Wichita State handed 1st defeat
New Mexico knocked one more team off the list of unbeatens.
The Lobos handed Wichita State its first loss of the season, beating the eighth-ranked Shockers 71-68 on Friday night in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Classic.
"It's a road game and it's a huge victory," said Jamal Smith, a Las Vegas native who had 13 points and five assists for the Lobos (9-2).
The Shockers weren't at full strength as forward P.J. Couisnard, the second-leading scorer (12.0 ppg), missed the game because of a stomach virus. It ended a streak of 31 straight starts for the junior, who went to the arena with the team.
No. 2 North Carolina 69, Saint Louis 48Tyler Hansbrough had 15 points and matched his career high with 13 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels (10-1), who pulled away from a one-point halftime lead. It was North Carolina's first game in St. Louis since winning the NCAA title here in 2005.
No. 13 Texas A&M 87, Auburn 58Acie Law scored 21 points and the Aggies (10-2) shot 57 percent from the field in their third straight blowout win since consecutive losses in their only previous road games.
No. 16 Butler 76, Evansville 65A.J. Graves scored 22 points and Mike Green added 16 for the Bulldogs (12-1) in their 15th straight home win. Butler was 6-1 against in-state schools this season, including its first sweep of Notre Dame, Indiana and Purdue since 1948-49. The only loss was at Indiana State.
No. 17 Washington 80, Weber St. 51Freshman Spencer Hawes matched his career high with 23 points and Jon Brockman had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Huskies (10-1), who won their 27th consecutive nonconference home game dating to 2003.
No. 19 Marquette 77, Morgan St. 57Jerel McNeal had a career-high 25 points and matched his career high with seven assists for the Golden Eagles (12-2).
No. 23 Syracuse 85, Hofstra 60Demetris Nichols had 20 points for the Orange (10-3), who went 33-for-40 from the free-throw line, including making 19 straight at one point.No. 25 Nevada 73, Akron 71Nick Fazekas had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolf Pack (10-1), who won their ninth straight road game. Nevada tied the best start in school history, set in 1978-79 and matched last season.
