Duke Survives Close Call Against Boston College

Boston College guard Tyrese Rice took the ball the length of the court quickly and easily. Only Shelden Williams stood between him and a chance to make it a one-point game.

The Duke forward stood his ground and sent Rice to the floor without drawing a foul, preserving the second-ranked Blue Devils’ 83-81 victory over No. 15 Boston College on Wednesday night at Boston.

“We’re spoiled by his defense,” Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He doesn’t leap tall buildings with a single bound, but he got seven blocks tonight. That was a terrific play, as were his free throws.”

Williams had 21 points and made 13 of 16 free throws, and J.J. Redick scored 28 points and made key free throws to help the Blue Devils (20-1, 8-0) weather a late rally by the Eagles (16-5, 4-4) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.

Jared Dudley had a season-high 28 points for Boston College, which had won four consecutive games in the ACC since starting its first season in the conference 0-3. The Eagles fell to 0-4 this season against ranked opponents.

No. 3 Memphis 84, Tulsa 61 -- Darius Washington Jr. scored 22 points to help lift the Tigers (20-2, 6-0) in a Conference USA game at Tulsa, Okla.

Rodney Carney scored 12 consecutive points -- including three dunks -- during a 19-2 run in the first half that sent the Tigers on the way to their ninth consecutive victory.

Brett McDade scored 18 points for the Golden Hurricane (7-12, 2-4), which has lost three in a row.

No. 7 Texas 66, Missouri 53 -- P.J. Tucker scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half at Columbia, Mo., and the Longhorns (18-3, 6-1) prevailed in a Big 12 Conference game despite shooting 33% in the first half.

Texas scored only three points in the last 4:12 of the game. Thomas Gardner scored 15 points for Missouri (10-9, 3-5).

No. 11 West Virginia 71, Notre Dame 70 -- Kevin Pittsnogle scored 22 points in a Big East Conference game at Morgantown, W.Va., and the Mountaineers (16-4, 7-0) ended an 11-game losing streak against the Irish.

Chris Quinn, who led the Irish (10-9, 1-7) with 24 points, had a chance to win the game but missed a jump shot with less than two seconds left.

No. 13 Tennessee 69, Vanderbilt 62 -- Major Wingate scored 16 points and Dane Bradshaw had 10 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Volunteers in a Southeastern Conference game at Knoxville, Tenn.

The Volunteers (15-3, 6-1) needed a push at the end to overtake the Commodores (12-6, 3-4) and improve to 11-0 at home.

DeMarre Carroll had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Vanderbilt.

No. 18 North Carolina State 66, Virginia 64 -- Cameron Bennerman followed up his own miss for the go-ahead basket with 74 seconds left to help the Wolfpack rally in an ACC game at Raleigh, N.C.

Tony Bethel scored 16 points to lead the Wolfpack (17-4, 6-2).

J.R. Reynolds led the Cavaliers (10-8, 4-4) with 16 points.

No. 19 Oklahoma 71, Texas A&M; 63 -- Michael Neal continued his hot shooting and scored 16 points for the Sooners (14-4, 5-2) in a Big 12 game at Norman, Okla.

The Aggies (13-6, 3-5) stayed in the game by making 10 of 15 three-point shots. Center Joseph Jones led Texas A&M; with 14 points.

No. 21 Michigan 71, Penn State 65 -- Dion Harris scored 23 points and Daniel Horton had some key baskets down the stretch in a Big Ten Conference game at State College, Pa.

Horton’s jump shot gave the Wolverines (16-3, 6-2) a 64-53 lead with just under five minutes left before a 10-2 run by the Nittany Lions (10-9, 2-6).

No. 22 Indiana 72, Northwestern 63 -- Roderick Wilmont scored a career-high 23 points at Bloomington, Ind., in his first start this season, and little-used guard Errek Suhr provided a second-half spark to help the Hoosiers (13-5, 5-3) end a two-game skid by winning at home in a Big Ten game against the Wildcats (10-9, 3-5) for the 34th consecutive time.

Vedran Vukusic scored 18 points for Northwestern, which has lost six of seven games. The last win for the Wildcats in Bloomington, Ind., was in 1968.

No. 23 Iowa 77, Purdue 68 -- Jeff Horner scored a career-high 32 points and set an Iowa record for career three-point field goals.

Horner made seven three-pointers at West Lafayette, Ind., including six in the second half, when the Hawkeyes (17-5, 6-2) rallied from an 11-point deficit and took control in the last six minutes of the Big Ten game.

His seven three-pointers gave him 230, surpassing the previous school record of 226 set by Chris Kingsbury from 1994 to 1996.

Matt Kiefer and Gary Ware each had 17 points for the Boilermakers (7-13, 1-8).

No. 24 Louisiana State 84, Auburn 69 -- Darrel Mitchell scored 27 points at Baton Rouge, La., and the Tigers remained unbeaten in the SEC.

Mitchell, who has scored 79 points in the last three games, was eight for 11 from the field and made his nine free throws.

Tyrus Thomas and Glen Davis each scored 17 points for Louisiana State (15-5, 7-0). Frank Tolbert had 15 points for Auburn (9-9, 1-6).