Duke, Florida remain unbeaten
The three Division I unbeatens had another perfect night.
Top-ranked Duke, No. 2 Florida and No. 9 Pittsburgh all remained undefeated Wednesday, and they all will play on the road this weekend.
Duke closed its 81-68 victory over No. 14 North Carolina State with a 16-3 run. Florida was never challenged in a 113-62 victory over Savannah State, while Pittsburgh pulled away for a 76-68 win over Rutgers.
On Saturday, Duke is at Georgetown, Florida visits Tennessee and Pittsburgh faces St. John's at Madison Square Garden.
Duke's seniors again were the keys to the Blue Devils' latest win as J.J. Redick scored 28 points, Shelden Williams had 21 and Sean Dockery and Lee Melchionni combined on the consecutive 3-pointers that started the closing run.
"Sean and Lee, they both played like veterans," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We're going to need that. You have players like Shelden and J.J., so they're going to get open looks. And they knocked them down."
Dockery's 3 broke a 65-all tie and when he missed a free throw for a potential four-point play, he grabbed the rebound and found Melchionni for another 3 for the Blue Devils (17-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
"Plays like that, we practice that a lot," Dockery said. "Coach always talks about plays that take the life out of the other team. And that play right there, that's what it did."
Duke is 17-0 for the second time in school history. The other was on the way to the 1992 national championship.
Dockery did have a bigger 3-pointer this season, the 40-foot heave at the buzzer that gave Duke a 77-75 victory over Virginia Tech. He doesn't mind that Redick and Williams draw most of the attention from fans and media.
"If people overlook me, oh, well," said Dockery, who had 10 points, five assists and no turnovers in 32 minutes. "My team and my coach, that's my family, and they know what I'm doing. That's a great feeling."
Cedric Simmons had a career-high 28 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks and three steals for the Wolfpack (14-3, 3-2).
"That's the best team we've played," Krzyzewski said. "They know what they're doing and they do it well. It's a big win for us."
The Wolfpack lost to North Carolina earlier this season when the Tar Heels closed the game with a 13-0 run for an 82-69 victory.
"I can't compare games," N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said. "I thought our team played great basketball. Our guys have nothing to be ashamed of. Our guys competed really hard and played really well. I want them to feel good about themselves."
Joakim Noah had 21 points on 10-for-10 shooting and reserve Walter Hodge added 18 points for the Gators (17-0), who extended the best start and longest winning streak in school history. It is the first time in coach Billy Donovan's 10 seasons Florida finished undefeated in non-conference play.Javon Randolph had 22 points for the Tigers (1-18), who last season became the second winless NCAA Division I team in the last half-century. They have lost 18 straight since a season-opening victory over Wilberforce University.
Shawne Williams had 21 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Tigers (16-2), while Rodney Carney added 22 points as they won their fifth straight.Dane Bradshaw led the Volunteers (11-3) with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.The game was tied at 69 with 6:45 left when Williams had seven points in a 10-0 run over the next 2:30.
Terence Dials scored 15 points and Ron Lewis, Jamar Butler and Matt Sylvester each added 14 for the Buckeyes (13-2, 3-2), who ended Wisconsin's seven-game Big Ten winning streak and dealt a defeat to the last unbeaten team in the conference.Kammron Taylor and Alando Tucker each scored 21 points for the Badgers (14-3, 4-1), who had their worst shooting game of the season, hitting 38 percent (25-of-66).Ohio State used an 8-0 run to take a 52-43 lead and went on to beat a ranked team for the first time in three tries this season.
Jordan Farmar scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half and the Bruins (15-3, 5-2 Pac-10) beat their crosstown rival for the third straight time.Reserve Dwayne Shackleford had 12 points for the visiting Trojans (12-6, 3-4), who scored their fewest points in the series since 1969, when they won 46-44 at Pauley Pavilion. The margin of victory equaled last year's 90-69 victory by UCLA.
Iowa (14-4, 3-1 Big Ten) won the first triple-overtime played in Carver Hawkeye Arena by making free throws in the extra sessions while Minnesota didn't.Erek Hansen scored a career-high 20 points for the Hawkeyes, who made nine straight free throws during a stretch of the second and third overtimes to win their third straight game. Greg Brunner had 17 points and a career-high 23 rebounds for Iowa.Maurice Hargrow had 16 points for the Gophers (9-6, 0-4), who went 5-of-12 from the line in the overtimes, including missing four straight when they had a chance to seal the victory in the final minute of the second overtime. Minnesota lost its fourth straight in conference and sixth in its last seven in Iowa City.
