Virginia Is a Loser on Road

A North Carolina State team that couldn’t close out games for a month and couldn’t shoot straight when it counted most finally got it right Wednesday night.

Kenny Inge scored a career-high 29 points as the Wolfpack (11-10, 3-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) ruined No. 6 Virginia’s highest ranking in 18 years with a 90-80 victory at Raleigh, N.C.

The Wolfpack shot 72% in the second half and was 17 of 25 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes.

The Cavaliers (16-5, 5-5) committed 22 turnovers and couldn’t handle the Wolfpack’s inside game.

No. 3 Duke 81, Clemson 64--Nate James had a career-high 27 points and the Blue Devils (21-2, 9-1) held on to extend their ACC-record 24-game road win streak with a victory at Clemson, S.C.

Mike Dunleavy finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds as Duke won its 11th in a row over Clemson (10-13, 1-9).

No. 17 Boston College 65, No. 9 Syracuse 63--Xavier Singletary’s layup with 39.6 seconds left gave the Eagles the lead for good at Boston.

Boston College (17-2, 8-1 in the Big East) is off to its best conference start and its best overall start since the 1966-67 squad coached by Bob Cousy went 23-2 before losing in the NCAA tournament. Syracuse (18-4, 6-3) has lost its last three conference road games.

Arkansas 82, No. 10 Tennessee 77--Joe Johnson scored off a rebound while two Volunteer players stood and watched apparently thinking the ball was out of play as the Razorbacks (14-7, 5-4 in the Southeastern Conference) won in overtime at Fayetteville, Ark. Johnson’s rebound basket gave Arkansas a 76-73 lead with 1:18 to play. Isiah Victor led Tennessee (18-5, 5-4) with 25 points.

Ohio State 69, No. 14 Iowa 68--Brian Brown scored 20 points and made all four of his three-point attempts, and reserve Brent Darby added 15 points to lift the Buckeyes (15-8, 6-5 in the Big Ten) to a win at Iowa City.

Iowa (17-5, 6-3), playing its first game since learning that leading scorer Luke Recker might be out for the rest of the season because of a knee injury, got a season-high 27 points from Dean Oliver.

No. 16 Wisconsin 73, Purdue 54--Roy Boone outscored Purdue by himself in the first half and finished with 20 points in the Badgers’ rout of the Boilermakers (13-8, 5-5 in the Big Ten) at Madison, Wis.

Kirk Penney added 17 points and Andy Kowske scored 14, his best output since scoring 21 in the season opener, and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Badgers (15-5, 6-3), who led, 45-17, at halftime.

Mississippi State 84, No. 18 Alabama 70--Marckell Patterson scored 25 points to lead the Bulldogs (12-8, 3-6 in the SEC) to victory at Starkville, Miss.

Alabama (17-5, 6-4) was led by Rod Grizzard, who finished with 24 points. The start of the game was delayed about 30 minutes because the Crimson Tide players bent a rim during warmups.

No. 21 Oklahoma 80, Texas Tech 72--J.R. Raymond scored 19 points and Daryan Selvy added 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Norman, Okla., as the Sooners (18-4, 7-3 in the Big 12) won their sixth in a row. Texas Tech (8-11, 2-6) has lost four in a row since handing the Sooners their last loss, 69-60, on Jan. 16.

Saint Joseph’s 79, No. 24 Xavier 76--Marvin O’Connor scored 29 points, including a driving layup to give the Hawks (18-4, 8-1 in the Atlantic 10) a victory at Philadelphia. Maurice McAfee had 21 points and seven assists, and Lloyd Price added 14 point for Xavier (17-4, 8-2), which had its six-game winning streak snapped.

No. 25 Mississippi 50, Lousiana State 33--Aaron Harper scored 16 points to lead the Rebels (18-4, 6-3 in the SEC) past the Tigers at Oxford, Miss. LSU (11-9, 1-8) was held to fewer than 40 points for the first time since a 51-39 loss at Rice in 1948.

