Illinois guard Frank Williams, left, holds off Purdue's Willie Dean. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Rodney Smith had 17 points to lead six Purdue players scoring in double figures and the Boilermakers avoided their first 0-3 start in the Big Ten in 38 years with an 84-75 victory over No.9 Illinois on Wednesday night.

        Illinois (12-4, 1-2 Big Ten), which lost at Wisconsin on Saturday, held a one-point halftime lead. But Purdue (9-8, 1-2) scored the final four points of the first half and opened the second by scoring the first five to lead 45-44 and never trailed again.

        The Illini pulled to 51-50, but a 3-pointer by Willie Deane capped an 8-0 Purdue run and Darmetreis Kilgore hit a 3-pointer to open an 11-point lead with eight minutes remaining.

        Purdue built a 72-59 lead, but from there the game turned into a free throw shooting exhibition until the final minute.

        The Boilermakers were 35-for-46 from the line, and Illinois made 16 of its 23 free throws.

        Frank Williams finished with 23 points for Illinois, while Bradford had 13 and Robert Archibald 12.

        Austin Parkinson scored 13 points, Deane had 12, Maynard Lewis 11, and Kilgore and Joe Marshall each had 10 for the Boilermakers, who had lost four of their previous five games.

        ILLINOIS (12-4) — Harrington 4-10 0-0 11, Cook 2-8 1-3 5, Archibald 4-7 4-4 12, Bradford 5-9 0-0 13, Williams 8-18 4-6 23, Head 1-2 2-2 4, Ferguson 0-1 2-4 2, Howard 0-0 0-0 0, Powell 0-1 3-4 3, Smith 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-58 16-23 75.

        PURDUE (9-8) — Smith 4-7 7-8 17, Kilgore 2-6 5-6 10, Allison 3-3 3-8 9, Deane 4-7 2-5 12, Parkinson 2-5 9-9 13, Buscher 1-2 0-0 2, Ford 0-0 0-0 0, Lewis 4-8 2-2 11, Marshall 1-3 7-8 10, Garrity 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-41 35-46 84.

        Halftime—Illinois 41, Purdue 40. 3-Point goals—Illinois 9-23 (Bradford 3-5, Williams 3-7, Harrington 3-7, Head 0-1, Cook 0-3), Purdue 7-22 (Smith 2-3, Deane 2-5, Kilgore 1-3, Marshall 1-3, Lewis 1-5, Parkinson 0-3). Fouled out—Archibald, Harrington. Rebounds—Illinois 31 (Cook, Archibald 7), Purdue 28 (Smith 7). Assists—Illinois 17 (Bradford, Harrington 5), Purdue 11 (Allison 4). Total fouls—Illinois 29, Purdue 20. A—12,876.

        No.1 Kansas 96, Nebraska 57
       

        LAWRENCE, Kan. — Nick Collison had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Drew Gooden notched his seventh double-double in as many games for the Jayhawks. Gooden scored 16 points and added 12 rebounds to his NCAA-leading total.

        Kansas (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) hit Nebraska (7-6, 0-2) with a 25-4 run to open the game. The Jayhawks connected on their first six 3-point attempts and 11 of their first 13 shots overall.

        NEBRASKA (7-6) — Buckendahl 0-2 0-0 0, Turek 4-10 0-2 8, Cochran 0-3 0-0 0, Muhleisen 4-13 1-3 9, Clemmons 5-9 5-7 16, Thomas 1-3 0-0 2, Robinson 7-11 0-1 16, Boeker 0-0 0-0 0, Ford 0-2 0-0 0, Conklin 0-3 0-0 0, Simms 1-8 4-7 6, Bohac 0-1 0-0 0, McCarty 0-0 0-0 0, Heimos 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-65 10-20 57.

        KANSAS (13-1) — Gooden 6-13 4-7 16, Collison 8-11 4-8 20, Hinrich 5-10 0-0 13, Miles 1-5 1-1 3, Boschee 6-13 0-0 16, Harrison 0-0 0-0 0, Ballard 1-2 0-0 2, Langford 3-6 0-0 7, Nash 0-1 0-2 0, Carey 1-1 0-0 2, Simien 3-6 6-9 12, Lee 2-4 0-0 5, Zerbe 0-1 0-0 0, Kappelmann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-73 15-27 96.

