. South Carolina plays No. 3 Kentucky on Sunday, with the winner getting seeded No. 1 in the SEC tournament.

No. 13 Iowa State 65, No. 19 Colorado 54--The Cyclones (19-6, 10-5) made 25 of 29 free throws and held the Buffaloes to their lowest point total of the season in a Big 12 game at Ames, Iowa. Colorado’s leading scorer, guard Chauncey Billups, had 12 points, eight below his average.

Iowa State lost to Colorado, 70-45, at Boulder, Colo., on Jan. 18.

No. 17 Louisville 72, North Carolina Charlotte 71--The 49ers (18-7, 9-4) saw their winning streak ended at six games by the Cardinals (22-6, 9-4) in a Conference USA game at Louisville, Ky. Five UNC Charlotte players scored in double figures. Louisville had four.

West Virginia 83, No. 18 Villanova 76--Guards Adrian Pledger and Seldon Jefferson combined for 42 points as the Mountaineers (17-8, 10-7) kept their slim NCAA tournament hopes alive in the Big East game at Morgantown, W.Va.

Guard Alvin Williams had 31 points for Villanova (20-8, 11-6), which rallied after trailing by 21 points early in the second half but could get no closer than two points with four minutes left.

OTHER GAMES

Guard Ty Calderwood’s three-point basket with seven seconds left gave Wisconsin (17-7, 10-5) a 49-48 victory over Iowa (18-9, 9-6) at Madison, Wis. It extended Badgers’ longest Big Ten win streak since 1951 to six games and assured them of their first winning record in the conference since 1974. Iowa, which had held Wisconsin to 16 points in the first half and led by as many as 15, had a chance to win the game but Andre Woolridge’s shot bounced off the rim as time expired. Wisconsin center Paul Grant had a season-high 23 points, making all 15 of his free throws. . . . Purdue (16-10, 11-5) retained sole possession of second place in the Big Ten with a 72-61 victory over Northwestern (7-20, 2-14) at Evanston, Ill. . . . Ohio (17-8) rallied from a 17-point deficit in regulation and went on defeat Bowling Green, 89-87, in a Mid-American Conference game at Athens, Ohio. There is a three-way for the MAC lead among Bowling Green (20-8), Miami of Ohio (17-8) and Ohio at 12-5 with one game remaining.

Mississippi (18-7, 10-5) blew a 17-point lead in the second half but regrouped to defeat Louisiana State (9-19, 2-13) at Oxford, Miss., and win the Southeastern Conference Western Division championship outright. The only other title Mississippi has won in the last 65 years was the SEC tournament in 1981. . . . Reserve forward Derrick Dukes scored 26 points to lead Georgia (20-7, 9-6) to an 88-76 SEC victory over Florida (13-15, 5-10) at Gainesville, Fla., and its first back-to-back 20-win seasons in 92 years. . . . Forward Clint Harrison made 11 of 16 shots and scored 29 points as North Carolina State (12-13, 4-12) was a 67-44 Atlantic Coast Conference winner over Florida State (15-10, 5-10) at Raleigh, N.C. The Seminoles were coming off a victory at Clemson. . . . Georgetown (18-8, 10-7) moved into a tie for first place with Providence in the Big East 7 with a 69-59 victory over Rutgers (11-14, 5-12) in its final game at USAir Arena in Landover, Md. The Hoyas will in the new MCI Center in downtown Washington next season.

College Basketball Notes

Sophomore forward Ron Mercer, the leading scorer for Kentucky, officially announced he will make himself eligible for this year’s NBA draft.