Wednesdays Top 25 Capsules
January 29th, 2009 Posted in NCAA basketball news, NCAA college basketball(4) WAKE FOREST 70, (1) DUKE 68
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina James Johnson scored the game-winning layup with under one second to play, lifting fourth-ranked Wake Forest to a 70-68 victory over No 1 Duke in an Atlantic Coast Conference thriller.
Duke, which never led during the second half, tied the game at 68-68 on Gerald Hendersons jumper with 9.8 seconds to play. Jeff Teague raced down court and missed a layup in traffic, but Henderson was called for traveling when he fell after grabbing the rebound, giving Wake Forest the ball out of bounds under Dukes basket with 2.6 seconds to play.
Inbounding the ball, L.D. Williams waited for Johnson to set a screen in the right corner before the sophomore big man rolled toward the hoop. As the Blue Devils were too late to react, Johnson received the pass and scored with eight-tenths of a second to play, giving the Demon Deacons the win.
Freshman Al-Farouq Aminu had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Johnson finished with 13 and 12 to lead Wake Forest (17-1, 4-1 ACC).
Kyle Singler scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to pace Duke (18-2, 5-1), which had its 10-game winning streak snapped.
It is the third straight week that the top-ranked team has lost after Wake Forest and Pittsburgh went down in the last two weeks, respectively.
The Demon Deacons length and athleticism bothered the Blue Devils, who shot 33 percent (22-of-66) from the floor, including 4-of-22 from the arc.
Wake Forest led by five at the break and kept Duke at a distance for most of the second half.
Teague knocked down a jumper and Aminu threw down a dunk in transition – off a between-the legs pass from Ishamel Smith – as the Demon Deacons extended the lead to 52-43 with 11:51 remaining.
Duke closed within six but Wake Forest scored seven straight to take its largest advantage at 61-48 with 8:48 to play.
However, the Blue Devils refused to go away and came within 65-60 as Nolan Smith made all three free throws with 4:06 left.
Singlers 3-pointer made it a 67-63 score with 2:49 left and Jon Scheyer eventually cut it to 68-66 with 1:13 remaining.
After the Demon Deacons failed to score on their next possession, Scheyer chased down his own rebound off a missed 3-pointer and the Blue Devils called a time out, which set up Hendersons jumper to tie the game.
Henderson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for Duke.
(6) NORTH CAROLINA 80, FLORIDA STATE 77
TALLAHASSEE, Florida With North Carolina surprisingly in danger of losing for the third time in conference play, Ty Lawson came up with an improbable shot.
Lawsons running 3-pointer at the buzzer helped sixth-ranked North Carolina avoid an upset with an 80-77 victory over Florida State in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest.
Florida State led by three late in the game but Danny Greens steal led to a layup with the foul and North Carolina tied the score at 77-77 with 1:12 remaining. Toney Douglas missed on a pair of jumpers to give the Seminoles the lead, giving North Carolina the ball under its own basket with just over three seconds to play.
Easily the fastest player on the court, Lawson received the pass near the top of the key and ran down court before tossing up the shot on the run – from a step behind the 3-point line -just before the buzzer.
Lawson finished with 21 points to pace North Carolina (18-2, 4-2 ACC), which won its fourth straight game.
Douglas scored 32 points, including the last 11 for his team to lead the Seminoles (16-5, 3-3).
The preseason favorite to win the national championship, North Carolina was in trouble of dropping its third conference game throughout the latter stages of the second half.
After trailing by as many as 13 after the break, Florida State roared back as North Carolina seemed to be going too fast for its own good, leading to numerous turnovers and easy hoops the other way.
Chris Singleton hit a key 3-pointer and Douglas made a pair of free throws to cap an 11-0 run as the Seminoles surged ahead, taking a 68-63 lead with 6:34 remaining.
The Tar Heels fought back and Lawsons layup tied the score at 69-69 with 5:13 to play before the teams traded baskets down the stretch.
Green finished with 20 points and six steals, while Tyler Hansbrough, who battled foul trouble, was limited to a season-low eight in 26 minutes.
North Carolina shot 38 percent (24-of-63) and committed 21 turnovers.
(21) VILLANOVA 67, (3) PITTSBURGH 57
VILLANOVA, Pennsylvania Reggie Reddings career night helped Villanova close out its playing days at Philadelphias Spectrum in winning fashion.
The junior scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the 21st-ranked Wildcats captured a 67-57 victory over third-ranked Pittsburgh in the final college basketball game at the storied arena.
Dante Cunningham added 15 points and Scottie Reynolds scored all 10 of his after halftime for the Wildcats (16-4, 4-3 Big East), who beat a ranked opponent for the first time this season after failing in four previous attempts.
Villanova took over midway through the second half with a 7-0 spurt. After Pittsburghs Jermaine Dixon converted a three-point play, tying the game at 48-48, Redding knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Wildcats ahead.
Reynolds then sank a jumper for a four-point lead and followed with a 3-pointer for a 55-48 bulge. After not scoring in the first half, the junior opened the second with a basket from the arc and played a key part in the decisive run.
The Panthers would not get closer than four points the rest of the way as Villanova sank 8-of-10 free-throw attempts in the final two minutes.
Sam Young led Pittsburgh (18-2, 6-2) with 14 points, but DeJuan Blair was slowed by foul trouble throughout. Averaging a double-double with 14.7 points and 12.7 rebounds per game this season, Blair collected just seven points and eight boards.
Pittsburgh raced out to a 19-9 lead behind seven straight points from Brad Wanamaker, who scored 13 points off the bench.
But Villanova answered with a 15-4 run to take its first lead of the contest, 24-23, before the Panthers took a 31-26 advantage into halftime.
