College Top 25 Capsules: No. 2 Stanford dominant against Washington State

STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike felt a tingling sensation in her right elbow after colliding with another player early in the first half against Washington State.

The Pac-10's leading scorer went to the bench twice to get treatment, came back wearing a protective rubber sleeve on her elbow then proceeded to shred whatever defense the Cougars tried to throw at her.

Ogwumike had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Kayla Pedersen added 13 points and 10 rebounds and the second-ranked Cardinal rolled to an 80-43 victory Thursday night.

"I just hit arms with somebody," Ogwumike said. "At first it was just kind of tingly but then (team trainer Tomoo Yamada) got a little bit of a pad on it and it helped me out."

Keeping Ogwumike healthy and on the court was key for Stanford (14-1, 4-0 Pac-10), which lost guard Jeanette Pohlen to a right ankle injury early in the second half.

With J.J. Hones out with a sore left knee, the injury to Pohlen thinned Stanford's ranks though it didn't slow the Cardinal down against the smaller, slower Cougars (5-11, 0-5).

"This was a pretty physical game," Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said. "We obviously want to have everyone stay healthy. In the meantime other people have to be ready."

Ogwumike, who was selected Pac-10 Player of the Week on Monday, has been ready all season.

The conference's leading scorer recorded her sixth double-double of the season and went 11 of 15 from the field while topping the 20-point mark for the fourth straight game and the ninth time this season.

"It looks like she's living in the gym here at Stanford," Washington State coach June Daugherty said. "She's very hard to guard. We tried to rotate four different frontline players to her. She's somebody that just does not want to be denied."

Jayne Appel added 14 points, nine rebounds and matched her career-high with six blocks for Stanford, which extended its winning streak at Maples Pavilion to 37 games.

Pedersen, who is second in the Pac-10 scoring, had her fourth double-double in five games while helping the Cardinal outrebound the Cougars 58-35. Pedersen showed her athleticism late in the first half when she grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled the length of the court and scored on a layup while being fouled.

Her free throw gave Stanford a 40-16 lead with 2:56 to play and she later added a 17-foot jumper to cap a 22-4 run.

Pohlen and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude were running the offense for the Cardinal when Pohlen went down with 17:26 remaining to play. She had to be carried off the court and spent the rest of the game at the end of Stanford's bench, finishing with five points and three assists.

Gold-Onwude took over, scoring all of her 11 points in the second half while grabbing seven rebounds.

That was also key for Stanford, which hopes to get Hones back in the lineup next week when the team goes on the road to face Oregon State and Oregon.

KiKi Moore scored 14 points to lead Washington State, which has never defeated the Cardinal in 49 games in a series dating to 1983.

Washington State scored the first six points of the second half but got no closer than 20 points the rest of the game.

The Cougars, 0-25 on the road against Stanford, shot 18.4 percent from the field in the first half and went just 4 of 28 from 3-point range while losing their sixth straight.

Bjorklund comes alive, helps No. 4 Vols win 66-64

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Angie Bjorklund missed her first seven shots, Shekinna Stricklen had more turnovers than baskets, and 6-foot-6 center Kelley Cain spent considerable time on the bench with a hip injury.

On a night when just about everything went wrong for No. 4 Tennessee, the Lady Vols found a way to win.

Bjorklund drained two huge 3-pointers late, then made a reverse layup with 2.3 seconds remaining to lift Tennessee to a 66-64 victory over Florida on Thursday.

"That's how you know that she is a champion is that she had a tough night, yet when her team needed her to make big plays, she hit those 3s and that tough finish at the end," Gators coach Amanda Butler said. "I still don't know how she got that shot off. It was maybe a little bit the grace of God, I don't know. It was a tough play, but that's the kind of plays you expect a player like her to make."

The Lady Vols (15-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) overcame a season-high 25 turnovers, extended their winning streak to six games and won for the 39th time in 42 meetings with Florida.

This one was a come-from-behind performance.

The Gators (9-8, 2-2) were up 50-45 with about 9 minutes to play, then Bjorklund got hot and Cain returned from an injury.

