North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams left Monday’s game against Boston College.. Photo Credit: Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports
BOSTON — Ninth-ranked North Carolina lost Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams to a second-half battle with vertigo, but rallied to avoid a brutal upset with a 68-65 victory over Boston College on Tuesday.
Williams felt dizzy during the first media timeout of the second half and had to be helped to the locker room. North Carolina spokesman Steve Kirschner said Williams was resting in the locker room and the situation wasn’t considered serious.
Williams, who has had problems with vertigo in the past, snapped his head suddenly in the huddle to cause his latest bout.
Assistant coach Steve Robinson coached the rest of the game for the Tar Heels, who trailed by as many as nine against a team that came in with a 10-game losing streak, and were down seven with seven minutes left. They rallied to end a two-game losing streak and end a three-game ACC road spell 1-2.
A loss would have given North Carolina its first three-game league losing streak since starting the 2013-14 season 0-3. The victory gave the program its 57th 20- win season and 12th in 13 years under Williams.
The Tar Heels (20-4, 9-2 ACC) scored eight straight points to take their first lead and completed a 10-1 run to go up 59-57 with 3:20 left. Boston College’s Eli Carter (26 points) and North Carolina’s Marcus Paige swapped 3-pointers (Paige missed the chance at a four-point play) and North Carolina’s Justin Jackson (20 points) gave his team a four-point lead with 47.8 seconds left.
Dennis Clifford, playing the best game of his injury marred college career, recorded his first double-double of the season (second of his career) with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Boston College (7-17, 0-11).
Creighton 70, No. 5 Xavier 56
OMAHA, Neb. — Maurice Watson Jr. scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Bluejays to an upset victory over the Musketeers.
The 5-foot-10 junior transfer from Boston University made 11 of 21 field-goal attempts and 9 of 10 free throws as Creighton (16-9, 7-5 Big East) registered one of the biggest upsets in school history.
The Bluejays raced to a 21-4 lead in the opening eight minutes and let Xavier (21-3, 9-3) only get within five points twice midway through the second half.
Jalen Reynolds scored 17 points for the Musketeers, who were 1 for 21 from 3-point range and shot 30 percent from the field.
No. 18 Purdue 82, No. 8 Michigan State 81 (OT)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Rapheal Davis made one of two free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining in overtime to lead the Boilermakers past the Spartans at Mackey Arena.
Davis, who finished with 24 points and seven rebounds, missed the second free throw, but Purdue’s A.J. Hammons grabbed the rebound as time ran out. Hammons had 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks.
Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine, who led all players with 27 points and 10 assists, tied the game on a driving layup with 11.5 seconds to go on overtime but fouled Davis after a Boilermakers’ timeout.
Purdue, which beat a top 10 team for the first time in five years, improved to 20-5, 8-4 Big Ten.
The Spartans (20-5, 7-5) rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to force overtime.
The Boilermakers’ Caleb Swanigan missed a 3-pointer, Hammons missed a turnaround and Valentine missed a jumper in the final 12 seconds of regulation to send the contest to overtime tied at 72.
No. 6 Kansas 75, No. 10 West Virginia 65
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Perry Ellis scored 21 points to enable the Jayhawks to regain a share of the Big 12 lead with a victory over the Mountaineers — their 37th consecutive win at Allen Fieldhouse.
Landen Lucas snagged a career-best 16 rebounds — the most by a Kansas player this season — as the Jayhawks held off a second-half surge by West Virginia to win their fourth straight. Lucas had nine points.
Kansas (20-4, 8-3 Big 12), which recorded its 27th straight 20-win season, visits Oklahoma (19-3, 8-3) on Saturday. The Jayhawks needed three overtimes to outlast the Sooners in a 109-106 outcome in Lawrence on Jan.4.
Jaysean Paige, who scored a season-high 26 in a 74-63 victory against Kansas on Jan. 12, scored 14 points Tuesday for the Mountaineers (19-5, 8-3). Tarik Phillip added 11 points, but was called for a flagrant foul in the second half on a drive in which he elbowed Kansas’ Frank Mason.
No. 1 Villanova 86, DePaul 59
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Five players scored in double figures as the Wildcats celebrated their first game as a No. 1 team since 1985 with an easy victory over the Blue Demons.
