RALEIGH, N.C. — Dion Waiters scored a career-high 22 points Saturday, helping No. 1-ranked Syracuse defeat North Carolina State 88-72.
Scoop Jardine added 16 points for the Orange (11-0), including two 3-pointers during an 11-2 spurt that finally gave Syracuse some cushion after the Wolfpack fought back from a 17-point deficit late in the first half.
Waiters also came up big during that run, starting it by knocking down his own 3-pointer to answer one by Scott Wood that brought North Carolina State (6-4) within 63-61.
Waiters also jumped a pass and raced in for a dunk, then Jardine closed the spurt with another 3 to push the lead to 74-63 with 6:41 left.
It was a good road test for Syracuse, which was playing for the first time as No. 1 this season — as well as its first game outside its home state.
Kris Joseph scored 21 points for Syracuse, which shot 57 percent and hit 11-of-25 3-point tries. N.C. State was even better at 58 percent and made 7-of-14 3s, but the Wolfpack committed 19 turnovers that led to 25 points for Syracuse.
In addition, Waiters’ huge scoring day helped the Orange reserves outscore the Wolfpack reserves 46-4 for the game.
No. 2 Ohio State 74, South Carolina 66
columbia, s.c.
Deshaun Thomas scored a career-high 30 points and Ohio State overcame the loss of star Jared Sullinger to give Thad Matta his 200th win as Buckeyes coach.
Sullinger left in the first half after getting kicked in the left foot. X-rays showed no fracture, although it wasn’t known if Sullinger would play against Lamar on Tuesday night.
Even if he can’t, Thomas showed he’s 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 Ohio State.
No. 4 Louisville 95, Memphis 87 louisville, ky.
Russ Smith set personal bests with 24 points and seven steals as the Cardinals (10-0) extended their home winning streak to 18 games.
Gorgui Dieng added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Louisville, which is off to its best start since the 1996-97 season.
No. 5 North Carolina 97, Appalachian State 82 chapel hill, n.c.
Tyler Zeller had 31 points and 10 rebounds, and John Henson added 17 points for the Tar Heels (9-2), who never trailed, led by 29 and shot 54.5 percent to claim their third straight win.
No. 6 Baylor 86, BYU 83 provo, utah
Perry Jones III scored a career-high 28 points and Brady Heslip hit six 3-pointers and had 18 points for the Bears, who are off to the third 9-0 start in school history.
UNLV 64, No. 19 Illinois 48 chicago
Mike Moser had 17 points and 11 rebounds, UNLV went on a 14-2 run to close the first half and the Runnin’ Rebels (11-2) handed the Illini (10-1) their first loss of the season.
