Tigers Tune Up For Wake

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Terrell McIntyre scored 16 points and Greg Buckner had all 10 of his points in the second half to lift No. 3 Clemson to its 12th consecutive victory, 51-42 over North Carolina State on Saturday at Clemson, S.C.

Thursday night, the Tigers (16-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) will play No. 2 Wake Forest for first place in the league.

North Carolina State fell to 8-6, 0-5.

(4) Cincinnati 92, Arkansas 57

Danny Fortson had 27 points and 18 rebounds as the Bearcats rebounded from their worst loss in three years to beat visiting Arkansas and give coach Nolan Richardson his worst defeat in 12 seasons with the Razorbacks.

Fortson, held to nine points in a 70-55 loss to Temple last Thursday, scored 17 as Cincinnati (12-3) opened a 17-point lead in the first half. Arkansas is 9-5.

(5) Kentucky 77, Auburn 53

Center Nazr Mohammed scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and the Wildcats (16-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) forced the Tigers into a season-high 27 turnovers on their way to victory at Lexington, Ky.

Rick Pitino won his 200th game in his eighth season as coach at Kentucky. Auburn fell to 11-7, 2-3.

(7) Minnesota 73, Ohio St. 67

Eric Harris scored 16 points and Sam Jacobson added 14, but it was their defensive play in the closing minutes that gave the Golden Gophers (16-2, 5-1 Big Ten) their victory over the Buckeyes (7-8, 2-4) in Columbus, Ohio.

Colorado 70, (8) Iowa St. 45

Chauncey Billups scored 17 points and the Buffaloes (14-3, 5-0 Big 12) made a strong bid for their first national ranking in 28 years with a victory over the Cyclones (11-3, 2-2) in Boulder, Colo.

The victory was Colorado’s seventh consecutive and their first over a Top-10 team in 15 tries.

(9) Utah 81, Texas Christian 77

Keith Van Horn had 23 points and 13 rebounds and reserve Hanno Mottola added 13 points as the Utes held off the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas, for its fourth straight victory.

Utah went to 12-2, 4-0 Western Athletic Conference. TCU dropped to 12-6, 1-4.

(12) New Mexico 69, Rice 61

Clayton Shields scored 22, hitting 4 of 8 3-pointers, to rescue the Lobos (14-3, 3-2 WAC) from a sluggish first half for a win over the Owls (7-7, 1-3) in Houston.

(13) Duke 78, Virginia 59

The Blue Devils didn’t waste much time attacking a Cavaliers team that was missing point guard Harold Deane, grabbing an 18-point lead 8:22 into the game en route to an easy victory at Durham, N,C.

Duke (14-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has defeated Virginia (11-6, 2-4) 23 of the last 31 times since Ralph Sampson graduated from Virginia in 1983.

UMass 90, (19) Boston College 78

Edgar Padilla scored a career-high 24 points and his sixth 3-pointer turned back a late Boston College rally and led the Minutemen (8-9) to their upset victory over the Eagles (12-3) at Boston.

Purdue 70, (17) Indiana 53

Purdue center Brad Miller matched his career high with 25 points, all from either under the basket or at the free-throw line, as the Boilermakers prevailed in Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue stands 8-7, 3-2 Big Ten. The Hoosiers are 15-4, 2-3.

Vanderbilt 67, (20) Mississippi 64

Drew Maddux made 6 of 8 free throws over the final minute at Nashville, Tenn., as the Commodores (11-5, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) dealt the Rebels (11-5, 3-3) their second consecutive loss since moving into the rankings for the first time.

South Carolina 82, (21) Georgia 71

Larry Davis scored 22 points and B.J. McKie added 21 as the Gamecocks survived a defensive struggle in Columbia, S.C.

South Carolina (11-5, 5-0) is the only Southeastern Conference team with an unbeaten league record.

Georgia is 12-4, 1-3.

(22) North Carolina 73, Georgia Tech 50

Antawn Jamison scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half and the Tar Heels (11-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) limited the Yellow Jackets (7-8, 1-4) to two baskets over the final 11:56 at Chapel Hill, N.C.

(25) Texas Tech 73, Kansas St. 64

Tony Battie had 26 points and 13 rebounds and Tony Carr finished with 22 points, mostly from 3-point range, as the Red Raiders (12-3, 4-1 Big 12) held off the Wildcats (7-7, 0-4) in Manhattan, Kan.