No. 1 Connecticut Falls, 86-83

North Carolina ran the play only one time, good enough for another win over a top-ranked team.

Rashad McCants made a three-point basket with 6.2 seconds left to give the ninth-ranked Tar Heels an 86-83 victory over No. 1 Connecticut Saturday at Chapel Hill, N.C.

“That was the only time we ran that the whole game,” North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said of the play that got McCants a wide-open look from the left side. “When we called the timeout, that’s what we set up.”

It was North Carolina’s 10th victory over a top-ranked team, tying the Tar Heels with UCLA for the most in college basketball history.

McCants tied the score at 83-83 with a three-point basket with 1:15 left, then made the game-winner off the set play.

“It’s about stepping up. Big players make big shots and I just wanted to do that,” said McCants, who scored 27 points.

“Coach pulled my card and he wanted me to take the shot. He had confidence in me and that’s all you can ask for in a coach.”

In an ironic twist, the win will probably move archrival Duke into the No. 1 spot in the top 25 poll. The second-ranked Blue Devils beat No. 4 Wake Forest earlier Saturday.

The Tar Heels (11-3) led by 16 points early in the second half, but the Huskies (14-2) took an 83-80 lead with 1:30 to play.

Connecticut, which had a winning streak end at 11 games and lost on the road as a No. 1 team for the first time in 12 games, missed two shots after McCants tied it.

Star center Emeka Okafor had 29 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Huskies. Gordon had 10 points on three-for-14 shooting, seven rebounds and 10 assists.

No. 2 Duke 84, No. 4 Wake Forest 72 -- Shelden Williams controlled the boards, blocked shots and provided a strong low-post presence for the Blue Devils (14-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) at Durham, N.C.

It was the perfect complement to a balanced offense, as Duke extended its winning streak to 11 games.

J.J. Redick scored 23 points, and the 6-foot-9, 245-pound Williams had 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots to lift Duke past the Demon Deacons (11-2, 2-1).

Georgia 65, No. 5 Kentucky 57 -- The Bulldogs (9-5, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) beat a top-five opponent for the second time this month. They downed then-No. 3 Georgia Tech, 83-80, on Jan. 3. The loss at Lexington, Ky., ended a 19-game regular-season conference winning streak for the Wildcats (11-2, 2-1).

No. 6 Saint Joseph’s 81, Xavier 73 -- Delonte West made every shot he took -- 12 from the field, six from the free-throw line -- for 33 points at Cincinnati, helping the Hawks (15-0, 5-0 Atlantic 10) extend the best start in school history.

Jameer Nelson had 28 points in a two-guard attack that rallied the Hawks. The Musketeers (9-6, 1-2) led, 41-35 -- the Hawks’ biggest halftime deficit of the season.

No. 8 Louisville 79, Tulane 58 -- The Cardinals (13-1, 4-0 Conference USA) shot a season-low 35.4%, but they managed to extend their winning streak to 13 games.

Luke Whitehead scored five points during a 9-0 run that gave them a 57-38 lead with 12:01 left. The Green Wave (6-7, 0-3) never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.

No. 10 Cincinnati 85, Texas Christian 57 -- For the seventh consecutive game, the Bearcats (13-0, 4-0 Conference USA) had four players in double figures, and that balance was too much for the Horned Frogs (6-9, 2-2) at Cincinnati.

Missouri 79, No. 11 Oklahoma 75 -- Rickey Paulding scored nine of his 23 points in overtime to help the Tigers (7-6, 2-1 Big 12) extend the Sooners’ losing streak to three games.

The Tigers avoided slipping under .500 for the first time since finishing 16-17 in 1996-97. It was their first win in Norman since 1994, and only the second loss in 47 home games for Oklahoma (10-3, 0-2).

No. 12 Georgia Tech 81, Maryland 71 -- Will Bynum scored 25 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (14-2, 2-1 ACC), who won their second game in three days after a two-game losing streak. The Terrapins (10-4, 1-2) couldn’t follow up an upset of North Carolina, ending a winning streak at three games.

