Michigan Turns Arizona Inside-Out, Wins In Overtime

Top 25

The big men thundered and jammed and knocked people down. Then, the little men settled it.

Michigan guard Travis Conlan, playing on a sprained right ankle, threaded two perfect passes to a tiring Robert Traylor and the lumbering 300-pounder converted both feeds into overtime baskets Saturday as the fourth-ranked Wolverines beat No. 6 Arizona 73-71 at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Arizona freshman point guard Mike Bibby had fouled out after scoring 19 points before the end of regulation. So the Wildcats put the ball in slender Jason Terry’s hands at the end. He gave the Wolverines a scare, but his two desperation jumpers went off the rim.

“Being the point guard, you have to lead in different ways,” said Conlan, who made up for scoring two points by adding six assists. “I saw Robert lingering a bit. He might have been a little tired. But he made both those baskets.”

The game was tied at 64 at the end of regulation, but the Wolverines (8-0), off to their best start since the 1988-89 club won its first 11 on the way to a national championship, took a four-point lead on a basket and two free throws by Maceo Baston.

Michigan led from there in the game played before 19,303 fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

This was the fourth time the Wildcats (5-2) have faced a Top 25 opponent, three of which were ranked in the Top 10.

(1) Kansas 84, North Carolina St. 56

At Lawrence, Kan., Paul Pierce scored 21 points with a variety of inside moves and jump shots to help Kansas take apart the nation’s stingiest defense and lead the Jayhawks to their 10th victory without a loss.

Kansas scored the most points against the Wolfpack (5-2) this year. The previous high was the 53 points they gave up to Florida Atlantic.

(2) Wake Forest 90, Campbell 53

With 22 points and 15 rebounds, Tim Duncan extended his double-double streak to 17 games and the Demon Deacons (8-0) rolled over the undersized Camels (2-4) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest has held each of its opponents to less than 35 percent shooting.

(3) Kentucky 88, Ga. Tech 59

At Atlanta, Kentucky’s 1-2 punch of Derek Anderson and Ron Mercer got plenty of help from the rest of the Wildcats (8-1) in dominating the Yellow Jackets (4-3).

(5) Iowa State 77, ETSU 49

At Ames, Iowa, Kelvin Cato scored 16 points and blocked six shots and Shawn Bankhead added 15 points as the Cyclones (7-0) defeated East Tennessee State (4-4) in the opening round of the ISU Holiday Classic.

(9) Utah 80, (14) Texas 68

At Salt Lake City, Keith Van Horn scored 23 of his 34 points in the second half as the Utes (6-1) pulled away from the Longhorns (6-2).

Texas was led by Reggie Freeman with 23 points.

(10) Villanova 91, Mt. St. Mary’s 66

At Philadelphia, Jason Lawson had 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Wildcats (7-1) defeated the Mountaineers (3-2).

(13) Indiana 75, Evansville 57

At the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Andrae Patterson scored 17 points to lead the Hoosiers (10-1) past the Purple Aces (5-6) for the second time this season.

The Hoosiers beat the Aces 74-73 on Nov. 27 in the Preseason NIT.

(15) N. Mex. 76, Sam Houston St. 55

At Albuquerque, N.M., Kenny Thomas scored 18 points to lead the Lobos (8-1) past the Bearkats (1-7).

(16) Minnesota 70, Nebraska 56

At Lincoln, Neb., Quincy Lewis scored 13 points and led a 13-3 second-half run that sent the Golden Gophers (8-1) past the Cornhuskers (6-2).

(17) Xavier 113, Akron 111, 3 OT

At Akron, Ohio, James Posey scored five of his 17 points in the third overtime as the Musketeers (8-0) defeated the Zips (1-6) despite 44 points by Akron freshman point guard Jimmal Ball.

(18) L’ville 91, (19) Arkansas 88, OT

At Fayetteville, Ark., DeJuan Wheat, held scoreless in the first half because of foul trouble, scored 10 points in overtime and Nate Johnson made three free throws in the final 24 seconds as the Cardinals (8-0) defeated the Razorbacks (5-2) after trailing for most of the game.

(20) Alabama 72, VCU 69

At Birmingham, Ala., Brian Williams sparked a late run to lead the Crimson Tide past Virginia Commonwealth (3-4) for Alabama’s first 10-0 start in 20 seasons.

(23) Tex. Tech 111, (21) Fresno 101

At Las Vegas, Nev., Cory Carr scored 36 points to help the Red Raiders (7-1) defeat the Bulldogs (6-3) and spoil Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian’s homecoming in the Las Vegas Shootout.

It was the first time Tarkanian had coached at the Thomas and Mack Center since posting a 130-6 record there as coach of UNLV.

Illinois 79, (24) UCLA 63

At Chicago, Matt Heldman scored 19 points, including five 3-pointers, as the Fighting Illini (9-2) defeated the Bruins (3-3).

Charles O’Bannon, the Bruins’ leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, managed 12. UCLA had 23 turnovers.

(25) Maryland 81, American 74

At College Park, Md., Obinna Ekezie equaled his career high with 19 points, yet the Terrapins (8-0) struggled to defeat the Eagles (3-6).