Notre Dame Reaches 20-Win Plateau, 56-55

Senior forward Dan Miller made only two of 13 shots from the field, but his inside basket with 18 seconds left gave No. 12 Notre Dame a 56-55 victory over West Virginia on Tuesday night at Morgantown, W.Va.

“He missed a lot of open shots, but to his credit, he was there at the end for us,” Fighting Irish Coach Mike Brey said. “He’s hit a lot of big shots all year for us.”

Notre Dame (20-5, 8-3 in the Big East) earned its fourth 20-win season in a row the hard way. Its last five games have been decided by six points or fewer.

“We’re making a habit of this,” Brey said.

Despite losing a 15-point lead, the Irish stayed tied with Pittsburgh for second place in the West Division, half a game behind first-place Syracuse.

Matt Carroll led Notre Dame with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Chris Thomas added 13 points.

Drew Schifino had 19 points for the Mountaineers (13-10, 4-7), who lost their eighth in a row to the Irish.

Notre Dame seemed to be in control after Carroll made a three-point basket for a 48-33 lead with 11:39 left.

The Mountaineers’ 14,000-seat arena was more than half empty. Classes at West Virginia were canceled for a second day Tuesday because of the recent mid-Atlantic storm, which dumped about 20 inches of snow in the area. The teams combined to attempt only 15 free throws.

No. 9 Pittsburgh 82, Georgetown 67 -- Brandin Knight scored a season-high 23 points at Washington as the Panthers (18-4, 8-3 in the Big East) handed the Hoyas (11-11, 3-8) their seventh loss in eight games.

The game, originally scheduled for Monday, was postponed 24 hours by the storm. The Panthers, who arrived on Saturday, used the extra day to work on their shooting and the practice paid off for Knight.

The senior was seven of 12 from the field and six of six from the free-throw line in scoring more than 20 points for only the second time this season. Knight entered the game shooting 33% from the field and 45% from the line.

The Hoyas have lost seven of eight and are in danger of not qualifying for the Big East tournament for the first time. The 15-point loss was their worst of the season.

No. 15 Syracuse 66, St. John’s 60 -- Carmelo Anthony scored 12 of his 21 points in the second half at Syracuse, N.Y., as the Orangemen (18-4, 9-3) held off the Red Storm (12-10, 5-7), which set a Big East record with 41 three-point attempts.

Syracuse, which made six of seven free throws in the final 35 seconds to secure the victory, won its 17th consecutive home game dating to last season. Its 15-0 home start this season is its best ever in the Carrier Dome.

No. 20 Illinois 70, Michigan State 40 -- Freshman Dee Brown had 24 points, five rebounds and five steals at Champaign, Ill., as the Fighting Illini (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) routed the Spartans (14-10, 6-6).

It was the second-worst loss for Michigan State under Coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans suffered a 35-point loss to Iowa on Feb. 21, 1996.

The Illini won their 15th consecutive home game. It was Coach Bill Self’s 70th victory in three seasons at Illinois and the 199th of his career. The last time Illinois lost at Assembly Hall was to Michigan State, 67-61, on Feb. 2, 2002.

No. 22 Georgia 74, Alabama 69 -- Jarvis Hayes scored 23 points at Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the Bulldogs (15-7, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) handed the Crimson Tide (14-8, 4-7) their sixth loss in eight games.

Alabama, which was ranked No. 1 earlier in the season, moved a step closer to not receiving a possible berth to the NCAA tournament.

OTHER GAMES

Marque Perry scored 20 points and Saint Louis (11-12, 5-7 Conference USA) won its third in a row with a 58-55 victory at Cincinnati (14-8, 6-5).... Ricky Clemons scored 20 points at Columbia, Mo., to lead Missouri (16-6, 7-4 Big 12) to a 67-50 victory over Nebraska (9-15, 1-10).

Julius Hodge scored 21 points at Raleigh, N.C., as North Carolina State (14-8, 7-4 Atlantic Coast) cruised to a 71-60 victory over Florida State (12-11, 3-9).... Edward Scott scored 32 points at Charlottesville, Va., as Clemson (14-8, 4-7 ACC) scored a 73-64 victory over Virginia (14-10, 5-7).

Rashad McCants scored 16 points at Chapel Hill, N.C., as North Carolina (14-11) rolled to a 93-57 victory over North Carolina A&T; (0-21), which remains the only winless team out of 327 in Division I.