Officials go to tape and Penn State gets upset of Illini

Rich McBride’s 3-pointer came a split-second too late and Penn State rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to upset No. 6 Illinois 66-65 Saturday night, ending the Fighting Illini’s home winning streak at 34 games.

Travis Parker’s basket with 8.5 seconds left gave Penn State its first lead and handed the Illini their first loss at home since the 2003-04 season. Parker rebounded Mike Walker’s missed 3-pointer and swished a jumper that finished the Nittany Lions’ comeback.

Parker scored 21 points and Geary Claxton added 20 to lead Penn State (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten), which snapped a four-game losing streak.

McBride’s shot went up as the horn sounded and officials spent several moments reviewing video replays to determine whether he got it off in time. All the while, the hometown crowd chanted “I-L-L-I-N-I,” but when referee Gene Crawford waived off the basket, the arena fell into a stunned silence.

The last time Illinois (20-3, 6-3) lost at Assembly Hall was 58-54 to Purdue on Jan. 10, 2004.

McBride scored 17 points for the Illini, who led 13-0 early and 39-25 at halftime.

(1) Connecticut 88, (22) Indiana 80: At Bloomington, Ind., Rudy Gay scored 19 points and the Huskies (20-1) beat the Hoosiers (13-6) for their ninth straight win. (2) Duke 97, Florida State 96 (OT): At Durham, N.C., J.J. Redick had a go-ahead 3-pointer and scored eight of his 36 points in overtime to lead the Blue Devils (21-1, 9-0 ACC) past the Seminoles (13-6, 4-5).

(3) Memphis 84, Rice 79: At Houston, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 points and Darius Washington, Jr. sank two free throws in the final seconds to help the Tigers (21-2, 7-0) stay unbeaten in Conference USA with a win over the Owls (9-11, 3-4).

(4) Villanova 72, Marquette 67: At Villanova, Pa., Allan Ray scored 28 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:54 left, to help the Wildcats (17-2, 8-1 Big East) rally late and beat the Golden Eagles (16-7, 6-4).

(7) Texas 83, Texas A&M 70: At Austin, Texas, P.J. Tucker scored 25 points and the Longhorns (19-3, 7-1) survived a 31-point effort from Texas A&M’s Joseph Jones to keep its lead in the Big 12 and beat the Aggies (13-7, 3-6). .

(8) Florida 95, Kentucky 80: At Gainesville, Fla., Taurean Green scored a career-high 29 points, Joakim Noah added a career-best 26 and the Gators (20-2, 6-2) beat the Wildcats (15-7, 5-3) to extend their winning streak over the Southeastern Conference’s most storied program to three games.

(11) West Virginia 66, Cincinnati 57: At Morgantown, W.Va., Mike Gansey scored 14 points and the Mountaineers (17-4, 8-0) used a 13-2 second-half run to remain the only unbeaten team in the Big East with a win over the Bearcats (15-8, 4-5).

(12) Michigan State 77, Northwestern 66: At Evanston, Ill., Shannon Brown scored 22 points, including his 1,000th, and Maurice Ager added 21 to lead the Spartans (17-5, 5-3 Big Ten) over the Wildcats (10-10, 3-6).

(13) Tennessee 86, Mississippi 72: At Knoxville, Tenn., C.J. Watson scored 18 points to lead the Volunteers (16-3, 7-1 SEC) past the Rebels (13-8, 3-5) for their fifth straight victory.

(15) Boston College 74, Virginia Tech 73: At Blacksburg, Va., Jared Dudley scored 26 points and made two free throws with 5 seconds left to lift the Eagles (17-5, 5-4 ACC) past the Hokies (12-10, 2-7).

(20) Ohio State 67, Minnesota 53: At Columbus, Ohio, Je’Kel Foster made a career-high seven 3-pointers in eight attempts and scored 25 points to lead the Buckeyes (16-3, 5-3 Big Ten) past the Gophers (10-9, 1-7).

(23) Iowa 96, (21) Michigan 66: At Iowa City, Iowa, Adam Haluska scored 18 points and the Hawkeyes (18-5, 7-2 Big Ten) remained undefeated at home with a rout of the Wolverines (16-4, 6-3).

Alabama 67, (24) LSU 62: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Ronald Steele went 6 for 6 from the free-throw line over the final 1:52 and scored 21 points to lead the Crimson Tide (12-8, 5-3 SEC) past the Tigers (15-6, 7-1).

(25) Northern Iowa 83, Indiana State 56: At Cedar Falls, Iowa, Grant Stout had 17 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots, and the Panthers (20-4, 10-3 Missouri Valley) won their first home game as a ranked team with a win over the Sycamores (9-12, 2-11).