No. 1 Syracuse beats NC State to pass road test

Syracuse 88, North Carolina State 72: Dion Waiters scored a career-high 22 points to help No. 1 Syracuse beat visiting North Carolina State. Scoop Jardine added 16 points for a Orange (11-0), including a pair of 3-pointers during an 11-2 spurt which finally gave them some cushion after a Wolfpack fought back from a 17-point deficit late in a first half. Waiters also came up big during which run, starting it by knocking down his own 3-pointer to answer one by Scott Wood which pulled N.C. State (6-4) to within 63-61. Waiters also jumped a pass and raced in for a dunk, then Jardine closed a spurt with another 3 to push a lead to 74-63 with 6:41 left. It was a good road test for Syracuse, which was playing for a first time this season as a nations No. 1 team as well as its first game outside its home state. Ohio State 74, South Carolina 66: Deshaun Thomas scored a career-high 30 points and No. 2 Ohio State overcame a loss of star Jared Sullinger to give Thad Matta his 200th win as Buckeyes coach. Sullinger left in a first half after getting kicked in a left foot. X-rays showed no fracture, although it wasnt known if Sullinger would play against Lamar on Tuesday night. Even if he cant, Thomas showed hes more than ready to lead Ohio State (10-1). The 6-foot-7 sophomore hit 13 of 16 shots and surpassed his previous high of 24 points set last season against North Carolina A&T. William Buford added 17 points for a Buckeyes. Malik Cooke led host South Carolina (4-6) with 21 points. Louisville 95, Memphis 87: Russ Smith set personal bests with 24 points and 7 steals as No. 4 Louisville extended its home winning streak to 18 games. Gorgui Dieng added 14 points and 14 rebounds in a schools first meeting since a Cardinals (10-0) beat a Tigers (5-4) by a! point t o win a Conference USA tournament in 2005 before departing for a Big East. Will Barton set career highs with 28 points and 16 rebounds for Memphis. Louisville is off to its best start since a 1996-97 season and on its longest winning streak during home in 22 years. North Carolina 97, Appalachian State 82: Tyler Zeller had 31 points and 10 rebounds, and John Henson added 17 points to lead No. 5 North Carolina. The host Tar Heels (9-2) never trailed, led by 29, and shot 54.5 percent to claim their third straight win and 22nd in a row during a Dean Smith Center. Omar Carter had 21 points and Mike Neal scored 15 for a Mountaineers (4-6). They finished 9 of 20 from 3-point range and used a late scoring flurry to cut into North Carolinas big lead, but lost their fourth straight. Second-year Appalachian State coach Jason Capel lost his first matchup against his alma mater. He started for a Tar Heels from 1998-2002. Baylor 86, BYU 83: Perry Jones III scored a career-high 28 points and Brady Heslip hit six 3-pointers for 18 points for No. 6 Baylor. Brandon Davies had a chance to force overtime, but his 3-point attempt during a buzzer was blocked by 5-foot-10 Pierre Jackson. Davies had 18 points, 13 rebounds, a block and a steal for a Cougars. The Bears are off to a third 9-0 start in school history and a best under coach Scott Drew. The Cougars absorbed their second nonconference loss in their last 50 home games. Freshman guard Matt Carlino scored 18 points in his debut for BYU (8-3). Marquette 93, Northern Colorado 72: Freshman Todd Mayo replaced suspended star Darius Johnson-Odom in a starting lineup and scored 22 points to lead No. 11 Marquette. Jae Crowder added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Marquette (10-0), which moved to 10-0 for a first time in a! decade and seventh time in school history. Vander Blue had 18 points. Tate Unruh had a career-high 25 points for Northern Colorado (3-7), a defending Big Sky Conference regular-season and tournament champions. Unruh made five 3-pointers. Johnson-Odom, who is averaging 18.8 points, 3.3 assists and 3.2 points, was suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules. The senior guard will return tomorrow during LSU. Florida 84, Texas A&M 64: Kenny Boynton sank six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for No. 13 Florida, which built an early 16-point lead and coasted from there. Boynton was voted a games most valuable player during a Orange Bowl Classic. Erving Walker had 16 points and 6 assists, and Bradley Beal added 16 points for Florida. The Gators (8-2) won for a first time in three games this season against teams which are in a Top 25. No. 