Bjorklund hit two 3s that kept it close, Cain followed a few minutes later with three baskets in the lane and then Bjorklund put Tennessee ahead for good with her biggest bucket of the season. The play, called "Gator," was supposed to have the ball sent inside.

Instead, Florida double-teamed Glory Johnson and Bjorklund made a backdoor cut. She got the ball along the baseline, dribbled and banked it home.

"It's one of those situations where the offense breaks down, you've got to create," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "That was the most creative shot of the night for her."

"Of my career," Bjorklund added.

Bjorklund, the team's leading scorer, finished 3 of 11 from the field and tied a season low with eight points.

"I'm definitely a shooter," she said. "I don't shoot too many layups. I was glad that one went in."

Cain dominated early and late, scoring the first three baskets of the game and then hitting three more big ones down the stretch. She left the game late in the first half after falling on her right hip, but returned after icing and stretching it.

"I know my team needed me," Cain said. "I just felt like I would have been leaving my team hanging if I had to sit this one out, so I had to suck it up and do it for my team."

Florida had a final chance, but Lonnika Thompson's 3-pointer clanged off the rim.

"I think everybody in the gym thought we were going to be on ESPN tonight by hitting that buzzer-beater and pulling the upset off," Butler said.

Steffi Sorensen led the Gators with 12 points, all from behind the arc. Florida made nine 3-pointers, but got outrebounded 46-24. The Lady Vols needed every one of them to overcome all those turnovers. Tennessee finished with just three steals and no blocks.

"Obviously, Florida outplayed us the majority of the game," Summitt said. "I don't know why, lack of leadership, lack of ownership. When the people you count on to make shots don't have the composure, don't make shots, then we get into the little panic mode, which I think we did."

-- Mark Long

Prahalis leads No. 5 Ohio State past Illinois

COLUMBUS, Ohio — With Illinois sandwiching players around Jantel Lavender every time she touched the ball, No. 5 Ohio State had to find another way to score.

The Buckeyes’ guards were up to the task.

Samantha Prahalis scored 24 points and Maria Moeller came off the bench to hit two critical 3-pointers, pushing the Buckeyes past Illinois 72-61 on Thursday night.

The teams had met just 2½ weeks earlier with Ohio State rolling over the homestanding Illini 76-47 as the 6-foot-4 Lavender, already a two-time Big Ten player of the year, powered her way to 31 points.

"The first game we tried to play one-on-one coverage on Jantel — and she’s All-American," said Illinois coach Jolette Law. "We tried to double up a little bit more (tonight), tried to make her think a little bit more. We wanted other people to beat us."

And they did. The Illini held Lavender, averaging 22 points, to just 12 on 3-of-8 shooting from the field. But the rest of the Buckeyes (18-1, 6-0 Big Ten) hit 9 of 18 3-point attempts and almost 50 percent from the field overall.

"They were packing the lane in," Lavender said. "I saw early opportunities for the guards and the wings to shoot 3-point shots. I saw the double-teams coming early and I was just trying to kick it back out."

Prahalis, the reigning player of the week in the Big Ten, hit 9 of 14 shots from the field, including 2 of 3 from behind the arc, and added five assists and five steals.

"Right now I feel good when I shoot," she said. "It’s just going in."

Moeller is a senior who lost her starting job when the highly recruited, high-energy Prahalis came to campus. She was perfect on both of her 3-point attempts and also both free throws, plus had two assists and two rebounds in 15 minutes.

"I saw my opportunity today," she said. "I thought I would take advantage of it."

Coach Jim Foster said he expected Moeller as much.

"She’s done it for four years," he said. "I don’t know why people are always surprised when she does it. ... We’re not surprised."

Karisma Penn scored 21 points, Whitney Toone 12 and Lydia McCully 10 for the Illini (11-5, 3-3).

The Illini’s Jenna Smith, 12th in the nation in scoring at 20.5 points a game and 10th in rebounds with 11.4, played with a strained left hamstring. She finished with five points and seven rebounds.

