CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Tyler Hansbrough figures there's only one way to eliminate all the questions about whether North Carolina's defense is good enough for a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

"I guess we just have to stop talking about it and do it and prove ourselves," he said. "And then we'll probably have to talk about how our defense is improved."

Either way, defense is going to be at the forefront for the Tar Heels as they enter the final weeks of the regular season.

Hansbrough scored 27 points to help the third-ranked Tar Heels beat North Carolina State 89-80 Wednesday night, giving them their 10th straight victory.

Danny Green added 19 points to help North Carolina (24-2, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) pull away in the second half for its 12th win in 13 meetings with its nearby rival.

North Carolina shot 55 percent for the game, had four players with at least 16 points and scored on nine straight possessions to turn a three-point halftime lead into a comfortable margin. The problem was that the defense wasn't doing nearly enough to shut down the Wolfpack (14-10, 4-7), who shot 64 percent in the second half and 54 percent in the game.

No. 5 Memphis 90, SMU 47

Shawn Taggart scored 19 points and Doneal Mack added 15 points as host Memphis cruised to its 17th straight win.

Robert Dozier had 14 points, and Tyreke Evans and Antonio Anderson each scored 13 for the Tigers (23-3, 11-0 Conference USA), who extended their winning streak in the conference to 53 games.

No. 7 Louisville 94, Providence 76

Terrence Williams had 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds as host Louisville overcame a shaky first half.

Edgar Sosa led the Cardinals (20-5, 11-2 Big East) with 18 points, Samardo Samuels added 17 and Earl Clark had 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Louisville moved into a three-way tie for second place in the conference with No. 4 Pittsburgh and No. 10 Marquette behind No. 1 Connecticut.

Jonathan Kale, Sharaud Curry and Weyinmi Efejuku had 15 points each for the Friars (16-10, 8-6).

No. 8 Wake Forest 87, Georgia Tech 69

At Winston-Salem, N.C., James Johnson had 24 points and 11 rebounds and No. 8 Wake Forest avenged its worst loss of the season.

Less than three weeks after the Yellow Jackets stunned the Demon Deacons for their only Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season, Wake Forest saw a 23-point lead cut to five before pulling away behind Johnson's dominance inside.

Jeff Teague added 15 points for Wake Forest (20-4, 7-4).

Georgia Tech (10-15, 1-11) has lost five straight and 10 of 11.

No. 15 Kansas 72, Iowa St. 55

Cole Aldrich had 22 points and 11 rebounds, helping host 15 Kansas extend the nation's longest home-winning streak to 38 games.

Sherron Collins added 22 points and six assists for the Jayhawks (21-5, 10-1 Big 12), who overcame 18 mostly sloppy turnovers to reach 10 conference wins for the 15th straight season.

Craig Brackens had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jamie Vanderbeken added 15 points for Iowa State (13-13, 2-9), which fell behind by 17 in the first half.

Wis.-Milwaukee 63, No. 21 Butler 60

Avery Smith had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and host Wisconsin-Milwaukee (15-11, 10-6 Horizon League) appeared to benefit from a clock malfunction in the closing seconds.

With 5.9 seconds left, Butler's Gordon Hayward passed the ball to Willie Veasley behind the baseline and the clock appeared to start prematurely. Veasley passed the ball to Zach Hahn who never got a shot off before time expired.

Officials looked at a replay, but said they couldn't determine if the clock started early and ruled the game was over. The Bulldogs (22-4, 13-3) have consecutive losses for the first time in more than three years.

No. 23 LSU 72, Arkansas 69

Marcus Thornton scored 28 points and made a key defensive play in the final minute to help visiting LSU rally past Arkansas.

The Tigers (22-4, 10-1 Southeastern Conference), in the Top 25 this week for the first time in more than two years, trailed by 18 points in the first half, but they used an 11-1 run in the final minutes to win their seventh straight.