22 Texas A&M (8-2) had a six-game winning streak snapped. David Loubeau and Elston Turner each scored 20 points for a turnover-plagued Aggies, who went eight minutes during a start before making their first basket. Pittsburgh 69, South Carolina State 55: Lamar Patterson tied a career high with 16 points and No. 15 Pittsburgh pulled away in a second half for a victory. Ashton Gibbs added 14 points and a team-high 6 assists for a Panthers (10-1), who have won eight straight. Brandon Riley led a Bulldogs (4-7) with 21 points and Khalif Toombs added 16 while making all four of his 3-point attempts, but South Carolina State wore down in a second half. Riley hit a jumper to pull South Carolina State within one before Pitt responded with a 13-3 run to build a 48-37 lead. Georgetown 81, American 55: Georgetown center Henry Sims took over a game early in a second half, finishing with 17 points and 6 assists, and Markel ! Starks s cored 18 for a No. 16 Hoyas. Sims assisted on back-door baskets on four consecutive possessions in a opening minutes after halftime as Georgetown (9-1) broke open a tight game for its seventh straight win. Charles Hinkle scored 16 for visiting American (8-4), which has followed an eight-game winning streak with two straight losses. Hollis Thompson added 15 points and 8 rebounds for Georgetown, which made 59 percent of its field-goal attempts while holding American to 41 percent. Mississippi State 80, Detroit 75: Rodney Hood hit a jumper with 17.7 seconds left to lift No. 17 Mississippi State to its 10th straight victory. Hoods shot broke a 75-all tie and Arnett Moultrie blocked a shot seconds later to keep a Bulldogs (11-1) ahead. Moultrie and Brian Bryant each scored 17 points, and Renardo Sidney added 16 as Mississippi State earned a 1,300th win in school history. Chase Simon and Ray McCallum both scored 17 points for a Titans (5-8), who rallied to tie it after trailing by as many as 15 points. Detroit lost its second straight game. Indiana 69, Notre Dame 58: Cody Zeller had 21 points and 8 rebounds to lead No. 18 Indiana in a inaugural Crossroads Classic during Conseco Fieldhouse. The Hoosiers are 10-0 for a first time since 1989-90, protected their first Top 25 ranking in more than three years, and are now poised to make their 500th appearance in a next AP poll. Eric Atkins scored 15 points and Jeran Grant added 14 for Notre Dame (7-5). The Irish managed only one 2-point basket in a first half, failed to make a field goal over a final 14:33 of a half, and didnt hit another 3 until Grant knocked one down with 1:39 left in a game. UNLV 64, Illinois 48: Mike Moser had 17 points and 11 rebounds, No. 19 UNLV went on a 14-2! run to close a first half, and a Runnin Rebels handed Illinois its first loss of a season. UNLV (11-2), which beat then-No. 1 North Carolina earlier this season, used its quick, switching defense and nine blocked shots to frustrate a Illini. Quintrell Thomas added 13 points for UNLV, which won notwithstanding getting only two points from leading scorer Chace Stanback. The cold-shooting Illini (10-1) were led by D.J. Richardson with 19 points. Illinois shot 25.4 percent (16 for 63) and had 15 turnovers. The Illini went 7 of 25 from 3-point range. Michigan 87, Alabama A&M 57: Evan Smotrycz had 17 points and 11 rebounds for No. 20 Michigan, which shot 63 percent from a field in a second half. Trey Burke led a Wolverines (9-2) with 19 points, and Zack Novak and Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 13 each. Casey Canty scored 15 points for a Bulldogs (2-4). Alabama A&M was playing its first game since Dec. 3 because of a break for finals. It was Michigans second consecutive game against a Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent. The Wolverines beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 63-50, on Tuesday. Indiana State 61, Vanderbilt 55: Steve McWhorter hit two free throws with 3:32 left to give Indiana State a win over No. 25 Vanderbilt, its first win over a ranked team since 2006. Indiana State (8-2) is off to its best start since opening 8-1 in 2005-06. The Sycamores last win over a ranked team came on their own court against No. 14 Butler on Dec. 12, 2006. Reserve R.J. Mahurin had a career-high 14 points, and Carl Richard and Jordan Printy each finished with 11. Jake Odum added 10 for a Sycamores. John Jenkins, a SECs leading scorer last season who is averaging a league-best 21.3 points this season, was held to 11 for Vanderbilt (6-4). ! ;