        Halftime—Kansas 57, Nebraska 24. 3-Point goals— Nebraska 3-18 (Buckendahl 0-1, Cochran 0-2, Muhleisen 0-6, Clemmons 1-3, Robinson 2-4, Conklin 0-2), Kansas 9-18 (Boschee 4-8, Hinrich 3-5, Langford 1-1, Lee 1-2, Gooden 0-1, Miles 0-1). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Nebraska 35 (Muhleisen 6), Kansas 58 (Collison 13). Assists—Nebraska 6 (Muhleisen, Clemmons 2), Kansas 26 (Miles 12). Total fouls—Nebraska 21, Kansas 18. A— 16,300.

        No.3 Florida 104, Tennessee 100, OT
        KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Brett Nelson scored 20 points, including two key free throws and a 3-pointer in overtime, to help the Gators (13-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) extend their winning streak to 12 games.

        Jon Higgins tied it in overtime for the Vols (6-7, 1-1), but Nelson's fourth 3-pointer of the game put Florida ahead for good 99-96.

        FLORIDA (13-1) — Bonner 6-16 5-5 19, Haslem 4-11 3-5 11, Greene 0-1 0-0 0, Nelson 7-19 2-2 20, Hamilton 8-13 5-6 22, White 6-8 3-4 18, Halton 0-2 0-0 0, Lee 5-7 2-3 12, Colas 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 37-78 20-25 104.

        TENNESSEE (6-7) — Yarbrough 9-19 6-10 26, Haislip 9-14 1-2 20, Slay 5-15 10-17 20, Holden 4-7 1-2 12, Higgins 2-6 1-1 5, Crump 2-4 0-2 4, Wilborn 0-0 2-2 2, Stribling 0-0 0-0 0, Grindstaff 3-9 2-2 8, Baker 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 35-75 23-38 100.

        Halftime—Florida 47, Tennessee 43. End of Regulation—Florida 94, Tennessee 94. 3-Point goals—Florida 10-28 (Nelson 4-13, White 3-3, Bonner 2-8, Hamilton 1-3, Halton 0-1). Tennessee 7-17 (Holden 3-4, Yarbrough 2-5, Baker 1-1, Haislip 1-2, Slay 0-1, Higgins 0-1, Grindstaff 0-3). Fouled out—Haslem, Greene, Colas, Haislip, Higgins. Rebounds—Florida 43 (Bonner 10), Tennessee 50 (Slay 11). Assists—Florida 22 (Hamilton 10), Tennessee 21 (Higgins 7). Total fouls—Florida 29, Tennessee 21. A—16,756.

        No.4 Maryland 112, North Carolina 79
       

        COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Juan Dixon had 29 points as the Terrapins cruised to their most lopsided victory in their 79-year-old rivalry with the Tar Heels and scored the most points ever allowed by North Carolina.

        Maryland (12-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led by as many as 41 points and its margin of victory easily eclipsed its 25-point rout of North Carolina in February 1939.

        Jason Capel scored 27 points for the Tar Heels (5-7, 1-2), who narrowly avoided absorbing the most lopsided ACC defeat in school history. Down 102-61, North Carolina was in danger of eclipsing its dubious 35-point loss to Duke in 1964. North Carolina twice had allowed 110 points, to Kentucky in 1989 and to Florida State in 1992.
       

        NORTH CAROLINA (5-7) — Capel 10-19 2-2 27, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Bersticker 4-7 2-2 10, Manuel 1-4 1-1 3, Boone 3-5 0-0 8, Scott 2-7 0-0 6, Morrison 1-2 0-0 3, Holmes 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 4-8 0-2 8, Melendez 2-3 0-0 4, Lang 5-10 0-0 10. Totals 32-68 5-7 79.

        MARYLAND (12-2) — Mouton 8-14 0-0 17, Wilcox 6-13 4-6 16, Baxter 3-5 3-6 9, Dixon 11-18 2-2 29, Blake 4-8 1-2 12, Badu 0-0 0-0 0, McCall 0-1 0-0 0, Collins 3-5 0-0 7, Nicholas 2-3 0-0 5, Grinnon 1-2 0-0 3, Randle 4-4 1-1 9, Holden 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 44-76 11-17 112.