Illinois trailed by 17 points in the first half but got as close as three on two occasions in the second half and never buckled. The Illini scored 12 of the first 15 points after the break to cut their deficit to 40-37 with 16 minutes left.

With the Buckeyes leading 42-39, Tayler Hill hit a foul shot, Prahalis made a fast-break pull-up from 12 feet, and Lavender banked in a fallaway while being fouled, converting the three-point play to make it 48-39.

After Illinois regrouped to cut the lead to 50-44 on McCully’s 3-pointer from the left corner, Moeller came in to make 3-pointers on the Buckeyes’ next two possessions to push the lead back to 56-44.

"Moeller knocked down some big shots in the second half," Law said.

Toone scored eight of Illinois’ 11 points over one span, her 10-foot jumper with 3:55 left keeping her team within reach at 63-57.

But then Prahalis hit a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left to make it 70-59 and give the Buckeyes their 10th win in a row.

"We had to shoot more from the perimeter and we did a very good job of it," Foster said. "Then at the end, when it loosened up a little bit inside, we’re pounding the ball inside and getting some good results."

-- Rusty Miller

Vanderbilt sends No. 6 Georgia to 1st loss, 66-44

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Playing back on their home court, Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb made sure her shorthanded Commodores didn’t blow yet another lead.

Tiffany Clarke scored 14 points and Vanderbilt handed No. 6 Georgia its first loss of the season, a 66-44 victory Thursday night even with junior point guard Jence Rhoads sidelined with a broken hand.

Vanderbilt (13-4, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) snapped a two-game road skid in SEC games to avoid its worst start to league play since 1991-92. The Commodores, who visit No. 4 Tennessee on Sunday, beat the Lady Bulldogs for the sixth time in seven meetings.

The Commodores had blown leads the past two games, and Balcomb kept calling timeouts as they nursed a lead against Georgia.

"I’ve never had a team I had to do that, but I’ve learned the past two games. I called timeouts when we were up for them not to relax on defense and to stay focused on what our game plan was and to execute that with the effort. We had a tendency to relax when we had leads," Balcomb said.

Not this time, even though this was the Commodores’ first game since Rhoads broke her hand Jan. 10 in a loss at Kentucky, forcing Balcomb to move Merideth Marsh to the point with freshmen Gabby Smith and Elan Brown playing more. Rhoads had started 37 straight games and was second in the SEC in assists.

"I’m sure we shocked a lot of people," Vandy senior Jessica Mooney said after holding Ashley Houts to four points. "We weren’t surprised. We’ve had a lot of adversity this year with a lot of players going down. We stepped it up. We wanted that game partly for Jence to let her know all the weight’s not on her shoulders."

Georgia (16-1, 3-1) came in with the fourth-best winning streak in school history. Senior Angel Robinson picked up her third foul early in the second half and finished with just nine points. Jasmine James led Georgia with 10 points.

Coach Andy Landers wasn’t happy.

"Turned it over, didn’t rebound it very well and then just made some fundamental mistakes defensively. But then you’re not going to win many games missing the open shots that we missed early in this game and not getting it inside and trying to go to work," Landers said.

The Lady Bulldogs came in with the nation’s fourth-best defense, holding opponents to 50.1 points and a mere 32.7 shooting percentage. They gave up a season-high in both to Vanderbilt, which just fell out of the Top 25 on Monday after double-digit losses at Mississippi State and Kentucky.

The Commodores shot 46.3 percent and outrebounded Georgia 39-24, helping them get 15 second-chance points.

"If you don’t bring it, and when I say bring it I mean the whole package, if you’re not going to guard people, rebound, make hustle plays in this league on the road, you’re not going to win," Landers said.

Marsh and Smith each scored 12 points for Vanderbilt, Brown added 11 and Mooney had 10.

Georgia led only once on James’ 3-pointer less than 2 minutes in. Mooney drove to the basket for a layup, and Clarke hit two free throws that started a 9-2 spurt for the Commodores.