It was the final collegiate event at the 42-year-old Spectrum, which hosted the 1976 and 1981 Final Fours and was the site of Christian Laettners famous buzzer-beater in Dukes win over Kentucky in the 1992 regional final.
(2) CONNECTICUT 71, DEPAUL 49
CHICAGO Jeff Adrien recorded his sixth consecutive double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds as second-ranked Connecticut pulled away in the second half en route to a 71-49 victory over DePaul.
Jerome Dyson scored 18 points and Hasheem Thabeet added 11 and nine boards for the Huskies, who turned a six-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage they would not relinquish thanks to a 13-5 run to open the half.
UConn (19-1, 8-1 Big East) won its eighth straight since beginning Big East play with a loss to Georgetown by limiting DePaul to just 14 second-half points.
The Huskies used a quick 15-4 spurt over a span of 3:46, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from A.J. Price, to turn a three-point lead into a 34-20 bulge with 5:42 left in the first half.
Price added 12 points for Connecticut, which is poised to take over the top spot in the polls with a win over Providence on Saturday after No. 1 Duke lost to fourth-ranked Wake Forest on Wednesday.
However, DePaul was able to hang around, pulling to within six at the break, 41-35, after Dar Tucker drained a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left.
After allowing 35 points in the first half to one of two winless teams in the Big East, the Huskies turned up the defensive effort in the second.
DePaul went more than four minutes before registering its first points after halftime and went another 6:10 without a point late in the half as the Huskies cruised to the win.
Tucker paced the Blue Demons (8-13, 0-8) with 20 points while Will Walker added 12.
(7) LOUISVILLE 80, SOUTH FLORIDA 54
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky A second-half surge helped seventh-ranked Louisville extend its impressive start in conference play.
Edgar Sosa scored 16 points and freshman Samardo Samuels added 14 as Louisville won its seventh straight contest to open the Big East schedule by trouncing South Florida, 80-54.
Earl Clark contributed 12 points and eight rebounds while Terrence Williams notched five points, eight boards and five assists for the Cardinals (16-3, 7-0 Big East), who have earned 19 wins in their last 20 tries at home.
Dominique Jones recorded 19 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Bulls (7-13, 2-6), who have lost 25 straight road games against top-25 opponents since an 81-76 win at then-No. 15 Tulane on February 6, 1992.
South Florida has also dropped 10 straight games against ranked opponents since a 69-63 win over then-No. 21 Notre Dame on February 3, 2007.
After being staked to a slim 33-32 lead at the half, Louisville used a 22-3 run that went over the first 9:21 of the second half to run away with its ninth consecutive win vs. South Florida and eighth overall.
South Florida was never able to recover despite shooting 44 percent (24-of-55) from the floor and topping Louisville in rebounding, 32-30.
(10) XAVIER 69, CHARLOTTE 47
CINCINNATI B.J. Raymond scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as 10th-ranked Xavier notched its ninth straight victory by vanquishing Charlotte, 69-47.
Kenny Frease added 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting for the Musketeers (18-2, 6-0 A-10), who have won 18 in a row at home and are 39-3 here since the start of the 2006-07 campaign.
Charlie Coley netted 12 points to pace Charlotte (6-13, 1-5), which has lost seven of eight following a four-game winning streak.
PROVIDENCE 100, (15) SYRACUSE 94
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island Sharaud Curry led six players in double figures with 22 points as Providence picked up a rare win against No. 15 Syracuse with 100-94 victory.
Marshon Brooks scored 17 points off the bench and Geoff McDermott added 15 for the Friars (14-6, 6-2 Big East), who beat the Orange at home for the first time since February 7, 2004 – a span of three games.
Overall, the win was just Providences sixth in 26 all-time meetings with Syracuse at home.
Jonny Flynn had a career-high 35 points and Eric Devendorf added 27 for the Orange (17-5, 5-4), who lost for the fourth time in their last five games.
(19) MEMPHIS 85, EAST CAROLINA 64
GREENVILLE, North Carolina Memphis continued its dominance of Conference USA.
Antonio Anderson scored 26 points and handed out eight assists as the 19th-ranked Tigers cruised to their 48th consecutive win in league play, an 85-64 victory over East Carolina.
Freshman Tyreke Evans finished with 18 points and Robert Dozier added 11 and three blocks for Memphis (17-3, 6-0 C-USA), which has won 11 straight contests overall.
Jamar Abrams collected 18 points and eight rebounds and Sam Hinnant had 17 for the Pirates (10-9, 2-4), who have lost eight of their last 10 games.
The Tigers have not lost to a Conference USA opponent since March 2, 2006, building the longest winning streak within league play in the conferences history.
This contest was never in doubt. Memphis jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first four minutes and cruised to a wire-to-wire victory.
Anderson had 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half as the Tigers took a 45-31 advantage into the break.
East Carolina threatened to get back into the game when Hinnant sank a pair of 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 47-39 early in the second half. But the Pirates could not manage to get any closer.
CINCINNATI 65, (23) GEORGETOWN 57
CINCINNATI Dion Dixon scored four of his 10 points in the closing four-plus minutes as Cincinnati used a late run to continue the struggles for No. 23 Georgetown, 65-57.
Deonta Vaughn scored 20 points and Mike Williams 12 for the Bearcats (14-7, 4-4 Big East), who beat the Hoyas for the first time in five games as a member of the Big East Conference.
Georgetown took a 55-54 lead behind a 3-pointer by freshman Jason Clark with 4:41 remaining, but Dixon answered with his own basket from the arc 31 seconds later to give Cincinnati the lead for good.
The freshman Dixon also split two free throws with 2:13 to play, as the Bearcats ended the game with an 11-2 run to win for the fourth time in their last five games.
Chris Wright scored 15 points and Austin Freeman 14 for the Hoyas (12-7, 3-5), who dropped their fourth straight decision.