        Halftime—Maryland 57, N.Carolina 37. 3-Point goals— N.Carolina 10-22 (Capel 5-8, Boone 2-3, Scott 2-5, Morrison 1-2, Johnson 0-2, Williams 0-1, Manuel 0-1), Maryland 13-23 (Dixon 5-8, Blake 3-4, Mouton 1-2, Nicholas 1-2, Grinnon 1-2, Holden 1-1, Collins 1-3, McCall 0-1). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—N.Carolina 31 (Melendez 7), Maryland 43 (Blake 9). Assists—N.Carolina 24 (Capel, Scott 5), Maryland 32 (Blake 14). Technicals—N.Carolina bench. Total fouls—N.Carolina 14, Maryland 13. A— 14,500.

        No.13 Iowa 72, Northwestern 62
        IOWA CITY, Iowa — Reggie Evans scored 21 points and Luke Recker added 20 to lead the Hawkeyes. Evans also grabbed 11 rebounds for Iowa (13-4, 2-1 Big Ten), which won for the seventh time in eight games.

        Jitim Young had 16 points to lead Northwestern (8-5, 0-2).

        Iowa shot 60 percent but for the second straight game committed 22 turnovers, matching its season high.

        Northwestern shot only 39.2 percent, but was 9-of-21 from 3-point range to stay close. Winston Blake added 14 points for the Wildcats.

        NORTHWESTERN (8-5) — Blake 4-8 3-3 14, Hardy 1-7 2-4 4, Jennings 4-11 0-0 10, Long 0-0 2-2 2, Young 6-16 2-2 16, Vukusic 4-7 1-2 11, Burke 0-0 0-0 0, Drayton 1-2 1-5 3. Totals 20-51 11-18 60.

        IOWA (13-4) — Henderson 3-6 2-2 9, Evans 8-10 5-7 21, Reiner 0-0 0-0 0, Pierce 1-4 0-1 2, Recker 8-12 0-0 20, Leslie 2-4 0-0 4, Hogan 0-1 0-0 0, Worley 3-3 2-2 9, Boyd 0-1 0-0 0, Thompson 2-3 1-1 5, Sonderleiter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-45 10-13 70.

        Halftime—Iowa 36, Northwestern 25. 3-Point goals— Northwestern 9-21 (Blake 3-5, Jennings 2-3, Vukusic 2-5, Young 2-7, Hardy 0-1), Iowa 6-10 (Recker 4-4, Worley 1-1, Henderson 1-2, Hogan 0-1, Leslie 0-2). Fouled out— None. Rebounds-Northwestern 26 (Hardy 8), Iowa 28 (Evans 11). Assists-Northwestern 13 (Hardy, Drayton 5), Iowa 21 (Pierce 6). Total fouls-Northwestern 16, Iowa 21. A—15,500.

        No.14 Alabama 92, Vanderbilt 79
       

        TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Erwin Dudley scored a season-high 24 points and the Crimson Tide made 31 of 36 free throws in the second half to clinch the victory.

        Alabama (14-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) was 11-of-12 from the line over the final five minutes to overcome some hot 3-point shooting by Vanderbilt (10-5, 0-2), which was 8-of-17 from 3-point range in the second half. Reserve Sam Howard scored 22 points and was 4-of-6 from long range for the Commodores.

        Rod Grizzard of Alabama had 15 of his 19 points in the second half, making all nine of his attempts from the line. Terrance Meade added 16 points while Dudley's 11 rebounds keyed a 34-23 edge on the boards for the Tide.

        VANDERBILT (10-5) — Freije 3-7 3-4 10, Przybyszewski 3-9 0-0 7, Plavich 3-6 0-0 8, Lakey 1-2 0-0 2, Moore 6-10 3-4 18, Thornton 1-1 3-3 5, Holwerda 1-2 0-0 2, Coulibaly 0-0 0-0 0, Howard 8-11 2-2 22, Hundley 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 2-5 0-0 5. Totals 28-53 11-13 79.

        ALABAMA (14-2) — Dudley 6-12 12-15 24, Walker 2-4 2-3 6, Meade 6-11 2-4 16, Grizzard 5-12 9-9 19, Williams 2-5 4-4 9, Rambo 0-0 0-0 0, Stinnett 1-2 0-0 3, Smith 2-7 2-2 7, Pettway 1-1 6-6 8. Totals 25-54 37-43 92.