The Commodores led 31-27 at halftime, a lead that could have been bigger if not for two shot clock violations inside the final 2 minutes. Hannah Tuomi picked up her third foul and sent Houts to the line for two free throws in a play officials reviewed courtside even as the Commodores tried to head into the locker room. Houts hit the first but missed the second.

Mooney got a steal to open the second half, and Clarke scored. Smith hit a jumper and scored again. Clarke hit four straight free throws, then Lauren Lueders hit a 3 that pushed Vanderbilt’s lead to 44-33 with 16:33 to go.

Porsha Phillips scored to pull Georgia to 46-40 with 10:53 remaining. Then Brown hit a jumper that started a 16-0 run as the Commodores put the game away. They led 62-40 by the time Jasmine James ended Georgia’s drought with two free throws with 4:44 to go.

Georgia hit only one field goal in that stretch with just over a minute left.

-- Teresa M. Walker

No. 7 Duke holds off No. 25 Miami, 69-62

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Being the last unbeaten team in Atlantic Coast Conference play wasn't something Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie was willing to enjoy.

And nearly knocking off the nation's No. 7 team wasn't enough to make Miami coach Katie Meier happy, either.

Reserve Krystal Thomas had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Duke remained perfect in the ACC by beating No. 25 Miami 69-62 on Thursday night. The win, combined with losses by North Carolina and Boston College, left the Blue Devils as the last no-loss team in the conference race.

"There's absolutely no significance until we create that for ourselves at the end," McCallie said. "But what's nice is you've just got to love every game. ... If where we want to be at the end, there's significance in that, but that's a long way away."

Jasmine Thomas was only 4 of 19 from the field but scored 16 points for Duke (15-2, 3-0), which got a three-point play from Krystal Thomas with 2:06 left to take a seven-point lead. Karima Christmas added 12 points and Bridgette Mitchell scored 10 for the Blue Devils.

Shenise Johnson finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Miami (13-3, 1-1), which was bidding to knock off a top 10 team for the first time since 1991 and was playing as a nationally ranked team for the first time since February 2004. Morgan Stroman scored 15 points for the Hurricanes, while ACC scoring leader Riquna Williams was held to 10 points on 4-of-23 shooting.

In recent years, coming close would have been reason for Miami to party, especially considering the Hurricanes have never finished better than 6-8 in ACC play. Not this time, Meier said.

"We've changed. It's different here," Meier said. "We're not almost anymore."

Added Johnson: "It's not good enough."

The Hurricanes led for most of the first half and got within 63-60 on Stroman's layup with 55 seconds to play, but no closer in the final minute and finished shooting only 33 percent. Miami fell to 0-7 all-time against Duke, Meier's alma mater.

"We just take every game with the same mindset," Christmas said. "Everybody's going to be good. Everybody's going to try to challenge us and make it a game. You just have to grind it out 'til the end."

That's what Duke did, thanks largely to its defense.

Williams came in averaging 22.4 points per game, then opened Thursday by making three of her first six shots to help stake the Hurricanes to an early lead.

And then Duke did what most Miami opponents haven't — cool her off. Williams missed 12 straight shots over the next 21 minutes.

"We got the shots, but Duke did a great job of keeping us from scoring, not shooting," Meier said. "I've got to give their defensive schemes a lot of credit for that."

Still, the Hurricanes found a way to stay with Duke. Jasmine Thomas' 3-pointer with 11½ minutes left gave the Blue Devils a 48-39 lead, only to have Miami immediately answer with seven straight points.

Stroman's layup with 8:34 left got Miami within 49-48, but Duke held on to the lead the rest of the way, with Krystal Thomas' putback and free throw pushing the lead to 62-55.

"I think that they had a hard time matching up with her," McCallie said.

Duke led for only 2:26 of the first half, yet took a 28-26 halftime lead on Christmas' tiebreaking basket with 10 seconds remaining.

