Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Shane Larkin noticed during warm-ups that something was off with No. 2 Miami. The go-go, uptempo Hurricanes seemed a step slow, and not entirely ready to play.
They certainly paid for it.
Miami’s unbeaten start to Atlantic Coast Conference play is history. So is its 14-game winning streak and its highest-ever national ranking, after the Hurricanes were knocked off by Wake Forest 80-65 on Saturday.
“You could just see it tonight. I had a bad feeling coming into warm-ups with everybody going slow,” Larkin said. “I was trying to get people to go fast, and I wasn’t even going full speed like I should have.
“Overall, we weren’t prepared before the game and they came out and punched us in the mouth.”
Durand Scott had all 17 of his points in the second half for the Hurricanes (22-4, 13-1), the last of the schools in the six BCS conferences to get its first league loss.
Larkin added 13 points, Trey McKinney Jones had 11 and Kenny Kadji finished with 10.
But Miami never got closer than 11 in the final 9 minutes and was outrebounded 36-35 by the younger, smaller Demon Deacons as the best start to ACC play since Duke’s 16-0 mark in 1998-99 came to a surprisingly lopsided end.
“You want to go undefeated, you want to win every game, but you’re still in first place,” Larkin said. “That’s in the past and we’re just going to let it stay in the past.”
The Hurricanes — whose previous three wins came by a combined 12 points — looked like they had another tight finish in them when Scott capped an 18-8 run with a jumper with 14½ minutes left to make it 46-41.
He added a layup 2 minutes later to pull Miami to 50-45, and it looked as if the Hurricanes were going to find a way to keep their charmed run rolling.
But two possessions later, C.J. Harris turned a turnover into a fast-break dunk that started a 12-0 run that put the Demon Deacons on the fast track to their biggest victory since they knocked off then-No. 1 Duke four years ago when they were in the top five themselves.
“There’s been some tough times, so staying with it, fighting through adversity, finally coming on top of a big-time win is amazing,” Harris said.
Harris finished with 23 points and hit all five of his 3-pointers while freshman Codi Miler-McIntyre added 15 points for the Demon Deacons (12-14, 5-9).
They shot 54 percent, led by double figures for the entire second half and reeled off 12 straight points to pull away for their biggest victory under third-year coach Jeff Bzdelik.
No. 3 GONZAGA 81, SAN DIEGO 50
SPOKANE, Wash. — Kevin Pangos scored 18 points for Gonzaga, which is in position to rise to second in the AP poll after No. 2 Miami was upset by Wake Forest.
Kelly Olynyk added 14 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga (27-2, 14-0 West Coast Conference), which clinched at least a tie for the WCC regular-season title it yielded to Saint Mary’s last year. It marks the 12th league title in 13 seasons for the Zags, who have set a team record for regular-season wins.
Chris Manresa scored 19 points to lead San Diego (13-16, 6-8), which has lost four straight.
The Bulldogs have won 10 straight games since a last-second defeat at Butler. Their only other loss was to Illinois, and they have the best winning percentage in Division I.
No. 5 FLORIDA 71, ARKANSAS 54
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Rosario scored 15 points and Patric Young added 14 as Florida rebounded from one of its two Southeastern Conference losses.
Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy both had 12 points for the first-place Gators (22-4, 12-2 SEC).
The Gators played their worst game of the season in falling behind early and losing 80-69 to Arkansas (17-10, 8-6) in Fayetteville, but never trailed in this one. Boynton made a 3-pointer to open the game, Rosario scored on a fast break and Young followed up a miss by Boynton with a rim-shaking dunk for a 7-0 lead.
The Gators pulled away for good with an 11-1 spurt to begin the second half.
Coty Clarke made all eight of his field goal attempts and led the Razorbacks with 18 points, while Anthlon Bell finished with 14.
No. 11 GEORGETOWN 57, No. 8 SYRACUSE 46
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Otto Porter scored a career-high 33 points and Georgetown put an emphatic stamp on the impending end of an era before an imposing Orange crowd.
Thirty-three years after the Hoyas halted Syracuse’s 57-game home winning streak at Manley Field House, Porter added his name to the pantheon of stars who made this rivalry scintillating over the years.
His incredible play stopped the Orange’s 38-game winning streak in the Carrier Dome, the longest in Division I, and it came in front of a disappointed record crowd of 35,012, the largest ever to see a college basketball game on campus. It was the fewest points scored by Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.
It was the final game between Georgetown (21-4, 11-3 Big East) and Syracuse (22-5, 10-4) in the Carrier Dome as members of the conference — the Orange are leaving the Big East in July to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.
C.J. Fair had 13 points and seven rebounds for Syracuse, which was 4 of 20 on 3-pointers.
No. 9 KANSAS 74, TCU 48
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Jeff Withey scored 18 points and Ben McLemore added 14 as Kansas avenged a stunning loss to the lowly Horned Frogs just over two weeks ago.
Perry Ellis and Travis Releford added 12 points each for the Jayhawks (23-4, 11-3 Big 12), who began the day tied with Kansas State for first place in the conference.
Kansas has won three straight since a rare three-game losing streak, one that included an embarrassing 62-55 loss to the Horned Frogs (10-17, 1-13) on Feb. 6. TCU still has not managed to beat another Big 12 team during its first season in the conference.
