Markell Johnson racked up 28 points and Devon Daniels scored 25 as NC State ripped through No. 6 Duke in an 88-66 upset Wednesday night at Raleigh, N.C.
The Wolfpack (17-9, 8-7 ACC) withstood a second-half threat from Duke and then pulled away, picking up a much-needed quality victory to enhance their NCAA Tournament aspirations.
DJ Funderburk tacked on 21 points and nine rebounds for NC State.
A massive court storming followed the final horn as the Wolfpack knocked off one of their neighbors.
No. 11 Louisville 90, Syracuse 66
Jordan Nwora shook off back-to-back rough outings to score 19 points, and the Cardinals rolled to a much-needed victory over the visiting Orange.
Dwayne Sutton scored 16, Malik Williams (NYSE:WMB) had 14 points with 13 rebounds and Ryan McMahon totaled 13 points for the Cardinals (22-5, 13-3 ACC), who went 10 of 24 from 3-point range after going 9 for 51 from distance in losing their previous two games to Georgia Tech and Clemson.
In the mix for the ACC regular-season crown, Louisville showed more spirit and energy than it did in both losses last week. The Cardinals shot 51.6 percent in the second half and led by as many 29 to get back on track.
No. 12 Villanova 91, DePaul 71
Saddiq Bey scored 20 points and handed out seven assists, Justin Moore added 17 points and the Wildcats shot nearly 70 percent from 3-point range in routing the host Blue Demons in Chicago.
Collin Gillespie contributed 17 and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had 11 for the Wildcats, who improved to 20-6 overall and 9-4 in the Big East. It was their third win in a row and 20th straight victory over DePaul in the series.
Villanova tied a season-high with 18 made 3-pointers, which it also did on Nov. 21 against Middle Tennessee State, one shy of the school record. The Wildcats made 18 of their 26 tries from long distance for a season-high 69.2 percent.
Georgia 65, No. 13 Auburn 55
Led by 18 points from freshman Anthony Edwards, the Bulldogs upset the Tigers in Athens, Ga., handing Auburn back-to-back losses for only the second time this season.
The victory pushes Georgia's record back to .500 at 13-13 overall, though only 3-10 in the SEC. Auburn falls to 22-4 and 9-4. For Georgia, Sahvir Wheeler and Rayshaun Hammonds added 13 each, followed by Toumani Camara with 12.
J'Von McCormick (NYSE:MKC) scored 22 points and Samir Doughty 15 to lead Auburn, which played its second straight game without touted freshman Isaac Okoro due to a recent hamstring injury.
No. 16 Seton Hall 74, No. 21 Butler 72
Sandro Mamukelashvili laid in a basket off an inbound lob pass with 0.6 seconds remaining, capping the Pirates' comeback win over the Bulldogs in Newark, N.J.
Seton Hall (19-7, 11-3 Big East) came into the night with back-to-back losses. In the early going against Butler (19-7, 7-7), the Pirates appeared headed for another blow to their regular-season championship pursuit.
Instead, with the game tied at 72-72 and after a missed shot went out of bounds with two seconds to play, Mamukelashvili's aggressive back-cut to the rim and a precise lob from Quincy McKnight won it in regulation.
No. 22 Houston 76, Tulsa 43
In a second half featuring a flurry of technical fouls, the Cougars used a 16-0 run to put away the visiting Golden Hurricane.
Houston (21-6, 11-3 American Athletic Conference) extended a six-point halftime lead to double digits just moments out of the locker room when Caleb Mills scored the Cougars' first 19 points of the second half. Mills finished with 27 points.
His offensive eruption preceded a flaring of emotions. First, Tulsa (17-9, 9-4) lost coach Frank Haith, who was hit with a pair of technical fouls in a matter of seconds. Frustration boiled over for a Tulsa team that shot just 34.8 percent from the floor on the night, including 4 of 20 from 3-point range, and committed 16 turnovers.
--Field Level Media