Miami led by as many as nine points in the opening minutes, an 11-2 run over 5:13 putting the Hurricanes up 20-11 with 8:21 remaining before halftime. But the Hurricanes missed 11 of their final 14 shots of the half — their downturn starting when Williams went ice cold — and that opened the door for Duke to take the lead with a 17-6 run.

-- Tim Reynolds

Biggs leads Hokies to 79-64 upset of No. 10 Heels

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Lindsay Biggs scored 19 points to lead a balanced offense, and Virginia Tech surprised No. 10 North Carolina 79-64 on Thursday night for its first win over the Tar Heels in more than 25 years.

Brittany Gordon added 17 points and seven rebounds for Virginia Tech (11-5, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which had lost the last nine in the series dating to Dec. 1, 1984. It was also the first time the Hokies had beaten longtime North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell.

"It feels great," said Utahya Drye, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. "I've always wanted to beat Carolina. I'm so proud of my team. They gave me, Lindsay and Lakeisha (Logan) a great win in our senior season. I'm at a loss for words right now."

Chay Shegog scored 13 points off the bench for North Carolina (13-3, 1-1), but the story was more about who didn't produce for the Tar Heels. Leading scorer Italee Lucas had nine points on 3-of-13 shooting, and Cetera DeGraffenreid was held to five points on 1-of-11.

The Tar Heels shot only 33 percent (24 for 72) from the field, including 4 for 17 on 3-pointers, and 12 for 24 on free throws. They also committed 23 turnovers.

Virginia Tech, which shot 49 percent (33 for 67), was coming off a 66-63 loss to Wake Forest, and for a while things didn't look like they were going to go any better.

She'la White hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first couple of minutes and North Carolina extended its early lead to 16-8 before Virginia Tech called a timeout. It seemed to settle the Hokies, who went on an 11-1 run highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Biggs and a jumper by the 5-foot-11 guard that gave the Hokies the lead.

Virginia Tech managed to hang onto a 35-31 lead at halftime, then scored the first nine points after the break. Gordon scored on a pair of baskets inside off assists by Nikki Davis.

The lead swelled to 64-41 on a basket by Drye with 8:20 remaining, forcing Hatchell to call a timeout. North Carolina ripped off a 10-0 run of its own, and closed to 71-61 with 2:23 left on a layup by DeGraffenreid.

That was as close as North Carolina got.

"You have to expect runs with North Carolina, you know, because it's North Carolina," said Davis, who finished with a career-high 11 assists. "You have to expect things like that, but we weathered the storm. We knew it was coming, but we had to be prepared for it."

Fenyn and Drye scored on back-to-back layups, and Davis made a pair of free throws to help seal the Hokies' first win over a ranked team since beating Boston College 67-62 on Jan. 8, 2006. It was also their first win over a top-10 team since beating Duke on Nov. 15, 1982.

"It hit me with like, a minute to go," Biggs said. "I looked up and I was like, 'Wow, we're about to win this game.' I don't know when it hit everyone else, but it was definitely exciting."

No. 16 Florida State starts new streak at Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. — Courtney Ward thought Florida State had something to prove, especially after its disappointing performance last time out.

The 16th-ranked Seminoles not only lost a game at Miami, but saw the end of a 17-game road winning streak that lasted nearly two years.

"I think the lineup that came out tonight said ‘We’ve got to put them away early and prove we’re one of the best teams in the ACC,"’ Ward said.

Florida State certainly did that with an 80-50 victory over Clemson on Thursday night.

Jacinta Monroe scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Ward had three 3-pointers for 11 points and the Seminoles (15-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated Clemson for the 14th time in 15 meetings.

Monroe and her teammates took pride in the streak, which helped them share an ACC regular-season title with Maryland in 2009.

"At the same time, we knew were weren’t playing the basketball that we could and we suffered from that at Miami," Monroe said. "The mood after that was disappointment and motivation at the same time."

Monroe and Ward said practices leading up to the Clemson trip were focused and intense.

"When you lose basketball games, I think sometimes the coach gets more attention" from players, Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "I think we came back very humble, very focused and understanding that any team can beat you on any given night."

