Hawkeyes upset Illini

For at least a day, Iowa put aside its shooting troubles.

Coming off one of its worst shooting performances under coach Steve Alford, Iowa rebounded Saturday to beat No. 6 Illinois 63-48 in Iowa City, Iowa, snapping the Illini’s 15-game winning streak.

The Hawkeyes (12-4, 1-1 Big Ten) did just enough on offense. Jeff Horner had 16 points and helped Iowa take command in the second half, when the Hawkeyes scored 40 points on 53 percent shooting and went 18 of 21 from the free-throw line.

But it was the defense that flustered the Illini (15-1, 1-1), who were held under 50 points for the first time since Michigan State did it Feb. 11, 1999.

“I know how good Illinois is, so to beat that team the way we did today, and to defend, we can guard anybody,” said Alford, whose team shot a miserable 17 percent in the second half in a loss to Wisconsin earlier in the week, the worst second-half performance in his seven-year tenure.

“We told them we don’t care if you shoot 25 percent in this game today. Make sure you’ve been guarding the way we’ve been guarding,” Alford said.

The Hawkeyes did just that.

In a physical battle between two of the Big Ten’s best defensive teams, Iowa held Illinois to 35 percent shooting and shut down flashy point guard Dee Brown, who scored six points on 2-of-13 shooting – one game after he scored a career-high 34 in a victory over No. 7 Michigan State.

The Illini, who had won 54 of their past 55 regular-season games, committed 16 turnovers, trailed the entire second half and shot 19 percent from 3-point range.

“Coach always talks about the basketball gods, how they’ll allow 40 one night and four the next,” said Illini center James Augustine, who led Illinois with 14 points and nine rebounds. “But we don’t have to put everything on Dee’s shoulders. We needed to have somebody else step up, and that didn’t really happen.”

(2) Connecticut 67, LSU 66: At Hartford, Conn., Hilton Armstrong scored six of his 11 points in the final four minutes to help the Huskies rally from 14 points down and beat the Tigers (8-5). Rudy Gay finished with 19 points for UConn (12-1), and Rashad Anderson scored 10 and had a team-high 10 rebounds

(5) Florida 90, Georgia 72: At Athens, Ga., Joakim Noah scored 24 points, Taurean Green had 21 and the Gators (14-0, 1-0 SEC) tied a school record with their 14th straight win. Lee Humphrey chipped in with 18 points, including nine straight at the start of the second half to break open a close game. Steve Newman paced the Bulldogs (10-4, 0-1) with 15 points.

(9) Louisville 72, Providence 67: At Providence, R.I., freshman Andre McGee scored four of his season-high 12 points in the final 1:22 and the Cardinals (12-2, 1-1 Big East) beat the Friars (7-6, 0-2) for their first win as a member of the Big East. The game was a return for Rick Pitino, who led Providence to the Final Four in 1987.

Nebraska 59, (12) Oklahoma 58: At Lincoln, Neb., Joe McCray hit a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left to give the Cornhuskers (11-3, 1-0) their first win over the Sooners (9-3, 0-1) in eight meetings since 1999, and their first over a Top 25 opponent since beating then-No. 4 Oklahoma State last February.

(25) North Carolina 82, (13) North Carolina State 69: At Chapel Hill, N.C, freshman point guard Bobby Frasor scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, Tyler Hansbrough converted all 14 of his free throws on his way to 20 points and the Tar Heels held off the Wolfpack (12-2, 1-1 ACC). David Noel added 14 for UNC (9-2, 1-0), which won its fifth straight in this Tobacco Road rivalry.

Miami 84, (14) Maryland 70: At Coral Gables, Fla., the Hurricanes (9-6, 1-1 ACC) scored the first 13 points, sank a season-high 12 3-pointers and got 65 points from their three starting guards to beat the Terrapins (11-3, 1-1). Anthony Harris scored a season-high 22 points in 24 minutes, Robert Hite tied a season high with 22 and Guillermo Diaz had 21.

(15) Texas 89, Colorado 64: At Austin, Texas, P.J. Tucker scored 24 points and tied his career high with 15 rebounds as the Longhorns (12-2, 1-0) opened Big 12 play with a win over the Buffaloes. Martane Freeman scored 20 to lead Colorado (10-2, 0-1), which had its nine-game win streak snapped.

(16) Indiana 81, (18) Ohio State 79: At Bloomington, Ind., Marshall Strickland made two free throws with 5.7 seconds left, then stole the ball on Ohio State’s final possession to give the Hoosiers a victory over the Buckeyes (11-1, 1-1 Big Ten). Indiana (10-2, 2-0) rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit, its largest of the season, to win its sixth straight. Marco Killingsworth led the Hoosiers with 26 points.

Kansas 73, (19) Kentucky 46: At Lawrence, Kan., freshman Brandon Rush had career highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double and the Jayhawks (9-4) handed the Wildcats (10-4) their worst loss in coach Tubby Smith’s nine seasons.

(20) George Washington 79, Marshall 73 (OT): At Huntington, W. Va., Danilo Pinnock scored 15 of his 21 points after halftime and the Colonials rallied to beat the Thundering Herd (6-6) in overtime. Carl Elliott added 18 points before fouling out on the first possession of overtime for George Washington (10-1).