College basketball: No. 2 Oklahoma squeaks past Oklahoma State, 74-72

Buddy Hield scored 26 points to help No. 2 Oklahoma hold off a spirited Oklahoma State squad 74-72 on Wednesday night at Stillwater, Okla.

Hield made 10 of 17 shots for the Sooners (14-1, 3-1 Big 12), but he committed 10 turnovers, including a crucial one that gave Oklahoma State a chance to win. Jeffrey Carroll missed a potential game-winning three-pointer for the Cowboys as time expired.

Jawun Evans scored 42 points, an Oklahoma State (9-7, 1-3) record for a freshman and the third-most points in school history.

Oklahoma is in position to move up to No. 1 after top-ranked Kansas lost at West Virginia on Tuesday night. The Sooners host No. 11 West Virginia on Saturday.

at Clemson 68, No. 9 Duke 63: The Tigers have beaten almost a Final Four of national champions in the a span of eight days after forward Jaron Blossomgame scored 17 points, including the clinching dunk with 13.5 seconds left, to lift Clemson over No. 9 Duke on Wednesday night. The victory was the fourth straight for the Tigers (11-6, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) and the third in a row over an NCAA champion in the past eight days after wins at Syracuse and No. 21 Louisville.

Coupled with the Louisville win, it marked the first time the Tigers had defeated ranked opponents back to back since topping Duke and Georgia Tech at the end of the 1989 regular season. Clemson’s next game is at home Saturday against No. 8 Miami.

Wednesday’s game started like a typical Blue Devils blowout, with Duke taking a 28-16 lead midway through the opening half. Instead, the Tigers hung tough to beat Duke (14-3, 3-1) for the second time in three seasons.

at Alabama 73, No. 19 South Carolina 50: Riley Norris hit his first seven three-point attempts and scored a career-high 27 points to lead the host Crimson Tide over the previously unbeaten Gamecocks.

Alabama (10-5, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) got the first league win of Coach Avery Johnson’s debut season. The upset leaves No. 10 SMU as the nation’s only unbeaten major college team.

The Gamecocks (15-1, 2-1) missed their first 12 shots of the second half and went more than 11 minutes without a field goal starting before the break. They ended an eight-minute scoring drought after halftime down 48-22.

No. 10 Southern Methodist 79, East Carolina 55: Ben Moore scored 17 points and the visiting Mustangs remained unbeaten.

Markus Kennedy had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Jordan Tolbert finished with 15 points and Nic Moore had a career-high 12 assists for SMU (16-0, 5-0 American Athletic Conference), which had five double-figure scorers.

Playing their first game as a top-10 team in 31 years, the Mustangs never trailed and shot 52.5% while extending the best start in school history.

Caleb White and B.J. Tyson scored 15 points apiece to lead the Pirates (8-9, 0-4).