The Seminoles quickly ensured that wouldn’t happen for a second straight road game.

The 6-foot-5 Monroe scored Florida State’s first two baskets during a 16-2 run over the first 5 minutes that all but put Clemson away. Monroe continued hurting the Tigers underneath as the Seminoles continued to stretch the lead.

They wasted little time in getting a new streak started, connecting on seven of their first nine shots for a commanding lead with less than 6 minutes gone.

By the time Monroe scored her third basket, Florida State was up by 14 points and cruising.

April Parker scored the first basket of the second half to cut Florida State’s lead to 33-20. But then the Seminoles made seven of 10 shots and all eight free throws over the next 8 minutes to go up 57-34.

Florida State’s lead eventually grew to 33 points in the final minutes.

For Clemson (9-10, 0-3), it was their sixth straight defeat this season and the 40th consecutive loss to a ranked opponent.

Shaniqua Pauldo led the Tigers with 21 points.

The loss was Clemson’s latest disappointing effort against a ranked ACC opponent. The Tigers had already lost to No. 7 Duke and No. 21 Georgia Tech in their previous two games. They head next to No. 12 North Carolina, a team they haven’t beaten since 2001.

The Tigers have not started 0-3 in the ACC since 1986-87.

Fifth-year coach Cristy McKinney saw a spirited team at practices this week and expected a stronger effort. She worries the lopsided losses — Clemson’s five defeats to ranked opponents this season have been by an average margin of more than 24 points — might demoralize her players with about two months left in the regular season.

"I don’t want it to break us. I’ve said that from day one," McKinney said. "Somehow they have to come through this stretch still intact, still confident."

Clemson’s top scorer, Lele Hardy, continued her recent struggles from the field. She was just 16 of 82 over her past four games. The senior missed her first six shots in this one before hitting two baskets.

Hardy ended with seven points on 3-of-13 shooting and had 12 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute.

-- Pete Iacobelli

Wurtz leads Badgers past No. 20 Spartans 48-45

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone saw a different game than Michigan State counterpart Suzy Merchant.

Stone could barely contain her excitement after the Badgers turned up the defense to rally from a 14-point deficit in the second half for a 48-45 win over the 20th-ranked Spartans on Thursday night.

Merchant, on the other hand, described the loss as her team's lowest point.

"What a great game against a very, very good opponent," Stone said. "Defense is what we've been hanging our hat on. And trust is what put us in position to win."

Reserve Taylor Wurtz had 16 points, including the game-winning layup, for the Badgers (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten), who allowed just one basket and four points over the final 12:15.

Part of that turnaround was what Wisconsin did. Equally important was what Michigan State didn't.

"We're a team that isn't responding," Merchant said of the Spartans (11-6, 2-4). "No one wants to put the team on her back and lead. If they do, no one is listening or following. We're going to make major changes."

The game had a major change after Michigan State's 12-2 run produced a 39-25 lead. Suddenly, the Badgers began fighting for every loose ball, while the Spartans became spectators.

Teah Gant scored all 10 of her points in the second half and made a game-saving deflection, while Alyssa Karel also finished with 10 points after a 2-for-10 start from the field.

"We really focused in as a team," Gant said. "In the first 20 minutes, we were playing too much one-on-one."

The one bright spot for the Spartans was 6-foot-9 center Allyssa DeHaan, who had 12 points, including two 3-pointers, and four blocked shots. But she was invisible down the stretch.

"I'm devastated," DeHaan said after the Spartans' fourth straight loss and second in a row at home. "We have to fix something. We're a bunch of talkers. But we don't have that one solid rock."

DeHaan was the only Michigan State player with more than six points.

"There are always ebbs and flows, but four points in 12 minutes is embarrassing," Merchant said. "It was a situation where nobody wanted the ball and nobody wanted to stop the bleeding."

The Badgers weren't much better but did hit their shots when they needed to, including Wurtz's layup on a pass from Ashley Thomas with 52 seconds left.

"Time was running out, and I saw an open lane," said Wurtz, coming off a 25-point game against Michigan.