No. 13 Pittsburgh 59, Rutgers 49 -- The Panthers (18-0, 4-0 Big East) closed the game with a 16-2 run after the Scarlet Knights (9-5, 1-3) opened second-half leads of as many as six points.

Pittsburgh (18-0, 4-0) extended its nation-best home court winning streak to 37 games, 31 at the Petersen Events Center.

No. 14 Kansas 71, Texas A&M; 65 -- The Jayhawks (11-2, 3-0 Big 12) held off a late rally at College Station, Texas, to extend their conference winning streak to seven games. They also improved to 9-0 against the Aggies (7-6, 0-2).

No. 23 Vanderbilt 86, No. 15 Florida 72 -- The Gators (11-3, 2-1 SEC) had a six-game winning streak ended by the Commodores (13-2, 2-2), who led by as many as 19 points, 81-62, with 2:25 left at Nashville.

No. 16 Gonzaga 75, St. Mary’s 61 -- Cory Violette scored 20 points, Ronny Turiaf had 19 and Blake Stepp had 15 of his 16 in the second half at Spokane, Wash., to lead the Bulldogs (14-2, 4-0 West Coast Conference) to their seventh win in a row and extend their winning streak over the Gaels (10-7, 1-1) to 15 in a row.

No. 17 Syracuse 81, Notre Dame 70 -- The win at South Bend, Ind., was the 13th in a row for the Orangemen (13-1, 3-0 Big East) since a season-opening loss to Charlotte. The defending national champions have beaten the Irish (8-5, 2-2) five straight times and 10 of the last 11 meetings.

No. 18 Texas 63, Nebraska 61 -- Royal Ivey made a jump shot from the left wing with 2.4 seconds left to lift the Longhorns (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) past the Cornhuskers (10-4, 0-3) at Austin, Texas.

No. 20 Mississippi State 64, Louisiana State 54 -- The Bulldogs (14-1, 3-1 SEC) blew a 19-point lead before turning back the Tigers (12-2, 2-1) at Baton Rouge, La.

No. 22 Texas Tech 75, Baylor 66 -- The Red Raiders (14-2, 2-0 Big 12) blew a 10-point lead over the Bears (5-10, 0-2) in the second half at Waco, Texas, but they extended their winning streak to 10 games.

No. 24 Creighton 72, Evansville 53 -- The Bluejays (13-1, 5-1 Missouri Valley Conference) bounced back after losing at Northern Iowa on Wednesday. They extended their school-record home winning streak to 26 games in handing the Purple Aces (2-12, 1-5) their ninth consecutive loss on the road.

No. 25 Illinois 88, Iowa 82 -- The Illini (11-4, 2-2 Big Ten) blew a nine-point lead in the first half, but started the second half at Champaign, Ill., with a 10-0 run to beat the Hawkeyes (9-5, 2-2).

OTHER GAMES

Earnest Shelton sparked a 31-4 first-half run with three three-point baskets and Alabama (10-4, 2-1 SEC) continued its home-court dominance of Auburn (10-5, 1-3) with a 69-46 victory. The Crimson Tide is 38-7 against the Tigers at Tuscaloosa.... By defeating Nevada Las Vegas (9-5, 0-2 Mountain West), 83-78, at San Diego, San Diego State (11-6, 2-0 Mountain West) opened conference play with two victories in consecutive years for the first time since the 1985 and 1986 seasons.... Utah (14-3, 2-0 Mountain West) extended its winning streak to eight games with a 60-49 victory over Wyoming (8-7, 1-1) at Salt Lake City. The Utes are unbeaten at home this season.... Texas El Paso (12-3, 3-2 WAC) took control with a 14-3 run in the second half and beat Fresno State (9-6, 5-1), 72-58, at El Paso. Michigan State (7-7, 2-1 Big Ten) beat rival Michigan (10-4, 1-2) for the ninth time in 10 meetings, 71-54, at East Lansing.