Memphis Makes Illinois Pay for Its Lapse

Seventh-ranked Illinois got an unpleasant surprise in the second half.

“We lost the game in the first five minutes of the second half,” Illinois Coach Bill Self said after the Illini fell, 77-74, to Memphis on Saturday at Memphis, Tenn.

After trailing at halftime, 37-31, Memphis returned to make three consecutive three-point baskets to go up, 40-37.

The Tigers (6-2) led by eight points three times in the second half, but Illinois closed in the final minutes.

Illinois (8-1) had a chance to tie the score, but Dee Brown’s three-pointer fell short with two seconds left. Brown, the team’s freshman standout, had 19 points for the game.

“They outscored us [by] 10 points or so in the first four or five minutes of the second half and then they controlled the game the rest of the way,” Self said.

Chris Massie, in his first game of the season, scored 13 points and had 10 of his 12 rebounds for Memphis in the second half. He was academically ineligible for the first seven games.

Massie wouldn’t comment after the game, but Memphis Coach John Calipari said he got just what he was expecting from the 6-foot-9 senior.

“Chris Massie gives you what you need....” Calipari said. “I kept saying to everybody, ‘I like my team. I like my team.’ We’ve got three better wins than we did maybe all of last year already -- Mississippi, Syracuse and Illinois.”

*

No. 2 Pittsburgh 65, George Mason 41 -- Brandin Knight’s playmaking led the Panthers (9-0) on a 15-4 run just before halftime and they cruised over the Patriots (5-4) at Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh matched its best start since the 1987-88 season, the last time it was ranked No. 2.

*

No. 4 Arizona 95, Davidson 69 -- Salim Stoudamire scored a season-high 23 points and Arizona (6-1) ran away from Davidson (6-2) in the second half in the first round of the Fiesta Bowl Classic at Tucson. Freshman Hassan Adams, a former Westchester High standout, had 18 points for Arizona, including a pair of spectacular breakaway dunks.

*

No. 16 Mississippi State 54, No. 5 Oklahoma 45 -- Mario Austin scored 18 points as the Bulldogs (8-1), who shot only 36% from the floor, upset the Sooners (6-2) in the Sugar Bowl Classic at New Orleans. Mississippi State made 15 of 19 free throws and held Oklahoma to 31% shooting.

*

No. 6 Connecticut 93, Central Connecticut State 65 -- Ben Gordon scored 24 points and Emeka Okafor had 17 for the Huskies (8-0) in a rout over the Blue Devils (3-4) at Hartford, Conn. Okafor also had 11 rebounds and accounted for eight of 14 blocks by Connecticut.

*

Temple 71, No. 10 Indiana 64 -- Alex Wesby and Maurice Collins each made free throws in the last 21 seconds as the Owls (2-6) upset the Hoosiers (8-2) at Philadelphia. Wesby scored a game-high 26 points.

Indiana Coach Mike Davis was still on the bench awaiting a decision after a confrontation with an official in the final seconds of a loss against Kentucky on Dec. 21. The Big Ten Conference is reviewing Indiana’s suggested punishment, and a decision should be reached by Monday.

*

No. 12 Florida 99, Bethune Cookman 64 -- Freshman Matt Walsh made seven three-pointers and finished with 29 points to lead the Gators (10-2) over the Wildcats (1-5) at Gainesville, Fla. Florida has won 35 consecutive home games against nonconference opponents.

*

No. 13 Marquette 105, Grambling State 74 -- Robert Jackson scored a season-high 26 points and Dwyane Wade had 23 to lead the Golden Eagles (8-1) over the Tigers (3-7) at Milwaukee for their 23rd straight home victory. Marquette broke open a close game with a 26-4 run to start the second half.

*

No. 15 Michigan State 76, Jacksonville State 52 -- Chris Hill had 14 points and five assists and the Spartans (8-2) shot 55% from the floor to defeat the Gamecocks (6-3) at East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State, which hadn’t played in a week, won its sixth in a row.

*

No. 19 Kansas 80, California 67 -- Wayne Simien led a balanced attack with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead the Jayhawks (7-3) over the Golden Bears (6-2) in the Pete Newell Challenge at Oakland.

Amit Tamir scored 18 points for Cal, which lost for the first time in five appearances at the annual event.

*

Iowa 67, No. 20 Tulsa 63 -- Chauncey Leslie’s reverse layup with 52 seconds left gave the Hawkeyes (8-2) their first lead, and they overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat the Golden Hurricane (7-2) at Tulsa, Okla. Leslie finished with 21 points.

*

No. 21 Xavier 84, Eastern Kentucky 60 -- Romain Sato took advantage of open shots and scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half, including five three-pointers, to lead the Musketeers (8-2) over the Colonels (5-5) at Cincinnati.

*

No. 22 North Carolina 63, St. John’s 59 -- Rashad McCants scored 21 points, including the clinching free throws with 5.6 seconds left to lead the Tar Heels (8-3) over the Red Storm (5-3) in the consolation game of the Holiday Festival at New York. North Carolina matched its victory total from last season.

*

No. 24 Louisiana State 74, Tulane 62 -- Darrel Mitchell came off the bench to score 12 points, Ronald Dupree scored 22 and the Tigers (8-1) held the Green Wave (5-6) to 40% shooting in the Sugar Bowl Classic at New Orleans.

Waitari Marsh scored 27 points for Tulane.

*

No. 25 Wake Forest 104, North Carolina A&T; 64 -- Vytas Danelius scored 18 points and Josh Howard had 17 to lead the Demon Deacons (7-0) over the Aggies (0-6) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest shot 54% from the field and made nine three-pointers, both season highs.

*

Stanford 81, Gonzaga 71 -- Justin Davis scored 24 points and the Cardinal (8-3) went on a 14-0 second-half run to rally for a victory over the Bulldogs (8-4) in the Pete Newell Challenge at Oakland.

*

Oregon State 59, Coppin State 53 -- Philip Ricci scored 17 points and Brian Jackson scored all of his 14 in the second half to pass 1,000 points for his career to lead the Beavers (7-2) over the Eagles (1-8) at Corvallis, Ore.

*

Arizona State 75, Nebraska 63 -- Ike Diogu scored 21 points and the Sun Devils (8-3) defeated the Cornhuskers (5-5) at Tempe, Ariz., to win their holiday tournament for the 11th time in 14 years.

*

Virginia 79, Georgetown 75 -- Travis Watson, hampered by a sprained right ankle, came off the bench to score 16 points at Charlottesville, Va., as the Cavaliers (7-2) handed the Hoyas (7-1) their first loss of the season.

*

Texas Tech 99, Minnesota 89 -- Robert Tomaszek scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and Coach Bob Knight got his 795th career victory as the Red Raiders (8-1) defeated the Gophers (6-3) in overtime at Minneapolis.

*

Clemson 78, Liberty 65 -- Edward Scott scored 16 points as the Tigers (8-0) continued their best start in seven seasons with a victory over the Flames (5-5) at Anderson, S.C.