The eight-time defending Big 12 champions built a 38-9 lead by halftime and coasted the final 20 minutes to give coach Bill Self his 499th win.
The nine points scored by TCU were the fewest in any half in the last 15 years of Big 12 games, and the fewest allowed in a half by Kansas since Cornell scored nine on Jan. 2, 1996.
Devonta Abron had 18 points to lead the Horned Frogs, who have lost five straight by an average of nearly 22 since their victory over the Jayhawks.
No. 10 LOUISVILLE 79, SETON HALL 61
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gorgui Dieng scored a career-high 23 points for Louisville. The 6-foot-10 center showed confidence in his jumper and the result was 10 of 11 shooting from the field. The junior also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
Russ Smith added 19 points and Luke Hancock made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points as the Cardinals (22-5, 10-4 Big East) won their third straight.
The Cardinals forced 21 turnovers, including 12 steals, and shooting 26 of 57 (45.6 percent).
Aaron Cosby scored 17 points for lead Seton Hall (13-15, 2-13), which dropped its ninth straight. Eugene Teague added 16 points, Brian Oliver 12 and Fuquan Edwin 11 for the Pirates, who shot 23 of 52 (44 percent).
No. 12 ARIZONA 73, WASHINGTON STATE 56
TUCSON, Ariz. — Kevin Parrom matched his career best with five 3 pointers — in six tries — scoring a season-high 19 points for Arizona.
Parrom, a 26 percent shooter from 3-point range in conference play before Saturday, opened the game with two 3s and the Wildcats (23-4, 11-4 Pac-12) led all the way. Arizona was up by as many as 21 points early in the second half before the Cougars cut it to 11 late.
Mark Lyons added 14 points and freshman Kaleb Tarczewski had a career-best 12 for the Wildcats.
Brock Motum scored 20 points but missed six free throws for the last-place Cougars (11-17, 2-13), who lost their eighth straight.
No. 14 OKLAHOMA STATE 73, WEST VIRGINIA 57
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Le’Bryan Nash and Markel Brown scored 16 points apiece to lead five Oklahoma State players in double figures.
Marcus Smart added 14 points, Brian Williams scored 13 and Michael Cobbins had 10 for Oklahoma State (20-6, 10-4), which shook off a double-overtime loss to No. 9 Kansas on Wednesday.
Oklahoma State overcame an early six-point deficit and never trailed after halftime, using its defense to stifle any comeback attempt by the Mountaineers (13-14, 6-8).
Aaric Murray led West Virginia with 11 points.
No. 16 NEW MEXICO 91, No. 22 COLORADO STATE 82
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Kendall Williams made a Mountain West Conference-record 10 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 46 points and New Mexico ended Colorado State’s 27-game home-court winning streak.
Alex Kirk added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Lobos (23-4, 10-2 MWC), increased their lead in the conference race to two games over the Rams (21-5, 8-4).
Colton Iverson had 26 points and 15 boards for the Rams, who led 70-64 at the 6-minute mark. Williams, who had been on the bench with four fouls, returned and hit three 3s during a 14-2 run that gave New Mexico a 78-72 lead.
His 10 3-pointers broke the conference mark of nine set by several players, most recently UNLV’s Chace Stanback against Central Arkansas on Dec. 28, 2011.
VILLANOVA 60, No. 17 MARQUETTE 56
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Darrun Hilliard scored 22 points and Ryan Arcidiacono and JayVaughn Pinkston both scored 11 to lead Villanova.
The Wildcats (18-10, 9-6 Big East) beat their third Top 25 conference team this season. They also beat Louisville and Syracuse to help bolster their bid to earn an NCAA tournament bid. The Wildcats are coming off a 19-loss season and missed the tournament for the first time since 2004.
Hilliard scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half to spark the Wildcats.
Junior Cadougan led Marquette (19-7, 10-4) with 12 points. He was the only player in double figures.
The Wildcats shot 57 percent in the second half to help them pull away.
No. 21 MEMPHIS 89, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 73
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Chris Crawford and Shaq Goodwin scored 19 points each and Memphis claimed its second straight Conference USA regular season title.
Five Tigers finished in double figures as Memphis (24-3, 13-0 C-USA) won its 18th straight. D.J. Stephens scored 16 points, and, like Goodwin, was 6 of 7 from the field, while Joe Jackson had 15 points. Adonis Thomas scored 12 for Memphis, which shot 50 percent for the game, including 46 percent from outside the arc.
Dwayne Davis, who carried Southern Mississippi (21-7, 10-3) in the first half, finished with 28 points.
No. 24 VCU 75, XAVIER 71
CINCINNATI — Troy Daniels scored 19 points, and VCU intensified its full-court defense and overcome a 17-point in the second half.
VCU (22-6, 10-3 Atlantic 10) forced 22 turnovers — 12 in the second half during the big comeback. Daniels set a school record for 3-pointers in a season while leading the comeback.
Rob Brandenberg added 18 points and scored the Rams’ final six, including two free throws with 10.8 seconds left that clinched it.
The Musketeers (15-11, 8-5) played the final 13:35 without point guard Dee Davis, who was hit in the forehead and cut above his right eye. He left for treatment with Xavier up by five points and never returned.
Davis and Brad Redford finished with 15 points apiece for Xavier, which dropped to 52-2 in A-10 home games since 2007
