Head leads Illinois to another win

Luther Head scored 18 points and shot 5 for 9 from 3-point range to lead No. 1 Illinois past Northwestern State (5-7) 69-51 in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic on Thursday night.

Deron Williams added 14 points and six assists for the Illini (13-0), who never trailed in the teams’ second meeting in history. They last played in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, and the top-seeded Illini beat the Demons 93-54 in Dayton, Ohio.

This is the best start for Illinois since 1988-89, when it began 17-0.

(4) North Carolina 107, Cleveland State 64: Raymond Felton ran his streak of consecutive 3-pointers to 12 to help the Tar Heels (11-1) beat the Vikings (3-5) in Chapel Hill, N.C.

(5) Wake Forest 98, North Carolina A&T 76: Justin Gray scored 23 points to lift the Demon Deacons (11-1) past the Aggies (1-11) in Winston-Salem, N.C.

(7) Syracuse 80, Hofstra 75: Hakim Warrick scored 29 points and the Orange (13-1) rallied late to beat the previously unbeaten Pride (9-1) in Syracuse, N.Y.

(11) Connecticut 123, Quinnipiac 71: Josh Boone had a career-high 22 points and eight blocks to lead the Huskies (8-1) to a rout of the Bobcats (4-5) in Hartford, Conn.

(14) Arizona 84, Richmond 71: Chris Rodgers tied his career high with 20 points to help the Wildcats (10-2) outlast the stubborn Spiders (5-5) in the championship game of the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

St. John’s 63, (17) N.C. State 45: The Red Storm (6-4) led 27-10 at halftime and pulled away by holding the Wolfpack (10-2) without a field goal for a 14-minute stretch.

(19) Louisville 78, E. Kentucky 63: Francisco Garcia scored 23 points to lead the Cardinals (10-2) to a win over the Colonels (8-3) in Louisville, Ky.

(21) Mississippi State 71, Virginia Tech 65: Lawrence Roberts scored 25 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Bulldogs (12-2) rallied to beat the Hokies (6-5) in the Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans.

(22) Cincinnati 95, Longwood 69: Jason Maxiell had 30 points and eight rebounds as the Bearcats (11-0) beat the Lancers (1-15) in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

Women

(1) LSU 78, Texas St. 38: Sylvia Fowles had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Tigers (12-0) to a rout of the Bobcats (3-8) in Baton Rouge, La. … (6) Notre Dame 73, N. Illinois 49: Jacqueline Batteast scored 21 points to lead the Irish (11-1) to a win over the Huskies (2-8) in Dekalb, Ill. … (7) North Carolina 79, Old Dominion 55: Ivory Latta had 24 points for the Tar Heels (11-1), who won their fourth in a row in a decision over the Monarchs (4-4) in Chapel Hill, N.C. … Penn St. 69, (9) Ohio St. 62: Jen Harris scored 22 points to lead the Nittany Lions (6-5) in an upset of the Buckeyes (11-2) at State College, Pa. … (12) Minnesota 62, Northwestern 44: Janel McCarville had 13 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Gophers (11-2) to a win over the Wildcats (3-11) at Minneapolis in the Big Ten opener for both teams. … (14) Boston College 79, George Washington 60: Brooke Queenan had 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the Eagles (9-1) to their eighth straight win, defeating the Colonials (6-4) in Boston. … (15) Vanderbilt 91, New Orleans 37: Ashley Earley scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Commodores (10-1) to a victory over the Privateers (0-11) in New Orleans. … (16) Georgia 78, Arkansas 57: Tasha Humphrey scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Bulldogs (10-3) to a win over the Razorbacks (9-2) in Athens, Ga. … (17) Maryland 83, Marshall 68: Shay Doron scored 26 points and the Terrapins (10-1) won the Terrapin Classic by beating the Thundering Herd (5-5) in College Park, Md. … (18) Iowa 62, Indiana 51: Crystal Smith scored 24 points and the Hawkeyes (12-0) extended their best start in 17 years, beating the Hoosiers (7-4) in the teams’ Big Ten opener in Iowa City, Iowa. … (19) DePaul 61, Richmond 55: Allie Quigley scored 23 points to lead the Blue Demons (10-2) to a championship win over the Spiders (9-1) in Hanover, N.H. … (20) Purdue 72, Wisconsin 67: Erin Lawless scored 29 points and the Boilermakers (8-3) overcame a slow start to beat the Badgers (5-5) in Madison, Wis. … (22) Kansas State 68, Saint Joseph’s 49: Kendra Wecker scored 21 points and had 14 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (8-2) past the Hawks (2-10) at Philadelphia.