No. 9 North Carolina holds off No. 2 Maryland, 89-81, in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Marcus Paige scored 20 points in his season debut following a hand injury, and No. 9 North Carolina defeated No. 2 Maryland, 89-81, Tuesday night in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Brice Johnson added 16 points for the Tar Heels (6-1), who shot 53% and repeatedly capitalized on Terrapins miscues in a rare nonconference meeting between the Atlantic Coast Conference powers.

Melo Trimble finished with 23 points and 12 assists to lead Maryland (6-1), which shot 51% but committed 21 turnovers that UNC converted into 23 points.

This was the headlining matchup for the interconference series, pitting two ACC charter members with Final Four aspirations. Paige and Trimble basically took over for much of the second half, putting on a show of high-level guard play to make this matchup worthy of the rankings.

at No. 4 Kansas 94, Loyola (Md.) 61: Cheick Diallo, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Mali, made his much-anticipated debut for the Jayhawks (5-1), finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks and a trio of highlight-reel dunks. Kansas needed a spark on a night when it led just 40-36 at halftime.

at No. 5 Iowa State 84, North Dakota State 64: Abdel Nader scored 21 points, Jameel McKay had 15 to go with a career-high 19 rebounds, and Monte Morris had 18 points and six assists for the Cyclones (6-0), who overcame 26% three-point shooting to post their fifth straight double-digit win. They also survived and injury scare from Niang that turned out to be a minor muscle spasm.

No. 10 Virginia 64, at Ohio State 58: Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points, his third straight game with at least 20, as the Cavaliers (6-1) won their fifth in a row. Darius Thompson had 12 points in place of starting guard London Perrantes, who had an appendectomy Sunday.

No. 21 Miami 77, at Nebraska 72: Davon Reed’s three-pointer gave Miami the lead in overtime and the Hurricanes (6-1) made three free throws in the last 15 seconds to eke out a win over the Cornhuskers (5-3).

Etc.

Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski will miss four to six weeks because of a stress reaction and strained muscle in his left foot. The 7-foot senior, averaging 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, suffered the injury last week during the Wooden Legacy tournament at Cal State Fullerton.