Villanova (21-3, 11-1) took over top spots in both national polls this week after previous leader Oklahoma tumbled following an 80-69 upset loss Saturday at Kansas State.
Josh Hart scored a game-high 18 points, Darryl Reynolds had 14, Kris Jenkins scored 13 and Daniel Ochefu and guard Jalen Brunson each added 11 as the Wildcats won their fourth straight and 13th in 14 games.
Eli Cain scored 15 points while Myke Henry pulled down 11 rebounds for DePaul (8-16, 2-10), which upset No. 20 Providence last week but has dropped four of its last five.
No. 7 Virginia 67, Virginia Tech 49
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Isaiah Wilkins scored a career-high 14 points as the Cavaliers exacted revenge from a two-point loss to the Hokies last month.
Anthony Gill scored 16 points while Malcolm Brogdon added 14 and Mike Tobey had 10 for Virginia (20-4, 9-3 ACC), which recorded its seventh straight victory after holding Virginia Tech to 35.6 percent shooting and forcing 15 turnovers.
Justin Robinson scored a team-high 16 points for the Hokies (13-12, 5-7).
No. 2 Maryland 93, Bowie State 62
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Rasheed Sulaimon scored 16 points and reserve forward Michal Cekovsky had 11 of his career-high 14 points in the first half as the Terrapins defeated the Division II Bulldogs for their 27th consecutive home victory.
Melo Trimble took only one shot from the field and had five points in 17 minutes of play for Maryland (22-3), which used 14 players. Diamond Stone added 14 points and Jaylen Brantley added 10 in a season-high 21 minutes for the Terrapins.
Bowie State (13-10) was paced by Miles Jackson, who had 13 points and six rebounds. The Bulldogs’ Justin Beck entered the game averaging a team-high 14.8 points, but was held scoreless as he missed all four shots from the field.
No. 12 Miami 65, Pittsburgh 63
MIAMI, Fla. — Guard Angel Rodriguez’s follow-up with 1.4 seconds remaining gave the Hurricanes the victory over the upset-minded Panthers.
Pittsburgh guard James Robinson’s desperation shot from midcourt fell short when he stumbled after taking the inbounds pass.
Miami (19-4, 8-3) recovered from a cold-shooting first half by shooting 51.9 percent in the second to overcome a four-point halftime deficit. Rodriguez finished with a game-high 17 points.
Michael Young and Ryan Luther scored 12 apiece to lead Pittsburgh (17-6, 6-5).
No. 22 Kentucky 82, Georgia 48
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Freshman Jamal Murray scored 24 points as the Wildcats routed the Bulldogs.
Kentucky (18-6, 8-3 SEC), fresh off a 19-point rout of Florida on Saturday in which Murray scored 35, opened up a 42-24 halftime advantage over the Bulldogs (13-9, 6-5) and extended its advantage by scoring the first 10 points of the second half.
Georgia went the final 13:37 of the first half without a field goal, missing 17 shots in a row. Yante Maten led the Bulldogs with 16 points.
No. 19 Dayton 76, Duquesne 74
DAYTON, Ohio — Charles Cooke scored 22 points, and Scoochie Smith hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to lift the Flyers past the upset-minded Dukes.
An ankle injury forced Duquesne’s Micah Mason to miss the first meeting with Dayton in January, but he made his presence felt Tuesday, scoring a game-high 27 points thanks largely to seven 3-pointers. Derrick Colter added 21 points for the Dukes (15-9, 5-6 Atlantic 10).
Dayton (20-3, 10-1) trailed by 12 points with a little more than five minutes remaining but managed to rally for its eighth straight victory.
No. 25 Wichita State 74, Drake 48
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Shockers rebounded from a rare February loss with their ninth straight victory over the Bulldogs.
Wichita State (18-6, 12-1 Missouri Valley Conference) hasn’t lost two straight MVC games since 2013 and quickly knocked back Drake (6-19, 1-12) to erase the disappointment of Saturday’s loss at Illinois State — its first in February since 2013.
Ron Baker and Shaq Morris scored 11 points apiece for the Shockers. Reed Timmer led the Bulldogs with 20
