LINCOLN, Neb. - Better now than later.

At least that's how Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton looked at it after his fourth-ranked Cowboys' 74-67 loss to Nebraska Tuesday night.

"If you're going to have a bad game, you want to have it in the league," Sutton said. "You sure don't want to have it in the (NCAA) tournament."

Oklahoma State (20-4, 10-3) dropped into a tie for first place in the Big 12 with No. 8 Kansas. The teams meet Sunday at Kansas with more than just the conference title at stake. The game could go a long way in enhancing the winner's seeding in the NCAA tournament. The Cowboys will be facing a Kansas team that has lost three straight.

Oklahoma State's Daniel Bobik said the loss to Nebraska (12-12, 5-8) should serve as a lesson.

"This is a horrible feeling," he said. "Imagine how it will feel if we don't take care of a team in the tournament that we should."

Joe McCray scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and Aleks Maric added a career-high 15 to lead Nebraska to its first win over a Top Five opponent since a 98-91 victory over No. 3 Missouri in the 1994 Big Eight tournament. It was the Cornhuskers' first win in 20 games against Top Ten opponents.

"We needed a great, great effort to have a chance to win," Nebraska coach Barry Collier said. "Our guys believed they could do that, and four or five minutes at a time we came at them."

Oklahoma State, which averaged 82 points in winning its last six games by an average of 15, was held under 70 points for the fourth time this season.

The Cowboys turned in a sloppy effort that saw them commit 19 turnovers and go eight straight possessions without scoring to start the second half.

The Huskers used a 12-0 run from a 32-32 halftime tie to break the game open, and the Cowboys never got closer than the final margin.

Nebraska's biggest victory in Collier's five years came on the same day a columnist for the Omaha World-Herald, the state's largest newspaper, called for his firing.

"We don't pay a lot of attention to that," Collier said.

Sutton said he's well aware of the heat Collier has been taking and that if he had to lose to one team in the Big 12, he's glad it was Nebraska.

"They've had a tough season, and they are a better ballclub than their record would indicate," Sutton said. "Barry is a very, very good coach. I hope these people get off his case and start showing him some appreciation."

After the buzzer, students from both end zones stormed the court. The players wound their way through a gauntlet of students, high-fiving them as they headed to the locker room.

John Lucas led Oklahoma State with 20 points. Joey Graham, the Big 12's second-leading scorer, was held to 12 before fouling out in the final minute.

Freshman JamesOn Curry, averaging 14.3 points since joining the Cowboys' starting lineup seven games ago, was held to seven points, two in the second half.

The Huskers used the 12-0 run to go ahead 44-32. Maric scored twice in a row before John Turek highlighted the spurt with a big dunk off a pass from Jake Muhleisen.

Oklahoma State didn't score for the opening 6:16 of the second half until Graham bulled his way in for a layup.

After Terrence Crawford got the Cowboys within 44-36, McCray hit a 3-pointer and Corey Simms hit a jumper for the Huskers' biggest lead, 49-36.

Raymond Felton had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds and Melvin Scott, starting in place of the ill Rashad McCants, added 12 points to lead the Tar Heels (23-3, 11-2), who extended their lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference to a full game over No. 6 Wake Forest.McCants, the team's second-leading scorer, didn't even make the 25-mile trip because of an intestinal disorder, giving Scott his second start of the year. The senior was 4-for-8 from 3-point range and North Carolina finished 19-of-21 from beyond the arc.Julius Hodge had 20 points for the Wolfpack (15-11, 5-8).

Ross Neltner's tip-in at the buzzer gave the Tigers (16-9, 9-4 Southeastern Conference) the win that improved them to 13-1 at home this season.Alabama (21-5, 10-3) trailed 55-48 with 4:56 to play but a banked 3-pointer by Kennedy Winston with 14 seconds left tied it at 59.LSU's Brandon Bass dribbled the ball outside the 3-point arc for several seconds then drove to the basket with 2 seconds left. His shot bounced off the rim, but Neltner was there for the rebound.Tack Minor led LSU with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Neltner, who came in averaging 2.7 points, finished with five.Winston had 22 points for the Crimson Tide, who had won four straight and 10 of 12.