Duke takes down Tar Heels

Duke slowed the pace and made North Carolina play a half-court game. Under those circumstances, nobody plays better defense than the Blue Devils.

J.J. Redick scored 18 points, freshman DeMarcus Nelson added 16 and No. 7 Duke (18-2, 8-2 ACC) forced 23 turnovers to hold off the second-ranked Tar Heels 71-70 Wednesday night at Durham, N.C.

The Blue Devils moved into a first-place tie with North Carolina (19-3, 8-2) in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest trails both by one-half game.

Sean May had 23 points and 18 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who couldn’t overcome their shoddy ball control. Point guard Raymond Felton had eight turnovers and May added five, and the top assist team in Division I finished with only 10, 11 less than its average.

Memphis 85, (9) Louisville 68: At Louisville, Ky., freshman point guard Darius Washington scored 25 points and Memphis (14-10, 7-3 CUSA) coach John Calipari earned his 300th victory in the Tigers’ win over the Cardinals (20-4, 8-2). The Cardinals rank second in the nation in field-goal percentage defense, but it was the Tigers’ defense that took control early. It triggered a 16-5 opening run by holding the Cardinals without a point for more than 9 minutes. Taquan Dean and Ellis Myles each scored 17 points for Louisville, which was outrebounded 41-30 and shot a season-low 33 percent.

(3) Kansas 74, Kansas St. 65: Wayne Simien, J.R. Giddens and Keith Langford combined for 65 points and the Jayhawks (19-1, 9-0 Big 12) kept their winning streak at the Wildcats’ (13-7, 3-6) house alive with a win at Manhattan, Kan. The Jayhawks never trailed and withstood a late rally to post their 29th straight victory over the Wildcats. Even more improbable is Kansas’ 22-game winning streak on Kansas State’s home floor, a streak that began in 1984. Jeremiah Peete and Fred Massey each had 20 points for Kansas State.

(13) Michigan St. 83, Ohio St. 69: At East Lansing, Mich., not starting for just the third time in two years, Chris Hill went 8 for 10 from the field and scored 26 points to lead the Spartans (16-4, 7-2 Big Ten) to a comeback victory over the Buckeyes (16-8, 5-5). Hill was 6 for 7 from 3-point range and made all four of his free throws in the top scoring performance this season for the Spartans. Terence Dials had 22 points for Ohio State.

(17) Alabama 72, Tennessee 54: Kennedy Winston scored 18 points and the Crimson Tide (18-4, 7-2 SEC) outrebounded the Volunteers (11-12, 4-6) by 24 in a victory at Knoxville, Tenn. Alabama dominated the Volunteers with a 43-19 rebounding margin in recovering from its last game, a 31-point loss at Florida on Saturday.

(20) Wisconsin 72, Iowa 69: At Madison, Wis., the Badgers (16-5, 7-3 Big Ten) held off the Hawkeyes (15-7, 3-6) thanks to a 27-7 advantage at the free-throw line. Kammron Taylor, a sophomore, scored a career-high 26 points for Wisconsin.

(25) Texas Tech 83, Baylor 67: Ronald Ross scored 25 points to lift the Red Raiders (15-5, 7-2 Big 12) past the Bears (9-11, 1-8) at Lubbock, Texas. Ross was 8 for 10 from the field.. Patrick Fields scored 18 points for the Bears.

West Coast Conference

San Diego 69, San Francisco 61: At San Diego, Floyd North scored 16 points and coach Brad Holland became the Torero’s (13-10, 5-5) career victory leader in a win over the Dons (13-1, 4-6). San Diego won despite missing its first 11 field-goal attempts in the second half as it went more than 11 minutes before scoring a field goal. San Francisco, which ran its season-high losing streak to four games, was led by Tyrone Riley’s 19 points.

Women’s Top 25

(6) Notre Dame 75, Providence 57: At Providence, R.I., Jacqueline Batteast had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Fighting Irish (21-3, 9-2 Big East) to a win over the Friars (1-20, 0-10). Shauna Snyder scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half for Providence. … (7) Baylor 73, Oklahoma 72: Sophia Young hit a jumper from just inside the 3-point line with less than 1 second left to give the Bears (18-3, 8-2 Big 12) the victory over the Sooners (12-9, 4-6) at Norman, Okla. Young finished with 21 points to lead Baylor. Leah Rush had 12 points and reserve Antoinette Wadsworth finished with 10 for Oklahoma. … (10) Connecticut 80, (22) Boston College 55: At Storrs, Conn., the Huskies (16-5, 9-1 Big East) used stifling defense and a speedy transition game to cruise to a win over the Eagles (15-6, 6-4) and tighten their grip on the conference lead. Barbara Turner led Connecticut with 18 points and eight rebounds. None of the BC starters finished in double figures.… (11) Rutgers 67, Seton Hall 40: Matee Ajavon scored 13 points, leading the Scarlet Knights (17-5, 8-2 Big East) to victory over intrastate rivals, the Pirates (13-9, 5-6), at South Orange, N.J. … (17) Texas 83, Nebraska 53: At Austin, Texas, Tiffany Jackson scored 19 points and the Longhorns (14-7, 7-3 Big 12) stayed alive in the chase for the conference title with a rout of the Cornhuskers (14-8, 6-4).