It’s a Short Night for Knight

Bob Knight wasn’t around to see the finish. He had plenty to say later though.

Kevin Turner, Jarrod Gee and Matt Heldman each scored 16 points Tuesday night at Bloomington, Ind., as No. 22 Illinois defeated the Hoosiers, 82-72, giving Indiana (18-9, 9-6 in the Big Ten) successive double-digit losses for the first time in eight years.

Knight was ejected in the second half after picking up his second and third technical fouls.

“This, and that guy [official Ted Valentine], is the greatest travesty I’ve ever seen in basketball in 33 years as a college head coach,” Knight said. “That goes beyond anything that’s even ridiculous. . . . This was absolutely, totally uncalled for. Just beyond belief.”

Indiana rallied from 17 points behind to get within 54-44 of Illinois (21-8, 13-3) before Luke Recker was knocked hard to the floor, starting a chain of events that sent Knight to the locker room with 9:37 to play.

Knight, who already had received a technical foul in the first half, protested that Recker’s shot should have counted as a basket because of goaltending.

When Knight walked on the court to check on Recker, who was still lying on the floor, Valentine gave him a second technical and an automatic ejection. Knight then flew into a rage and received a third technical.

No. 3 North Carolina 72, Wake Forest 53--The Tar Heels struggled for a second game in a row before Shammond Williams scored 11 of his 20 points in the opening 4:03 of the second half at Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina (27-2, 13-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from a double-digit deficit against the Demon Deacons (14-12, 6-9) for the second time this season.

No. 14 South Carolina 78, Georgia 76--BJ McKie started the game on the bench because of a Southeastern Conference suspension for unsportsmanlike behavior in a game against Florida last Saturday, and he wasn’t allowed on the floor in Columbia, S.C., until the second half.

But he was around to make the winning shot with 1.2 seconds to play in the Gamecocks’ victory.

South Carolina (21-5, 11-4) was down, 37-32, at halftime against Georgia (14-13, 6-9), but rallied with McKie to win its 22nd consecutive home game.

St. John’s 67, No. 23 Syracuse 65--Ron Artest made a free throw with 45 seconds to play and then scored on a layup after missing his second shot to lift the Red Storm over the Orangemen (20-7, 10-6 in the Big East) at Syracuse, N.Y.

St. John’s (21-7, 13-4) can become the top-seeded team in the upcoming Big East tournament if it can win at No. 6 Connecticut on Saturday.

No. 25 Oklahoma State 80, Texas 58--The Cowboys (21-4, 11-4) got 27 points and 14 rebounds from Desmond Mason in clinching the Big 12 South Division title by beating Texas (12-15, 6-9) at Stillwater, Okla.