No. 2 Uconn Needs 25-Point Rally To Win

Ray Allen scored 19 of his 27 points in a frantic secondhalf rally as No. 2 Connecticut turned a 25-point first-half deficit into an 85-76 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

The Huskies, the only unbeaten Division I team, fell victim to Pitt’s turnover-producing full-court pressure and 3-point shooting and trailed 14-2 with barely 5 minutes gone - and 40-15 with 4:42 left in the first half.

But Connecticut (4-0 Big East, 11-0) turned up the defensive pressure after that, reeling off a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 15 and producing a 9-0 run early in the second half that made it 55-50.

Rudy Johnson, who came off the bench to score 11 points, tied the game at 60 with a three-point play with 8:49 remaining. The Huskies, shooting 60 percent in the second half, took the lead for the first time and for good at 63-62 on Brian Fair’s basket with 8 minutes remaining.

(4) N. Carolina 86, (22) Georgia Tech 75

Jerry Stackhouse scored 23 points and the Tar Heels (2-1 ACC, 11-1) used a 14-0 run late in the first half to get an early jump on the Yellow Jackets before holding on for an Atlantic Coast Conference victory in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Yellow Jackets (1-2, 9-5) missed 7 of 8 shots down the stretch while the Tar Heels, the worst free-throw shooting team in the ACC, went 7 for 8 from the foul line in the final 51 seconds.

(5) Arkansas 79, Mississippi St. 74

Scotty Thurman intercepted a pass at one end and then hung in the air at the other for a one-handed 8-footer with 38 seconds left that ruined a magnificent Bulldogs (2-1 Southeastern Conference, 8-3) comeback and gave the Razorbacks a victory in Fayetteville, Ark.

Thurman’s basket put the Razorbacks (2-1, 13-2) in front 76-74. The Bulldogs’ Marcus Grant, who made several important baskets in the second half, shot an air ball with 21 seconds to play and Arkansas’ Clint McDaniel, who missed the previous two games with an injury, made two free throws to make it 78-74.

Indiana 89, (11) Michigan St. 82

The Hoosiers (2-1 Big Ten, 10-5) didn’t score a field goal in the final 7:20, but made their free throws to hold off the Spartans and extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 50 games in Bloomington, Ind.

Shawn Respert scored 40 points to tie the Assembly Hall record for points by an opponent and nearly brought Michigan State (2-1, 9-2) back from a 21-point second-half deficit. He set a Big Ten record with nine 3-pointers, one more than the old mark, which was achieved four times.

(14) Wake Forest 74, (16) Duke 64

Randolph Childress took advantage of a Duke defense unable to stay with him in the second half and the Demon Deacons (2-1 ACC, 9-1) pulled away for a victory in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Blue Devils’ third straight loss.

Childress got 22 of his 24 points after halftime as the Blue Devils (0-3, 9-5) searched for someone who could stop him.

Virginia 61, (18) Clemson 37

The Tigers’ unbeaten run ended with a thud as the Cavaliers (3-0 ACC, 9-3) harassed Clemson (1-1, 10-1) into its second-worst shooting performance ever and rolled to victory in Charlottesville, Va., behind Cory Alexander’s 16 points.

The Tigers, ranked this week for the first time since 1990, made just 12 of 50 field-goal attempts (24 percent). The only time they shot worse was last year in Charlottesville, when they made just 23.8 percent in a 52-44 loss.

Michigan 83, (19) Iowa 82, 2 OT

Ray Jackson’s dunk off a pinpoint pass from Jimmy King with 11 seconds left in the second overtime gave the Wolverines a victory over the Hawkeyes (1-2 Big Ten, 11-4) in Ann Arbor, Mich., running the Hawkeyes’ losing streak in Crisler Arena to 14 games.

King had 21 points and Jackson 15 for the Wolverines (2-1, 8-6), who shot 53.8 percent.

(23) Iowa St. 79, Saint Louis 66

Loren Meyer used his size advantage to hit 13 of 14 shots, score 29 points and pull down 12 rebounds inside and Fred Hoiberg broke out of a shooting slump with 23 points and had eight rebounds as the Cyclones beat the Billikens in Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State (12-2) rallied from an early eight-point deficit and pulled away with a 21-5 second-half run in which Meyer and Hoiberg scored all but two of the Cyclones’ points.

(24) New Mexico St. 66, Cal State Fullerton 58

Rodney Walker scored 17 points and the Aggies (3-1 Big West, 12-3) forced 25 turnovers in a victory over the Titans (2-1, 4-7) in Las Cruces, N.M.