Wolfpack Falls to Huskies, 68-64

Will Conroy and Tre Simmons each scored 12 points, and Brandon Roy returned earlier than expected from arthroscopic knee surgery to add 10 points, leading No. 18 Washington to a 68-64 victory Sunday over No. 12 North Carolina State at Seattle.

“This was obviously a huge game for us going in,” Husky Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “It was an even bigger game the way we won it. We didn’t shoot the ball well from the perimeter and we didn’t make foul shots, but we found a way to win.”

It didn’t hurt Washington (8-1) that Roy was back in uniform.

The Huskies led, 66-64, and the clock was ticking down the final seconds when Julius Hodge went up for a short jumper that would have tied it. He slipped past Washington’s Nate Robinson, leaned into Roy and launched the shot.

“I knew he was going to shoot it,” Roy said. “He went up and I just kind of tipped it. I got high enough, and then it went off his hands and slipped out of bounds. But I got a piece of it.”

Simmons came away with the ball before it went out of play, drew a foul and made two free throws with 0.2 seconds to seal the victory.

It wasn’t the track meet everyone expected, with Washington averaging 89.5 points per game and N.C. State (8-1) at 83.8.

It was Washington’s first game against a ranked non-conference opponent since Dec. 1, 1998, when the Huskies lost to No. 15 Connecticut, 69-48.

No. 1 Illinois 93, Valparaiso 56 -- Dee Brown had 19 points at Champaign, Ill., to lead all five Illini starters in double figures for the second straight game.

Brown scored five points in a 20-5 run midway through the second half that gave the Illini (10-0) a 39-point lead over the Crusaders (2-6).

The Illini, playing its first game in eight days, shot 59% from the field.

Dan Oppland had 16 points for the Crusaders, who shot 34% and committed 15 turnovers.

No. 5 North Carolina 85, Virginia Tech 51 -- Jawad Williams and Sean May each scored 17 points and the Tar Heels gave the Hokies a rough welcome to Atlantic Coast Conference basketball at Blacksburg, Va.

The Tar Heels (8-1), who won their eighth straight, scored 17 of the last 21 points to lead 41-27 at halftime, then started the second half on a 16-5 run.

Zabian Dowdell scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half for Virginia Tech (5-3).

No. 11 Connecticut 81, Rice 72 -- Rashad Anderson scored 27 points and went seven for eight from the free-throw line over the final two minutes at Hartford, Conn.

Josh Boone added a career-high 20 points and had 14 rebounds for Connecticut (5-1).

The Huskies outrebounded the Owls, 61-34, and had 31 offensive rebounds that led to 24 second-chance points.

Michael Harris led Rice (5-2) with 22 points and nine rebounds.

No. 23 Maryland 90, Florida St. 88 -- John Gilchrist made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left in overtime to cap a 21-point, 13-rebound performance at College Park, Md., as the Terrapins opened defense of their Atlantic Coast Conference title.

Six players scored in double figures for the Terrapins (6-2), who held on after having blown a 13-point lead.

Adam Waleskowski led the Seminoles (5-5) with 23 points, but Florida State committed 25 turnovers in losing its 25th consecutive ACC road game.

After Gilchrist’s free throws, Van Wafer’s three-point attempt bounced off the rim just before the buzzer.