No. 3 Memphis Losing Rank

Top 25

Kirk Ford scored 23 points, including seven in the rapid-fire final minutes, helping the Houston Cougars hold on for a 69-67 upset of No. 3 Memphis on Saturday night at Memphis.

Memphis (8-2) never led after the midway point of the first half and lost its second straight game. The Tigers were beaten by No. 1 Massachusetts on Thursday.

The Tigers tied the Cougars twice in the final 3:51 of the game, the last time at 67-67 with 28 seconds left on a 3-point basket by Mingo Johnson.

But the Cougars (5-6) edged back ahead each time.

(1) UMass 78, Dayton 58 At Boston, Marcus Camby scored a career-high 38 points and had 11 rebounds as the Minutemen welcomed the Flyers to the Atlantic 10 conference.

Camby topped his previous best of 32 to assure the Minutemen (12-0, 1-0 Atlantic 10) of a third week at No. 1. Dayton (8-4, 0-1) stayed close for the first 7 minutes and cut a 10-point lead to one early in the second half but, in the end, couldn’t stop Camby.

(2) Kentucky 90, Mississippi 60 At Lexington, Ky., Antoine Walker scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Wildcats cruised to their 10th consecutive victory in overwhelming the Rebels.

Kentucky (11-1, 2-0 SEC) came up with 13 steals and blocked 10 shots and Mississippi (5-6, 0-2) shot just 27 percent (17 of 64) and turned the ball over 24 times in its second straight loss.

(4) Kansas 83, SMU 61

At Lawrence, Kan., Kansas survived a miserable first half as Raef LaFrentz helped the Jayhawks take control inside in the second period to beat the Mustangs (4-7).

The Jayhawks (10-1) led only 31-25 at the half, but started the second half by working the ball inside to LaFrentz and Scot Pollard, each of them 6-foot-10 and the two biggest players on the floor.

(5) Cincinnati 71, South Florida 69

At Tampa, Fla., the Bearcats, off to their best start in 19 years, avoided an upset when Art Long scored off a rebound with 1 second remaining.

Danny Fortson had 19 points and Keith LeGree 13, but Long made the last two baskets for Cincinnati (9-0, 1-0 USA Conference), which blew a 10-point second-half lead before prevailing in the USA Conference opener. The Bulls dropped to 7-4, 0-1.

(6) Georgetown 85, Seton Hall 76

At Landover, Md., Allen Iverson scored 40 points and Jerome Williams chased down four offensive rebounds off free throws in the final 2 minutes, helping the Hoyas to win over the Pirates.

Iverson matched his season-high scoring output. The victory was the 10th in a row for the Hoyas (13-1, 3-0 Big East). The loss snapped a three-game winning streak by the Pirates (6-5, 2-2).

(7) Connecticut 73, Miami 52 At Hartford, Conn., Ray Allen and Doron Sheffer shook off sluggish starts and the Huskies used big runs in each half to overcome the Hurricanes (8-4, 2-2 Big East).

Allen, who was hitting the front iron and even launched an uncharacteristic airball on a 3-point attempt in the first half, led the Huskies (12-1, 4-0) with 19 points to move up to No. 10 on the school’s scoring list.

(8) Villanova 94, (24) Boston C. 77 At Villanova, Pa., Kerry Kittles had another big game against the Eagles, scoring 33 points as the Wildcats won their fifth consecutive straight.

Villanova (12-1, 4-0 Big East) ended the five-game winning streak of Boston College (9-3, 2-2), which had outscored opponents by an average of 28 points during that span.

(10) Iowa 92, Minnesota 63

At Iowa City, Iowa, Russ Millard scored 11 of his 20 points during an early second-half run that gave Iowa control of the game, and Chris Kingsbury regained his shooting touch as the Hawkeyes (12-2, 1-1 Big Ten) beat Minnesota (9-5, 1-1).

(12) Wake Forest 75, Fla. St. 73 (OT) At Tallahassee, Fla., Tim Duncan scored six straight free throws and then blocked LaMarr Greer’s layup try at the buzzer as the Demon Deacons (8-1, 1-0 ACC) beat the Seminoles (9-3, 1-1).

Michigan St. 68, (13) Illinois 58

At Champaign, Ill., Ray Weathers scored all 16 of his points in the second half as the Spartans beat the Illini.

Michigan State (8-6, 2-0 Big Ten) shot through holes in the Illini’s ragged defense and used their height advantage to keep Illinois (11-3, 0-2) out of the lane.

South Carolina 85, (14) Georgia 73

At Columbia, S.C., Nate Wilbourne had 20 points and Larry Davis 16 points in the second half as the Gamecocks ran past the Bulldogs (10-2, 1-1 SEC).

South Carolina (7-3, 1-1) turned the game around with a quick-strike attack, making 7 of 8 shots.

(16) N. Caro. 88, Maryland 86 (OT)

At College Park, Md., Antawn Jamison hit a short jumper at the buzzer in overtime, capping a career-high 31-point performance that carried the Tar Heels past Maryland, ending the Terrapins’ 21-game home winning streak.

With the score tied, the Tar Heels (11-2, 2-0 ACC) brought the ball upcourt for a final shot. Jeff McInnis missed and after a scramble for the loose ball, North Carolina’s Dante Calabria tossed the ball up from the floor. Maryland fell to 6-5, 0-2.

(17) Mississippi St. 69, Florida 66

At Gainesville, Fla., Darryl Wilson scored seven of his 18 points in the final 1:04 of the game in the Bulldogs’ win over the Gators (5-6, 0-2 SEC).

Wilson made it 64-60 with a weaving layup to beat the shot clock with 1:04 left, then clinched the game for the Bulldogs (10-1, 2-0) with five free throws in the final 40 seconds.

(21) Michigan 83, Northwestern 51

At Ann Arbor, Mich., Maurice Taylor scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half as the Wolverines (11-4, 1-1 Big Ten), rebounding from a Big Ten loss at Wisconsin, routed the Wildcats.

It was the Big Ten opener for Northwestern, coming off 60-56 loss to Brown on Tuesday. Northwestern (5-5, 0-1) was 1-17 in the conference last season.

Rice 80, (23) Texas 69

At Austin, Texas, Tommy McGhee scored a career-high 35 points and had 10 rebounds as the Owls raced to an early lead and held off the cold-shooting Longhorns.

Rice (8-4, 1-0 Southwest Conference) ended a seven-game losing streak against Texas and handed the Longhorns (7-4, 0-1) their second straight defeat.