The much-taller Spartans had a 45-37 edge on the boards but couldn't produce more points than rebounds. They also had 16 turnovers.

"It was the same players and the same offense we were running in the first half," Merchant said. "We didn't get much production off the bench, and our starters were negligent. One game they have the fire going. Then, they look like they've never played before."

Ardossi leads Georgia Tech past Wake Forest

ATLANTA — It's taken four years, but Brigitte Ardossi is now doing the big things as well as the little ones for Georgia Tech.

Men's Top 25

No. 9 Tennessee beats Auburn 81-55

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl expected his Volunteers to follow up a big win with a slow start. That’s why he issued a warning to his starting lineup.

"I anticipated that our energy would not be where it was for Kansas, and there’s no excuse for that," he said. "So I had to get after them and make sure that some of my starters understood that if they did not step up physically they wouldn’t be playing."

Starting center Wayne Chism heeded the warning and had 12 points, 12 rebounds and six steals as No. 9 Tennessee shook off the slow start to beat Auburn 81-55 on Thursday night.

Bobby Maze and J.P. Prince both had 14 points for the Volunteers, while Scotty Hopson chipped in 11 and Kenny Hall 10.

Through the first half, Tennessee (13-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) looked sluggish following its 76-68 win over then top-ranked Kansas on Sunday. That’s when Chism took over, fighting for rebounds and steals.

"We took their hit and we kept going," Chism said. "I said, ‘Let’s pick it up.’ So we picked it up, got a couple of stops, a couple of big rebounds, made a couple of big shots ... and we ran on from there."

Pearl and Chism both remembered the last time the Vols upset a No. 1 team. They suffered a letdown loss to Vanderbilt three days after beating Memphis on Feb. 23, 2008. And after grabbing road wins at South Carolina and Florida last season to clinch the SEC East Division title, the Vols lost at home to Alabama to wrap up the regular season.

"I thought Auburn brought great energy, great effort and intensity at the start of the game. We didn’t have the same energy," Pearl said. "I told the team that if that was the case — and human nature said it could be the case — let’s not make it worse."

The teams were tied at 42 with 18:19 left when Maze hit a jumper in the lane to launch an 11-1 run that seemed to knock off the rust. The Vols started taking advantage inside, finishing with 48 points in the paint compared to the Tigers’ 12.

"We got nothing from our inside game, I mean zero," Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said. "We were kind of forced at that point to go out on the perimeter, and we shot the ball so poorly in the second half."

Renaldo Woolridge hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Tennessee a 53-43 lead with 13:46 left to help ice the Tigers, who have lost 10 straight games against Top Ten teams and six straight meetings with Tennessee in Knoxville.

DeWayne Reed had 19 points and Frankie Sullivan added 14 for Auburn (9-8, 0-2). Lucas Hargrove hit his first four shots in the first half for 10 points but didn’t score again.

The Tigers entered the game shooting 31.9 percent from behind the arc but relied on their perimeter shooting to build an early lead, going was 10 of 24 from 3-point range before halftime.

Auburn’s fouls began piling up early though, and 10 Tennessee free throws contributed to a 16-0 run late in the first half. The Vols led 38-37 at halftime.

Tennessee shot a season-high 60.8 percent from the field while Auburn managed only 30.4 percent.

"The first half we were moving the ball as a team," Sullivan said. "Everybody was making the extra pass and we had wide-open shots. Second half — you can go back and watch the game — we took poor shots."

-- Beth Rucker

WASHINGTON — Georgetown sophomore guard Jason Clark wasn’t a major part of Seton Hall’s scouting report before Thursday night’s game. The Pirates certainly knew about him after it.

Clark scored a career-high 20 points, made all four of his 3-point shots and his defense helped shut down Seton Hall’s top scorer in the 11th-ranked Hoyas’ 85-73 victory.

His backcourtmates also had big games, with Chris Wright scoring 21 points and Austin Freeman adding 16. However, it was Clark who made the biggest impression on Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez.

