No. 1 Syracuse defeats No. 11 Duke
Syracuse improves to 21-0 and 8-0 in the ACC by defeating Duke in overtime 91-89. Syracuse was led by senior T.J. Fair with 28 points. Duke sophomore guard Rasheed Sulaimon, a Houston native, hit a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired in regulation. Duke’s highly touted freshman forward, Jabari Parker, fouled out in the final two minutes of regulation. Down the stretch, Syracuse made the plays in overtime to pull out the victory.
“I don’t think I’ve been involved in a better game in here that I can remember, where both teams played at such a high level,” said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim after the game.
California stuns No. 2 Arizona
The previously No. 1-ranked Arizona Wildcats took their first loss of the season to California. Senior Justin Cobbs hit a last-second shot with .09 seconds left. Arizona falls to 21-1 and came into the game with a school record 21-game winning streak.
No. 15 Texas upsets No. 8 Kansas
The Longhorns are quickly establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the Big 12. Texas has defeated four consecutive ranked opponents after routing Kansas 81-69. Despite the big win, Texas coach Rick Barnes said his team still needs to stay humble.
“We are a good team. But it is such a fine line between winning and losing that if you start drinking the poison and think that you are there, it all gets away,” Barnes said.
South Florida vs. Cincinnati
No. 13-ranked Cincinnati won its 14th straight game over South Florida 50-45 in a close victory. Cincinnati was led by senior Sean Kilpatrick, who had 18 points and shot 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Cincinnati improves to 10-0 in the American Athletic Conference and is starting to gain national attention.