        Halftime—Alabama 37, Vanderbilt 34. 3-Point goals— Vanderbilt 12-28 (Howard 4-6, Moore 3-6, Plavich 2-5, Freije 1-2, Smith 1-3, Przybyszewski 1-6). Alabama 5-16 (Meade 2-6, Stinnett 1-2, Smith 1-3, Williams 1-3, Grizzard 0-2). Fouled out—Freije, Lakey. Rebounds—Vanderbilt 23 (Przybyszewski, Moore 3), Alabama 34 (Dudley 11). Assists—Vanderbilt 15 (Lakey 7), Alabama 15 (Williams 5). Total fouls—Vanderbilt 32, Alabama 15. A—9,367.

        No.16 Boston College 88, Villanova 81, OT
       

        VILLANOVA, Pa. — Troy Bell hit a floater in the lane with 6.5 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime and finished with 36 points for the Golden Eagles (13-2, 2-1 Big East).

        Villanova (9-3, 2-1) turned over the ball five times in overtime. All its losses this season have been in overtime.

        BOSTON COLLEGE (13-2) — Agbai 4-7 2-5 10, Walls 5-11 7-8 21, Doorenkamp 0-2 2-2 2, Bell 10-21 13-14 36, Sidney 5-9 2-3 14, Watson 0-2 0-0 0, Bryant 0-4 1-2 1, Ross 1-5 1-3 4. Totals 25-61 28-37 88.

        VILLANOVA (9-3) — Wright 5-12 9-11 19, Sullivan 2-2 2-5 6, Sales 5-10 4-4 14, Snowden 5-16 0-2 10, Buchanan 7-17 6-6 22, Bloch 1-1 0-0 3, Grace 0-0 0-0 0, Charles 0-1 0-2 0, Ruskey 0-0 0-0 0, Bryant 1-8 0-0 3, Austin 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 28-69 21-30 81.

        Halftime—Villanova 36, Boston College 35. End of regulation—Boston College 71, Villanova 71. 3-Point goals—Boston College 10-26 (Walls 4-8, Bell 3-10, Sidney 2-3, Ross 1-3, Bryant 0-2), Villanova 4-17 (Buchanan 2-6, Bloch 1-1, Bryant 1-7, Snowden 0-3). Fouled out— Wright, Sales. Rebounds—Boston College 35 (Agbai 7), Villvanoa 52 (Sullivan, Sales 11). Assists—Boston College 13 (Bell 6), Villanova 19 (Snowden 6). Total fouls—Boston College 22, Villanova 25. Technical—Villanova bench. A— 6,500.

        Iowa State 71, No.17 Missouri 67
       

        AMES, Iowa — Tyray Pearson scored a career-high 28 points for Iowa State (9-7, 1-1 Big 12) which tied a conference record with its 19th straight league win at home.

        Kareem Rush led Missouri (11-4, 1-1) with 29 points, but Clarence Gilbert did not score after the 4:41 mark in the first half and finished with 11 points — six below his season average.

        MISSOURI (11-4) — Rush 12-20 1-2 29, Paulding 2-5 2-2 7, Johnson 5-13 0-0 10, Stokes 0-1 0-0 0, Gilbert 3-14 2-2 11, Bryant 0-2 2-2 2, Gage 1-1 0-0 2, Kroenke 2-2 0-0 6, Echols 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 7-8 67.

        IOWA ST. (9-7) — Jefferson 2-4 2-3 6, Homan 0-1 0-0 0, Pearson 13-23 2-6 28, Sullivan 8-12 2-2 20, Power 5-12 4-4 15, Bynum 1-4 0-1 2, Morgan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-56 10-16 71.

        Halftime—Missouri 29, Iowa St. 26. 3-Point goals— Missouri 10-20 (Rush 4-8, Gilbert 3-9, Kroenke 2-2, Paulding 1-1), Iowa St. 3-7 (Sullivan 2-3, Power 1-3, Jefferson 0-1). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Missouri 32 (Johnson 10), Iowa St. 30 (Pearson 12). Assists—Missouri 8 (Paulding, Stokes 2), Iowa St. 12 (Jefferson, Power 3). Total fouls—Missouri 17, Iowa St. 11. A—9,850.

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