By The Associated Press

Villanova's shortened roster gave such an accounting of itself against No. 7 Pittsburgh that even Wildcats coach Jay Wright was able to forget about his team's problems for a few minutes.

With staggered suspensions to 12 players for allegedly making unauthorized telephone calls allowing Villanova to dress just seven players Sunday, no one expected much against the Panthers.

But the Wildcats had the ball and a chance to win before Pittsburgh finally came away with a 56-54 victory.

"Everyone is disappointed, but all we had left was to play for pride," Wright said. "It really wasn't until late in the second half that I forgot about everything and got into the game."

That's when the Panthers (23-4, 13-3 Big East) allowed Villanova (15-14, 8-8) to stay close by missing seven straight free throws, five by senior point guard Brandin Knight.

"I knew it would be tough," Pitt coach Ben Howland said. "An adverse situation would probably inspire them. ... We made some mistakes, got a little cute and it backfired."

In other games involving ranked teams Sunday, it was: No. 6 Kansas 79, Missouri 74; North Carolina 82, No. 10 Duke 79; No. 12 Syracuse 83, Rutgers 74; Virginia 80, No. 13 Maryland 78 in OT; No. 14 Illinois 84, Minnesota 60; No. 19 Creighton 70, Wichita State 69; and No. 25 Georgia 60, South Carolina 55 in overtime.

Villanova scoring leaders Gary Buchanan and Ricky Wright, along with Andreas Bloch, Chris Charles, Jason Fraser, Lou Ruskey and Andrew Sullivan, watched in street clothes from the bench. Randy Foye, Marcus Austin, Allan Ray, Derrick Snowden and Curtis Sumpter suited up despite being among the 12 players affected.

"It was tough on all of us," Snowden said. "A lot of teams go through adversity. Hopefully we can learn from this."

Foye and Ray each had 15 points and Sumpter added 14 for Villanova, which has lost four straight.

"I just wanted to play for the upperclassmen," Sumpter said. "I felt bad for the way they had to end their careers."

Knight had 15 points and Jaron Brown added 14 for Pitt, which has won six in a row.

Knight missed two free throws and Sumpter got the rebound with 2.4 seconds left. Foye's inbounds pass then nearly forced Ray out of bounds. Ray caught it and threw wildly to Sumpter, who took a desperation shot after the buzzer.

No. 6 Kansas 79, Missouri 74

At Columbia, Mo., Aaron Miles and Kirk Hinrich hit long 3-pointers that barely beat the shot clock in the final 1:20 and Kansas (24-6, 14-2) wrapped up its second straight Big 12 title.

Hinrich and Nick Collison each had 20 points as Kansas denied Missouri its first unbeaten home schedule since 1993-94 and won in consecutive years at Missouri for the first time since 1992-93.

Rickey Paulding and Ricky Clemons each had 21 points for the Tigers (18-9, 9-7), 14-1 at home.

North Carolina 82, No. 10 Duke 79

At Chapel Hill, N.C., Rashad McCants scored 26 points and Raymond Felton added 18 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists as the Tar Heels (16-14, 6-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a six-game losing streak to their rival.

Dahntay Jones, who led Duke (21-6, 11-5) with 22 points, hit a 30-footer that would have tied the game just after the buzzer.

With 8:17 left and the score tied at 63, Felton was bloodied when he took an elbow on a follow shot by Jones. A shouting and shoving match involving North Carolina coach Matt Doherty, Blue Devils assistant coach Chris Collins and Duke reserve guard Andre Buckner ensued.

No. 12 Syracuse 83, Rutgers 74

At Syracuse, N.Y., freshman Carmelo Anthony had 30 points, 14 rebounds and six assists as the Orangemen (23-4, 13-3 Big East) completed their first unbeaten season in the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse went 17-0 in the building that opened in 1980. The game, which was not televised locally, attracted a Carrier Dome-record crowd of 33,071, also an NCAA on-campus record.

Kareem Wright had 20 points for Rutgers (12-16, 4-12).

Virginia 80, No. 13 Maryland 78, OT

At Charlottesville, Va., Travis Watson had 26 points and 15 rebounds in what may have been his last home game at Virginia.

Virginia (15-14, 6-10 ACC) snapped a seven-game losing streak in dramatic fashion. Maryland (19-8, 11-5) had a chance to tie with 3.7 seconds left, but Steve Blake's desperate heave from the corner was off the mark and Ryan Randle's rebound and putback bounced on the rim before dropping off.

Drew Nicholas had 27 points for Maryland.

No. 14 Illinois 84, Minnesota 60

At Champaign, Ill., Brian Cook had 22 points for the Illini and finished as the Big Ten's leading scorer.

Illinois (21-6, 11-5) won its 17th straight home game and beat Minnesota (16-11, 8-8) for the 10th consecutive time. Rick Rickert and Jerry Holman each had 12 points for the Gophers.

No. 19 Creighton 70, Wichita St. 69

At St. Louis, Kyle Korver had 19 points and the Bluejays escaped with a one-point win for the second straight day in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

Second-seeded Creighton (28-4) beat Indiana State 57-56 in the quarterfinals on Saturday and will meet top-seeded Southern Illinois for the championship Monday night.

Randy Burns had 21 points for Wichita State (18-11).

No. 25 Georgia 60, South Carolina 55, OT

At Columbia, S.C., Jarvis Hayes and Steve Thomas combined for all 10 of Georgia's points in overtime as Bulldogs (19-8, 11-5 Southeastern Conference) won for the second in three games since the program was charged by a former player with providing extra benefits and academic improprieties.

Hayes had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Thomas had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Warren had 14 points for the Gamecocks (12-15, 5-11).