Tar Heels Prove They Can Still Win the Big One

Although North Carolina lost its top seven scorers from its national championship team and entered the season unranked, the Tar Heels still are capable of a big victory.

Led by a career-high 25 points from Reyshawn Terry, North Carolina upset No. 10 Kentucky, 83-79, Saturday, giving the Tar Heels an impressive win that ended the Wildcats’ 11-game winning streak at Rupp Arena.

This was a matchup of teams that rank 1-2 in NCAA Division I in overall wins, and North Carolina (4-1) showed it remains a dangerous team.

That’s exactly what the Tar Heels did, holding off two second-half runs by Kentucky (5-2) to beat the Wildcats for the second straight season.

“It was a sensational day for us,” North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said. “When they made their runs we were able to counter instead of being soft and backing off and being tentative.”

Kentucky, despite career highs in points from guards Rajon Rondo (20) and walk-on Ravi Moss (17), lost for the first time at home since falling, 65-59, to Kansas on Jan. 9.

No. 2 Texas 93, Texas Arlington 55 -- Sophomore Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 29 points at Austin to help the Longhorns (7-0), who are off to their best start since the 1981-82 team opened 14-0.

No. 4 Villanova 85, No. 5 Oklahoma 74 -- Randy Foye had a career-high 32 points for the Wildcats (4-0), who had to play the visiting Sooners with a small lineup because of a knee injury to star forward Curtis Sumpter.

Using four guards, Villanova used defensive pressure that didn’t allow the Sooners (4-1) to have any kind of perimeter game in the second half when the Wildcats pulled away.

No. 7 Louisville 90, Prairie View 65 -- David Padgett, who sprained his left knee during an intrasquad game three weeks ago, scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 27 minutes at Louisville, Ky., to help the Cardinals (2-0) ease past the Panthers (1-3).

No. 8 Boston College 77, Sacred Heart 66 -- Jared Dudley scored a season-low 11 points but managed to surpass 1,000 in his career, and had 12 rebounds at Boston to help the Eagles improve to 6-0.

No. 9 Memphis 91, Cincinnati 81 -- Freshman Antonio Anderson emerged from his shooting slump by scoring 32 points at Cincinnati, and the Tigers (6-1) got only their second victory in their last 10 games against the Bearcats (3-2). Anderson, who had made only 10 baskets all season, made 11 of 15 shots.

No. 11 Florida 80, Central Florida 47 -- The victory at Gainesville, Fla., was No. 200 for Coach Billy Donovan, who became the fastest in school history to reach that mark. The Gators also improved to 7-0 for only the third time, joining the 1951-52 and 1984-85 squads.

Corey Brewer, who had 25 points, sparked a 29-8 run to open the second half as the Gators pulled away from the Golden Knights (4-1).

No. 12 Illinois 65, Xavier 62 -- Dee Brown and James Augustine helped the Illini (7-0) rally from an early 15-point deficit to improve to 15-0 at the United Center in Chicago. Augustine scored 23 points and Brown had 20. The Musketeers built a 19-4 lead and led, 36-26, at halftime, but Illinois started the second half with a 15-4 run.

No. 13 Michigan State 72, Arkansas Little Rock 67 -- Paul Davis scored the first nine points of the second half at Grand Rapids, Mich., to spark a 16-3 run for the Spartans (5-2). The Trojans (3-2) pulled to within five points several times, but the Spartans held them off.

No. 14 Iowa 72, Valparaiso 59 -- The Hawkeyes (7-1) beat the Crusaders at Iowa City to win the Hawkeye Challenge for the 20th year in a row. They are 47-1 overall in their tournament since it began in 1982.

Houston 69, No. 15 Arizona 65 -- Oliver Lafayette made a free throw with 8.6 seconds left to give the Cougars (3-1) a four-point lead at Houston. The Wildcats (2-3) are the highest-ranked team to lose to Houston since it upset third-ranked Memphis 69-67 in 1996.

No. 17 Indiana 79, Eastern Michigan 63 -- The victory at Bloomington, Ind., was Coach Mike Davis’ 100th in six seasons with the Hoosiers (4-1), making him the second-fastest to the 100-win mark in school history. Bob Knight did it in five seasons.

No. 20 Nevada 77, Pacific 70 -- Mo Charlo scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half and grabbed eight rebounds, and Nick Fazekas had 23 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks to help the Wolfpack (5-0) end a 20-game losing streak in Stockton.

No. 21 Alabama 60, Winthrop 57 -- The Eagles (4-1) led by four points midway through the second half at Tuscaloosa, Ala., but three-point baskets by Justin Jonus and Ronald Steele gave the Crimson Tide (4-1) control.

No. 22 Wake Forest 78, Elon 59 -- The Phoenix (1-5) were the hosts at Greensboro Coliseum, choosing to serve in that role instead of traveling about 50 miles to Wake Forest. It didn’t keep them from losing to the Demon Deacons (7-1) for the 22nd straight time in the series.

OTHER GAMES

Dion Harris’ basket with 16 seconds left at South Bend, Ind., gave Michigan a 69-67 lead and the Wolverines (5-0) finished with an 8-0 run to beat Notre Dame, 71-67. The Irish (2-2) did not score during the last 2:18....Mississippi State (5-2) outscored Santa Clara, 16-3, in overtime to beat the Broncos, 82-69, at Starkville, Miss. Santa Clara (3-2) made only one of eight shots in the extra period.

Oregon State (2-2) overcame a 22-point first-half deficit and forced Nevada Las Vegas (2-3) into a four-for-31 shooting performance in the second half at Corvallis. The Beavers took control with an 18-1 run and won, 69-63....Eddie Sutton passed Lefty Driesell for fifth place on the all-time coaching wins list with Oklahoma State’s 64-54 victory over Southern Methodist at Stillwater, Okla. Sutton, who is 787-300 in his 36-year coaching career, trails only North Carolina’s Dean Smith, Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp, Texas Tech’s Bob Knight and Jim Phelan of Mount St. Mary’s.