OTHER GAMES

Cookie Belcher scored 27 points and put Nebraska (11-11, 4-5 in the Big 12) ahead for good in overtime in a 78-75 victory against Oklahoma State (14-5, 5-3), which was playing its first road game since a fatal plane crash on the way back from a game at Colorado last month. . . . Brian Grawer scored 22 points and made the game-winning three-point basket with 15.4 seconds left as Missouri (15-7, 6-3 in the Big 12), in its first game without injured Kareem Rush, beat Kansas State, 70-66, at Columbia, Mo. The Wildcats (8-12, 2-7) have lost seven of eight. . . . Darren Kelly scored 25 points as Texas (17-6, 6-3 in the Big 12) scored the game’s final eight points to rally past Colorado, 77-72, at Boulder, Colo. Colorado is 14-9 and 4-6. . . . Aaron Lucas’ runner in the lane with 2.6 seconds left lifted South Carolina (12-8, 4-5 in the SEC) over Georgia, 77-75, at Columbia, S.C. Shon Coleman had 17 points for the Bulldogs (13-10, 6-4). . . . Gyasi Cline-Heard scored 21 points and Joe Crispin added 20 to lead Penn State (14-7, 4-6 in the Big Ten) to a 77-66 victory over Michigan (9-12, 3-7) at State College, Pa. . . . Kelly Wise had 24 points as Memphis defeated South Florida, 100-89, in a showdown at Tampa, Fla., for first place in Conference USA’s National Division. Memphis is 13-9 and 7-2 and is South Florida 14-8 and 6-3. . . . Alex Shorts had 21 points, including nine of 10 free throws, as Miami of Ohio (11-12, 7-5 in the Mid-American Conference) rallied and defeated conference leader Kent State, 48-45, at Kent, Ohio. Kent State is 15-7 and 8-3. . . . Joe Tulley made six three-point baskets as DePaul (11-11, 3-7 in Conference USA) defeated Houston, 90-78, at Rosemont, Ill. . . . Centenary’s Ronnie McCollum, the nation’s leading scorer, was held to 22 points as Lipscomb defeated the Gents, 84-72, at Shreveport, La.

WOMEN

No. 1 Notre Dame 72, Pittsburgh 58--Ruth Riley scored 29 points and added 12 rebounds as the Fighting Irish won at South Bend, Ind. Riley made her first eight shots and the Irish (22-0, 11-0 in the Big East) turned to her every time it appeared Pittsburgh (9-13, 3-8) might make a run.

No. 3 Connecticut 90, Virginia Tech 38--Sue Bird made five of the Huskies’ 14 three-point baskets in a victory at Blacksburgh, Va. Connecticut (19-2, 9-1 in the Big East) was playing its second game without scoring leader Svetlana Abrosimova. Virginia Tech (15-6, 6-4) had its five-game conference winning streak end.

No. 9 Iowa State 83, Oklahoma State 54--Lindsey Wilson scored 10 of her 22 points in the first 11 1/2 minutes as the Cyclones (19-2, 9-1 in the Big 12) were never threatened at Ames, Iowa. Oklahoma State (12-9, 4-6) made the 10-hour trip to Ames by bus because many of the players were hesitant to fly after the plane crash that killed two men’s basketball players at the school and eight others associated with the program.

No. 10 Oklahoma 84, Nebraska 62--LaNeishea Caufield had 16 points and broke her school record with her 28th consecutive free throw as the Sooners (18-4, 9-1 in the Big 12) won at Lincoln, Neb.

No. 11 Texas Tech 67, Baylor 56--Plenette Pierson had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lady Raiders (18-3, 9-1 in the Big 12) past the Bears (15-6, 4-6) at Waco, Texas.

No. 12 Rutgers 64, Syracuse 53--Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 15 points and Davalyn Cunningham added 14 as the Scarlet Knights (16-5, 8-2 in the Big East) won at Piscataway, N.J.

No. 19 Colorado 70, Kansas 60--Jenny Roulier scored 13 points as the Buffaloes (16-5, 7-3 in the Big 12) clipped the Jayhawks (9-12, 3-7) at Lawrence, Kan.

No. 21 Texas 69, Texas A&M; 41--Tracy Cook had 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Longhorns (17-7, 5-5 in the Big 12) past the Aggies (12-9, 2-8) at College Station, Texas.