N.C. State hands No. 1 Blue Devils first loss
BY Associated Press
Sunday, January 13, 2013
1/13/13 at 6:22 AM
C.J. Leslie scored 25 points to help No. 20 North Carolina State beat No. 1 Duke 84-76 on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.
Richard Howell added 16 points and 18 rebounds in a relentless performance for the Wolfpack (14-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) in a matchup of the teams predicted to finish 1-2 in the league.
N.C. State was picked for the first time in nearly four decades to win the league, though two early losses drained some buzz.
No longer. Now N.C. State is back on everyone's radar, while the Blue Devils (15-1, 2-1) are no longer unbeaten.
No. 3 Louisville 64, South Florida 38: Peyton Siva scored 17 points and Louisville held South Florida to a season-low 27 percent shooting for an easy victory.
Center Gorgui Dieng added 12 points and 16 rebounds while forward Chane Behanan had 12 rebounds and seven points for the Cardinals (15-1, 3-0 Big East), who won their 10th in a row. Behanan played just five days after injuring his left ankle in practice and missing Wednesday's victory against Seton Hall.
No. 4 Arizona 80, Oregon St. 70: Solomon Hill had 16 points, including five 3-pointers, to help the No. 4 Wildcats bounce back from their first loss of the season with a victory over Oregon State.
The Wildcats (15-1, 3-1 Pac-12) were coming off a 70-66 defeat Thursday night just down the road against the Oregon Ducks.
The Beavers (10-6, 0-3), who trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half, didn't give the Wildcats much trouble.
No. 5 Indiana 88, No. 8 Minnesota 81: Victor Oladipo had 20 points and six rebounds and Jordan Hulls knocked down four 3-pointers, helping Indiana hold off Minnesota's late charge.
The Hoosiers (15-1, 3-0 Big Ten) have won six straight overall and 18 in a row at Assembly Hall.
Minnesota (15-2, 3-1) was led by Andre Hollins with 25 points but had its 11-game winning streak snapped despite rallying from 23 points down at halftime to within 3 with 19.5 seconds left.
Minnesota rallied with a 19-7 run in the final four minutes, getting as close as 84-81 but never had a chance to tie the score.
No. 7 Syracuse 72, Villanova 61: C.J. Fair had 22 points, Trevor Cooney hit a pair of 3-pointers to punctuate a late surge and Syracuse beat Villanova.
Syracuse (16-1, 4-0 Big East) has won 34 straight home games, the longest active streak in the nation in Division I. Villanova (11-5, 2-1) had its seven-game winning streak snapped.
Mississippi 64, No. 10 Missouri 49: Murphy Holloway scored 22 points, Jarvis Summers added 12 and Mississippi cruised to a victory over No. 10 Missouri.
Ole Miss (13-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) led the entire game, jumping out to an early 9-0 lead thanks to timely shooting and superior defense. Holloway was nearly unstoppable in the paint, making 8 of 12 shots from the field and 6 of 10 free throws.
Jabari Brown led Missouri (12-3, 1-1) with 13 points.
No. 11 Florida 74, LSU 52: Kenny Boynton scored 20 points and Florida used a 31-6 run across the halves to rout LSU.
Patric Young had 14 points for the Gators (12-2, 2-0 SEC). Boynton's perimeter shooting and Young's interior play were instrumental in Florida controlling the offensive end.
The Tigers (9-4, 0-2) stuck around well into the first half before Florida broke a 19-all tie with a 10-1 run to end the half.
Wisconsin 74, No. 12 Illinois 51: Jared Berggren scored 15 points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, and Traevon Jackson added a career-best 14 points to lead Wisconsin over Illinois.
The Badgers (12-4, 3-0 Big Ten) scored the game's first 14 points and led by 20 at halftime on the way to their sixth straight win.
It was a stunning performance from a team that scored just 47 in the previous game against Nebraska, but a supposedly slow and methodical team locked into a higher gear and ended the suspense almost as soon as the game began.
No. 14 Butler 79, Dayton 73: Roosevelt Jones scored 16 points and Butler extended its best start in four years beating Dayton for its 11th straight victory despite losing its top scorer to injury.
The Bulldogs (14-2, 2-0 Atlantic 10) lost guard Rotnei Clarke, who hit the padded backboard support hard after an intentional foul at 8:13 at the first half and was taken off the court on a stretcher. He was moving his legs and gave a thumbs-up sign as he left the court.
The Bulldogs' depth pulled them through against Dayton (10-6, 0-2), which has lost four of its last six and fell to 7-3 on its home court.
The Bulldogs are off to their best start since they won 19 of their first 20 games during the 2008-09 season.