"We knew Austin Freeman was capable and Chris Wright’s a good player," Gonzalez said. "But Jason Clark surprised us. He had an incredible night."

It was a big turnaround for Clark, who was held scoreless in the Hoyas’ 72-69 win against then-No. 13 Connecticut on Saturday.

"I don’t know where it came from," Clark said after his scoring outburst. "It was just our good offense that we ran, I got wide-open shots."

Clark and Georgetown (13-2, 4-1 Big East) excelled in two main areas Thursday — offensive accuracy and defensive pressure. Clark’s 5-of-6 shooting was part of a 68.2 percent performance by the Hoyas. That is the best mark ever against a Big East opponent and the second-best overall in six seasons under coach John Thompson III.

Clark was also at the forefront of a defensive effort that neutralized Jeremy Hazell of Seton Hall (10-6, 1-4) and had nine first-half steals, many leading to layups.

"It’s fun to create offense off your defense," Wright said.

Hazell, who entered as the Big East’s second-leading scorer at 23.3 points per game, led the Pirates with 17 points but was held in check for most of the game. He had eight points in the final minute, well after the outcome had been decided.

He opened the game’s scoring with a 3-pointer before being shut down the rest of the half, held to five points on 2-of-5 shooting. He had a harder time the first 19 minutes of the second half and ended up 6 of 14 from the field, 3 of 9 on 3-pointers.

"He got frustrated, basically," Gonzalez said.

The Hoyas used a 15-0 run over a 4-minute stretch to take a 21-7 lead with 11½ minutes left in the first half. Wright capped the run with two straight steals he converted into fast-break layups, part of Georgetown’s 22 fast-break points in the game.

Three-pointers by Clark and Hollis Thompson pushed the margin to 29-12 with 8½ minutes left and the Hoyas led 44-28 at halftime.

Georgetown took its largest lead of the game, 19 points, with 13 minutes left to play. Then Seton Hall made its move.

The Pirates scored the next 10 points, helped by a defensive press and some sloppy Georgetown play. Seton Hall seemed to figure out the Hoyas’ defense — nearly all the Pirates’ points in the second half came on layups or free throws — and Georgetown’s offense went cold for the only time all game. The run coincided with the start of a 6-minute stretch when the Hoyas did not make a field goal.

The Pirates cut the lead to 61-54 before Georgetown came out of the slump. After a defensive rebound, Greg Monroe threw a long pass to a wide-open Wright for a layup with about 7 minutes left. Clark had two 3-pointers to help the Hoyas to a 73-59 lead with 4:30 remaining.

"Our guys are getting better at when we face a run — and we’re going to face runs every game — to just circle the wagons," Thompson said, "coming out of the run focused and finding a way not to let the run be prolonged."

Clark is hoping his offensive run will last as the Hoyas continue the Big East schedule. After the disappointing outing against Connecticut, this may have been just what he needed to keep surprising people.

"It was frustrating," Clark said. "That was refreshing, and it kind of gets my confidence back."

No. 17 Gonzaga beats Saint Mary's 89-82

MORAGA, Calif. — As well as Gonzaga can score, Mark Few's team is winning a lot of games with rebounding.

North Texas holds off Troy 75-72

TROY, Ala. — Tristan Thompson scored 21 points, including sinking five free throws in the game’s final minute, to lead North Texas past Troy 75-72 on Thursday night.

Josh White added 18 points and Jacob Holmen had 12 for the Mean Green (11-6, 4-3 Sun Belt Conference), who have won five of their last seven games. Eric Tramiel finished with 11 points in his first action since four-game absence due to an injured wrist.

With Thompson leading the way, North Texas hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final 54 seconds of the game to clinch the win. Troy’s Brandon Hazzard tried for a game-tying, 24-foot 3-pointer with two defenders in his face, but it clanked out at the buzzer.

Yamene Coleman led the Trojans (9-8, 4-2) with 14 points.

The Mean Green, who are 10-0 this year when leading at halftime, outscored Troy in bench points 34-13 in the game.

Houston Baptist ends skid with 66-56 victory