Everything Is Perfect for Miami

Miami Coach Perry Clark had a different reason for getting little sleep New Year’s Eve.

“I’m not saying the streak is getting to me, but the other night I had a dream that we lost,” Clark said. “I got up and I wouldn’t go back to sleep. I can tell you everything that came on late night. They had an oldies show on UPN or something. I was not going back to sleep.”

Clark’s nightmare didn’t come to life Wednesday night. His No. 21 Hurricanes tied a school record with their 14th consecutive victory, 79-71 over No. 24 Georgetown, in a Big East Conference opener at Washington.

The Hurricanes (14-0), who had a 14-game winning streak in 1947, can break the school record Saturday at Connecticut.

‘We’re not looking at what we’ve done; we’re looking at what’s ahead of us,” Clark said.

James Jones led Miami with 22 points

Georgetown tied the score five times after trailing by as many as 14 points but was never able to take the lead.

Mike Sweetney scored 25 points to lead the Hoyas (9-4), who have lost three in a row, all to ranked teams.

Georgetown’s Courtland Freeman scored on a tip-in that made it 68-68 with 3:48 to play. Elton Tyler made two free throws and Marcus Barnes followed with a three-point basket to put Miami ahead by five and the Hurricanes secured the victory by going six of eight from the line over the final two minutes.

No. 1 Duke 106, Davidson 71--Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 13 rebounds at Charlotte, N.C., as the Blue Devils extended their winning streak to 22 games.

Duke (12-0) played much of the game without Mike Dunleavy, who suffered an ankle injury with eight minutes remaining in the first half.

Dunleavy fell to the floor holding his left ankle after colliding with a Davidson player while going for a rebound. He sat briefly on the bench as trainers removed tape around his ankle, then limped toward the locker room two minutes later and never returned.

No. 2 Kansas 81, Valparaiso 73--Drew Gooden scored 10 of his 30 points over the final five minutes as the Jayhawks (11-1) struggled to a nonconference victory at Lawrence, Kan.

The Crusaders (10-5), facing their highest-ranked opponent in 22 years, frequently befuddled Kansas with a zone defense and held the Jayhawks 12 points below their NCAA-leading scoring average.

No. 6 Kentucky 101, Tulane 67--Tayshaun Prince scored 22 points and Keith Bogans and Gerald Fitch each had 16 as the Wildcats (9-2) cruised to a nonconference victory in their annual game in Freedom Hall at Louisville, Ky.

No. 7 Illinois 76, Minnesota 53--Brian Cook had 16 points and the Illini (12-2) shot 52% in the second half in a Big Ten Conference opener at Champaign, Ill. Michael Bauer led the Gophers (7-5) with 16 points.

No. 9 Iowa 69, Wisconsin 57--Luke Recker scored 23 points and Reggie Evans, despite missing a slew of layups, added 21 points and 17 rebounds at Iowa City as the Hawkeyes (12-3) won a Big Ten opener against the Badgers (7-7).

No. 16 Syracuse 87, Rutgers 66--Preston Shumpert scored 26 points and the Orangemen (12-2) romped past the Scarlet Knights (9-4) in a Big East opener at Syracuse, N.Y.

No. 17 Missouri 74, Coppin State 47--Kareem Rush had 23 points as the Tigers (10-3) were never challenged in a nonconference victory at Columbia, Mo.

No. 18 Alabama 93, Bethune Cookman 46--Erwin Dudley had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Crimson Tide (12-2) to a nonconference victory at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Wright State 90, No. 20 Butler 87--Cain Doliboa scored 28 points and Vernard Hollins added 27, both career highs, and the Raiders (8-3) handed the Bulldogs (13-1) their first loss with a double-overtime victory in a Horizon League opener at Indianapolis.

No. 23 Wake Forest 67, Richmond 52--Darius Songaila had 15 of his 19 points in the first half and the Demon Deacons (10-3) improved to 8-0 at home with a nonconference victory at Winston-Salem, N.C.

No. 25 Marquette 85, Morris Brown 38--Scott Merritt scored 22 points and the Golden Eagles (11-2) rolled to a nonconference victory at Milwaukee.

OTHER GAMES

Yale’s Paul Vitelli made three three-point field goals in a 45-second span late in the second half to lead the Bulldogs (8-6) to a 68-65 nonconference victory against Clemson (9-5) at Clemson, S.C.... Nick Jacobson scored 19 points at Salt Lake City as Utah (9-3) edged Division III Whitworth, 63-57.... Jannero Pargo scored 30 points as Arkansas (8-4) rolled to a 90-73 nonconference victory against Memphis (10-4) at Memphis, Tenn.... Jarrad Odle had 16 points and 15 rebounds as Indiana (8-5) won its Big Ten opener against Northwestern (8-4) with a 59-44 victory at Evanston, Ill.... Bernard Robinson Jr. scored 16 points to lead Michigan (5-5) to a 67-63 victory against Penn State (4-8) in a Big Ten opener at State College, Pa.... Boban Savovic scored 18 points as Ohio State (9-2) scored a 79-71 victory against Purdue (8-7) in a Big Ten opener at West Lafayette, Ind.... John Robinson came off the bench to make six first-half three-point baskets as Nebraska (7-4) routed Savannah State, 66-47, at Lincoln, Neb.