COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Connecticut Loses Perfect Mark in Big Way Against Kansas

When Connecticut finally lost, it really lost.

Seventh-ranked Kansas rode an impressive first half Saturday at Kansas City to an 88-59 victory over second-ranked Connecticut, which had been the last unbeaten team in Division I.

“Needless to say, that was a great performance. We couldn’t have expected to have done any better,” Kansas Coach Roy Williams said.

The loss, which ended the Huskies’ 15-game winning streak, also took the steam out of the weekend’s debate about who should be No. 1. Top-ranked Massachusetts needed overtime to beat West Virginia on Friday night, and a victory by UConn over Kansas--the only team to beat UMass--would have had many thinking Connecticut could vault into No. 1 for the first time.

Jerod Haase had 20 points to lead Kansas (15-2), which took command with solid defense and outstanding three-point shooting for a 47-27 halftime edge.

No. 3 North Carolina 62, No. 16 Wake Forest 61--Donald Williams hit a running one-hander in the lane with 5.7 seconds to play as the Tar Heels (16-1, 6-1), shooting a season-low 41%, beat Wake Forest (11-4, 4-3) in an Atlantic Coast game at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The North Carolina defense held the Demon Deacons without a basket for more than 10 minutes in the second half.

Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace led North Carolina with 17 points each.

No. 6 Syracuse 76, Miami 51--John Wallace had 20 points and reserve Otis Hill added 14 as the Orangemen (15-2, 8-1) handled poor-shooting Miami (8-7, 3-5) in a Big East game at Syracuse.

No. 8 Maryland 74, Duke 72--Keith Booth scored a career-high 22 points, including the go-ahead basket, and Joe Smith blocked two shots in the final 26 seconds as the Terrapins (16-3, 6-1) ended their 15-game losing streak against Duke (10-9, 0-7) in an ACC game at College Park, Md.

No. 10 Michigan State 75, Illinois 67--Shawn Respert scored 29 points and Jon Garavaglia hit key second-half key baskets for the Spartans (14-2, 6-1) in a Big Ten victory at Illinois (13-6, 4-3).

No. 11 Iowa State 87, Kansas State 79--Fred Hoiberg scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as the Cyclones (17-2, 3-1) kept alive the best start in school history against the Wildcats (11-8, 2-5) in a Big Eight game at Ames, Iowa.

No. 14 Georgetown 71, Pittsburgh 60--Othella Harrington scored 20 points as the Hoyas (14-3, 7-2) pulled away for a Big East victory over the Panthers (5-12, 1-8) at Landover, Md.

No. 15 Virginia 128, George Mason 98--Cory Alexander scored a career-high 36 points at Charlottesville as the Cavaliers (12-5) broke a 12-year-old school scoring record in a victory over George Mason (5-13).

St. Louis 75, No. 19 Cincinnati 68--Scott Highmark scored 22 points and the Billikens (13-4, 4-2) missed only two of 29 free throws in rallying from a 15-point halftime deficit against the Bearcats (15-6, 5-1) in a Great Midwest game at St. Louis.

No. 22 Villanova 88, Providence 67--Kerry Kittles scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half as the Wildcats (13-5, 6-2) ran away from Providence (11-6, 3-6) in a Big East game.

No. 23 Florida 72, Mississippi 57--Dan Cross scored 20 points before leaving the game after being hit by an elbow to the face as the Gators (10-6, 4-3) used a 19-5 run to rally from 10 points behind in the second half against the Rebels (5-12, 1-7) in a Southeastern Conference game at Gainesville, Fla.

Pacific 89, No. 24 New Mexico St. 86--Marzell Clayton’s 12-foot jump shot with 17 seconds left put the Tigers (10-7, 5-4) in front for good in a Big West upset of the Aggies (14-5, 5-3) at Las Cruces, N.M.

Pacific got seven three-pointers and 25 points from Adam Jacobsen and 22 points from Charles Jones in its first victory at Las Cruces.

No. 25 Oklahoma 82, Nebraska 72--Ryan Minor scored 30 points and the Sooners (15-4, 2-2) used six consecutive three-pointers to break a Big Eight game open against the Cornhuskers (14-5, 1-3) at Norman, Okla.

OTHER GAMES

Eric Franson scored 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to give Utah State (13-3, 7-1) a 73-57 victory over Nevada (10-7, 6-3) in a Big West game in Logan, Utah. . . . Bryant Reeves scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Oklahoma State (13-6, 3-1) to an 82-63 rout of Colorado (10-6, 1-4) in a Big Eight game at Boulder. . . . Matt Waddell scored 19 points including four late free throws that sealed a 65-62 victory for Purdue (14-5, 5-2) over Penn State (12-4, 5-2) in a Big Ten game at State College. . . . Terrence Rencher’s 28 points and a timely technical foul on Texas Coach Tom Penders helped fire the Longhorns (12-4, 4-1) past Texas Tech (9-7, 3-2), 82-68, in a Southwest Conference game at Austin, Tex. . . . Alan Henderson scored 30 points, including 17 in the second half, as Indiana (12-7, 4-3) earned a 90-75 Big Ten victory over Ohio State (4-13, 0-7) at Bloomington, Ind. . . . John Thomas scored Minnesota’s final eight points, including the game-winning basket with 3.4 seconds left, to help lead the Golden Gophers (14-6, 5-3) to a 55-54 Big Ten victory over Iowa (13-6, 3-4) at Iowa City. . . . Michael Finley scored 22 points for Wisconsin (9-7, 3-4), which handed Northwestern (4-12, 0-7) its 10th consecutive loss, 97-73, in a Big Ten game at Madison, Wis. . . . Merl Code saved Clemson with five free throws in the final 90 seconds, leading the Tigers (11-5, 2-5) to a 60-55 ACC victory over slumping North Carolina State (10-7, 2-5) at Raleigh, N.C. . . . Ronnie McMahan scored 28 points and Vanderbilt (9-6, 3-4) shut down LSU’s (10-6, 4-2) high-powered guards in a 66-58 SEC victory at Baton Rouge, La. . . . Reggie Ingram scored 16 points for Southern Utah (9-9) in a 91-62 victory over Cal Poly-San Louis Obispo (1-17) at Cedar City, Utah. . . . William Cunningham made five of his team’s six overtime points as Temple (9-4, 5-3) survived a Rhode Island (4-11, 0-5) comeback for a 55-50 Atlantic 10 victory at Kingston, R.I.