College basketball
TOP 25 MEN
No. 3 North Carolina 89, N.C. State 80: Tyler Hansbrough scored 27 points to lead the host Tar Heels (24-2, 10-2 ACC), who are 12-1 vs. the Wolfpack since Roy Williams became coach.
No. 5 Memphis 90, SMU 47: Shawn Taggart scored 19 points, and Doneal Mack added 15 as the host Tigers (23-3, 11-0) cruised to their 17th straight win and 53rd in Conference USA.
No. 7 Louisville 94, Providence 76: Terrence Williams had 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds as the host Cardinals (20-5, 11-2 Big East) overcame a shaky first half.
No. 8 Wake Forest 87, Georgia Tech 69: James Johnson had 24 points and 11 rebounds as the host Demon Deacons (20-4, 7-4 ACC) avenged their worst loss of the season.
Penn State 38, No. 18 Illinois 33: Talor Battle made four free throws in the final 16 seconds to lead the visiting Nittany Lions (19-8, 8-6 Big Ten) to an upset of the Illini (21-6, 9-5).
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 63, No. 21 Butler 60: Avery Smith had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and the Panthers (15-11, 10-6) appeared to benefit from a clock malfunction in the closing seconds of a win over the visiting Bulldogs (22-4, 13-3).
No. 23 LSU 72, Arkansas 69: Marcus Thornton scored 28 points and made a key defensive play in the final minute to help the visiting Tigers (22-4, 10-1 SEC) rally from an 18-point deficit.
BIG 12 MEN
No. 15 Kansas 72, Iowa St. 55: Cole Aldrich had 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Jayhawks (21-5, 10-1) extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 38 games. ISU (13-13, 2-9) fell behind by 17 points early.
Oklahoma St. 92, Texas Tech 82: Terrel Harris scored 19 of his career-high 27 points in the first half to lead the Cowboys (16-9, 5-6). Host Tech’s (12-15, 2-9) late 22-6 run fell short.
TOP 25 WOMEN
No. 1 Connecticut 75, Providence 39: Maya Moore scored 16 points and Tiffany Hayes added 15 as the visiting Huskies (26-0, 12-0 Big East) cruised after a game-opening 11-0 run.
Oklahoma State 58, No. 12 Texas 52: Andrea Riley caught a long inbounds pass and scored on an easy layup to seal the visiting Cowgirls’ (15-9, 4-7) victory over the Longhorns (19-6, 7-4). Riley finished with a game-high 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Tegan Cunningham finished with 13 points.
Missouri 52, No. 16 Kansas State 43: Jessra Johnson scored 17 points as the host Tigers (12-12, 3-8 Big 12) held the Wildcats (20-4, 7-4) to their worst offensive outing of the season.
No. 17 Xavier 72, La Salle 42: Junior guard Dee Dee Jernigan had 14 points and 10 rebounds , as the host Musketeers (23-4, 11-0 Atlantic 10) dominated the boards with a 40-22 edge.
No. 19 Pittsburgh 70, Villanova 54: Shavonte Zellous scored 23 points and Shayla Scott hit a pair of 3-pointers during a late 11-0 run to lead the host Panthers (19-5, 9-3 Big East).
No. 21 Iowa State 61, Nebraska 38: Alison Lacey scored 20 points, and Nicky Wieben added 17 and the host Cyclones (19-6, 7-4 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak.
AREA WOMEN
Colorado 69, Kansas 62: Brittany Spears’ layup with 2:20 left tied the game, and Spears made 4-of-4 free throws down the stretch to lead the Buffaloes (11-12, 3-8 Big 12) to a home win. Spears finished with 18 points, as did Bianca Smith.
Utah 74, Colorado St. 45: Kalee Whipple and Morgan Warburton combined for 51 points for the host Utes (18-7, 11-1 MWC), who started the game on an 11-0 run. Carine Reimink and Bonnie Barbee each had eight points CSU (8-17, 3-9).
TCU 67, Air Force 57: The Horned Frogs (17-8, 9-3 MWC) went on a 7-0 run early in the second half while the host Falcons (4-21, 0-12) went scoreless for six minutes.
Denver 74, Louisiana-Lafayette 59: Britteni Rice had a career-high 20 points to lead the host Pioneers (14-12, 9-6 Sun Belt), who went on a 9-0 run at the end of the first half to get some breathing room over the pesky Cajuns (3-23, 0-15). Andie Mason added 14 points for DU.
Wyoming 50, UNLV 44: The Cowgirls (13-11, 5-6 MWC) fought off a nine-minute scoreless drought for the come-from-behind win over the host Rebels (10-15, 3-9). Wyoming’s Hillary Carlson had 18 points, and Megan McGuffey had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Denver Post staff and wire services
