Olson Not Happy as Arizona Bands Together in Victory

Much to the shock of Coach Lute Olson, second-ranked Arizona’s players came out for Thursday night’s game against Washington State at Tucson wearing white headbands.

After Arizona struggled to an 80-75 victory, Olson promised the headbands would never be seen again.

“The headbands compressed the brains,” Olson said. “The first time I saw them was when they came out to warm up. You won’t see the headbands again.”

Center Loren Woods scored a career-high 25 points and blocked a school-record 10 shots as Arizona improved to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in the Pacific 10. Washington State fell to 5-7, 0-3.

MEN’S TOP 25

Stanford (13-1, 2-1) scored 29 of 31 points over a stretch beginning late in the first half and ending early in the second as the third-ranked Cardinal defeated Oregon State (8-5, 0-2), 73-45, in a Pacific 10 game at Corvallis, Ore. . . . Syracuse (13-0) rallied from a seven-point deficit with seven minutes to play to defeat South Carolina (9-6), 77-74, in overtime and remain Division I’s only undefeated team. . . . Ken Johnson had 13 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots to lead No. 17 Ohio State (10-3, 2-1) to a 53-51 Big Ten victory over Wisconsin (9-6, 1-2) at Madison, Wis..

OTHER GAMES

Guard Eddie House scored 29 points in his first game since tying the Pacific 10 record with 61 against California on Saturday, to lead Arizona State (10-4, 2-1) to a 90-80 victory over Washington (6-9, 1-2) at Tempe, Ariz. . . . Guard Frederick Jones had a season-high 20 points for Oregon (11-2, 2-0) in an 83-66 victory over California (9-6, 0-3) at Eugene, Ore.

SOUTHLAND

Derek Nesland scored 21 points to lead Portland State (9-5, 1-1) to a 76-62 Big Sky Conference victory over Cal State Northridge (10-4, 2-1) at Portland, Ore. . . . James Williams scored 20 points as Long Beach State (9-3, 1-0) won, 76-76, in its Big West opener over Idaho (6-7, 0-1) at Moscow, Idaho.

WOMEN

Clemson’s swarming defense was too much for third-ranked North Carolina State (14-1, 5-1), which was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten in a 71-56 Atlantic Coast Conference loss at Clemson, S.C. Clemson is 11-5, 2-2. . . .

Andrea Garner scored 18 points as No. 5 Penn State (14-2, 5-0) defeated No. 12 Illinois (14-5, 4-1), 76-66, in a Big Ten showdown at Sate College, Pa. . . . Deanna Nolan scored 19 points for No. 7 Georgia (16-2, 2-1), which defeated Florida (10-5, 1-2), 78-71, in a Southeastern Conference game at Gainesville, Fla. . . . Coach Sue Gunter posted her 600th career victory as No. 17 Louisiana State (12-3, 3-1) defeated Arkansas (9-5, 0-2), 82-69, in a Southeastern Conference game at Fayetteville, Ark.