Umass Passes Virginia Tech Test
Top 25
Marcus Camby scored 31 points and Donta Bright had 19 Saturday to lead top-ranked UMass to a 74-58 victory over No. 10 Virginia Tech, perhaps the Minutemen’s biggest remaining barricade to a perfect regular season.
Virginia Tech (19-3, 10-2 Atlantic 10) had its 17-game home winning streak broken by UMass (25-0, 13-0).
Ace Custis, Virginia Tech’s leading scorer with a 14.2 average, made only 3 of 13 shots and 1 of 2 free throws for seven points.
(2) Kentucky 90, Tennessee 50
At Knoxville, Tenn., Kentucky’s smooth trip through the Southeastern Conference didn’t hit so much as a pothole in a win over the Volunteers (11-11, 4-8 Southeastern Conference).
The No. 2 Wildcats put five players in double figures and barely broke a sweat in blowing past the Vols for their 21st consecutive victory.
Kentucky (22-1, 12-0) clinched at least a tie for its 38th conference championship. The Wildcats are four victories away from a perfect league season, a feat not accomplished since Alabama was 14-0 in 1956.
(3) Connecticut 85, Notre Dame 65
At Storrs, Conn., Ray Allen scored 28 points and the Huskies broke open the game with a 12-0 run late in the first half on the way to a win over the Fighting Irish (8-14, 3-11 Big East).
The Huskies (24-1, 14-0) extended their winning streak to 23 games and matched the best record to this point in league history. St. John’s began 14-0 in 1984-85, the year it joined Villanova and Georgetown and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
UConn’s Ray Allen finished 9 for 16 from the field and made all seven of his free throws to become the school’s No. 4 scorer with 1,685 points, surpassing Clifford Robinson’s 1,664 (1986-89) and Wes Bialosuknia’s 1,673 (1965-67).
(4) Villanova 67, Pittsburgh 64
At Pittsburgh, Kerry Kittles scored 25 points and led comebacks in each half as the Wildcats rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Panthers (9-13, 4-10 Big East).
Alvin Williams added 19 points and Jason Lawson scored 16 as the Wildcats (23-3, 13-2) won their tenth in a row despite falling behind 12-1 and 15-2 in the opening 5 minutes.
(5) Kansas 61, (22) Iowa St. 50
At Ames, Iowa, freshman Paul Pierce scored 13 points and Jacque Vaughn controlled the game down the stretch as the Jayhawks turned back the Cyclones.
Kansas (21-2, 9-1 Big Eight) held Iowa State without a basket for the first 9 minutes, then fought off the Cyclones (18-6, 7-3) in the second half to stay alone in first place in the conference.
(6) Cincinnati 87, DePaul 60
At Rosemont, Ill., seldom-used freshman Melvin Levett scored 17 points and Danny Fortson also had 17 as the Bearcats handed the Blue Demons their 13th consecutive loss. Each time Cincinnati (19-2, 8-1 Conference USA) has lost this season, it has rebounded with a defeat of DePaul (7-16, 0-11).
(7) Utah 88, San Diego St. 74
At Salt Lake City, Keith Van Horn scored 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Utes to a win over the Aztecs.
Utah (21-4, 13-2 Western Athletic Conference) led from start to finish, but couldn’t put away the Aztecs (13-10, 7-7) until Van Horn hit a 3-pointer and a 15-foot jumper for an 81-68 advantage with 1:50 to play.
Georgia Tech 64, (8) Wake Forest 63
At Atlanta, Stephon Marbury won the duel between two of the best players in the Atlantic Coast Conference, scoring 25 points as the Yellow Jackets (16-10, 9-3) tied the Demon Deacons (17-4, 9-3) for the Atlantic Coast Conference lead.
Wake Forest’s Rusty LaRue put in a last-second rebound basket. However, the referees ruled that the shot came after the final horn.
(11) Purdue 66, (9) Penn St. 49
At West Lafayette, Ind., Penn State went more than 8 minutes without a basket as the Boilermakers defeated the Nittany Lions (18-4, 9-4 Big Ten) in a showdown for first place in the Big Ten.
Sophomore Brad Miller came off the bench to score 17 points as Purdue (21-4, 11-2) opened a two-game advantage in its bid to become the first school to claim three consecutive Big Ten titles since Indiana won four in a row from 1973 through 1976.
(12) Texas Tech 93, Houston 84
At Houston, Jason Sasser scored 30 points and Corey Carr led a surge midway through the second half that carried the Red Raiders to a win over the Cougars (13-9, 7-3 Southwest Conference).
The Red Raiders (22-1, 11-0) won their 15th straight game.
(14) Georgetown 81, (15) Memphis 60
At Landover, Md., Allen Iverson scored 30 points, Othella Harrington added 27 and Georgetown’s defense solved the Memphis attack after a wild start to give the Hoyas a win over the Tigers. Following a torrid first half during which both teams featured alley-oops, fast breaks and 3-pointers, Georgetown (21-5) broke the game open by holding Memphis (17-5) without a field goal for nearly 8 minutes.
(17) N. Carolina 71, Virginia 66
At Chapel Hill, N.C., Shammond Williams’ 3-pointer and fast-break dunk 34 seconds apart gave North Carolina the lead for good and the Tar Heels escaped with a win over the Cavaliers (11-12, 5-8 Atlantic Coast Conference).
The Tar Heels improved to 18-7, 9-4.
(21) Boston College 70, Providence 68, (OT)
At Providence, R.I., Danya Abrams had 19 points and Bevan Thomas scored five in OT to give the Eagles a win over the Friars. Providence (14-9, 7-8 Big East) had two chances to tie it at the end of regulation, but Michael Brown and then Derrick Brown each missed two free throws. That gave BC (16-6, 9-5) its first victory over the Friars in five games and its first win in Providence since 1985.
(23) E. Michigan 91, Ball St. 75
At Muncie, Ind., Brian Tolbert scored 29 points and Earl Boykins added 25 as the Eagles (19-3, 12-2) overcame Bonzi Wells’ 41-point performance and beat the Cardinals in the Mid-American Conference.
Wells hit 15 of 27 shots and 10 of 12 free throws in almost singlehandedly keeping Ball State (13-9, 9-5) in the game.
Mississippi 71, (25) Ole Miss 64
At Oxford, Miss., all five Rebels (16-6, 7-5) scored in double figures and one of the Southeastern Conference’s worst free-throw shooting team made seven straight down the stretch to beat the Bulldogs (10-12, 4-8).