Syracuse Turns Page and Wins

For more than 41 minutes, Pittsburgh defensive ace Julius Page never left Syracuse’s Gerry McNamara uncovered. Every dribble, every pass, every look at the basket, Page was right there.

The one time Page gambled and left him alone, McNamara made the shot that effectively ended Pitt’s 25 1/2-month home-court winning streak and may cost the Panthers a No. 1 seed in the Big East Conference and NCAA tournaments.

McNamara, held scoreless by No. 3 Pittsburgh for the equivalent of a game and a half, hit a go-ahead three-point basket and two free throws in overtime and Syracuse halted Pittsburgh’s 40-game home winning streak with a 49-46 upset Sunday.

Syracuse improved to 19-6 and 9-5 in the conference.

Pitt’s streak was the second-longest in Division I to Duke’s 41-game run. The Panthers had been 34-0 at home since opening the Petersen Events Center last season and hadn’t lost in Pittsburgh since being surprised by Notre Dame, 56-53, on Jan. 12, 2002, at Fitzgerald Field House.

“We didn’t get it done, and our guys are very disappointed,” said Coach Jamie Dixon, a loser at home for the first time. “It was an unbelievable streak, and we’ll just have to start another one.”

Hakim Warrick scored 17 points for the Orangemen, who tied Seton Hall for fourth place in the Big East. The top four teams receive a first-round bye in the conference tournament, which Coach Jim Boeheim said is almost a necessity to win.

Pitt (25-3, 11-3), confused and ineffective the entire game as the Orangemen constantly gave the Panthers different looks out of their 2-3 zone defense, dropped into a first-place tie with Connecticut and Providence heading into Tuesday’s road game against the Friars.

No. 5 Duke 70, Florida State 65 -- Luol Deng scored 20 points, and the Blue Devils (24-3, 12-2) converted their last 12 free throws to defeat the Seminoles (8-11, 6-9) at Tallahassee, Fla., and clinch at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s regular season title.

Successive dunks by Shelden Williams midway through the second half gave Duke a 51-47 lead, and it never looked back.

No. 9 Kentucky 70, Louisiana State 64 -- Gerald Fitch scored 23 points, making five of eight three-point tries, to help the Wildcats (21-4, 11-3) clinch the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division title with a victory over the Tigers (17-8, 7-7) at Baton Rouge, La.

It was the fourth loss in a row for LSU and dropped the Tigers into a tie for No. 2 in the SEC West with Alabama.

No. 12 North Carolina 71, No. 14 North Carolina State 64 -- Rashad McCants scored 22 points and hit two key three-pointers late to help the Tar Heels (17-8, 7-7) hold on for an ACC victory over the Wolfpack (18-7, 10-4) at Raleigh, N.C.

The win allowed the Tar Heels to sweep the season series with the Wolfpack. A loss would have marked the first time they had not swept at least one ACC team in a season since joining the conference in 1953.

No. 13 Providence 103, St. John’s 78 -- Ryan Gomes had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Friars (20-5, 11-3) set a Big East Conference record for points in a first half in defeating the Red Storm (6-19, 1-13) at New York.

The Friars (20-5, 11-3) shot 59.5% from the field (22 for 37) in taking a 62-38 halftime lead.

No. 20 Kansas 79, Oklahoma 58 -- Wayne Simien scored 26 points, and Keith Langford had 22 at Lawrence, Kan., to help the Jayhawks (18-7, 10-4) defeat the Sooners (16-9, 6-8) in a Big 12 Conference game. Kansas is 7-0 in conference home games.

No. 22 Wisconsin 82, Purdue 46 -- Mike Wilkinson’s 23 points and 12 rebounds in a Big Ten Conference game at Madison, Wis., helped the Badgers (19-6, 10-4) hand the Boilermakers (17-10, 7-7) their worst loss in the series that began in 1906.