All three unbeatens fall

The road took a toll on college basketball’s last three unbeaten teams Saturday.

No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Florida and No. 9 Pittsburgh all lost for the first time this season, going down to unranked opponents inspired by their home crowds.

The Blue Devils were trying to improve to 18-0 for the first time in school history, but the paint-defending, layup-producing Hoyas made sure it wouldn’t happen.

“We’ve been in the penthouse all season, having room service,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Somebody jammed up the elevator today.”

Florida took the floor Saturday night as the last unbeaten team in the country, but Tennessee put an end to the surprising Gators’ best start in school history.

The Gators would have been in prime position to take over the No. 1 spot from Duke.

“We played great tonight, we really did,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “They gave me everything I could possibly want. I am really proud of the way our team responded here. This was the toughest road environment we faced all season.”

The Panthers were first to fall Saturday.

The victory came on the day St. John’s honored 10 of its former players and coaches, including Chris Mullin and Lou Carnesecca in a halftime ceremony.

“I’m upset. I’m a basketball player and a competitor, a person who really doesn’t like to lose,” Pitt senior guard Carl Krauser said. “We are all upset. We just didn’t want to lose.”

Indiana in 1975-76 is the last team to put together an undefeated season. Bobby Knight’s Hoosiers went 32-0 on their way to a national championship.

Illinois made a run at a perfect regular season last year, winning 29 straight before losing 65-64 in their Big Ten finale to Ohio State on March 6.

Georgetown 87, (1) Duke 84: At Washington, the Hoyas (12-4) shot 61 percent, built a double-digit lead deep into the second half and nervously survived the frantic final minutes to upset the Blue Devils (17-1) despite J.J. Redick scoring 41 points..

Brandon Bowman scored 23 points for the Hoyas, who had lost nine straight against ranked opponents and hadn’t beaten a No. 1 team since an 85-69 win over St. John’s on Feb. 27, 1985.

Tennessee 80, (2) Florida 76: At Knoxville, Tenn., Dane Bradshaw scored with 20 seconds left and Chris Lofton hit two free throws as the Volunteers (12-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) beat the Gators (17-1, 3-1).

St. John’s 55, (9) Pittsburgh 50: At New York, Lamont Hamilton matched his career high with 24 points and the Red Storm (10-6, 3-2 Big East) beat the Panthers (15-1, 4-1).

(3) Connecticut 71, (17) Louisville 58: At Louisville, Ky., Marcus Williams scored 15 points and Rudy Gay added 12 as the Huskies (16-1, 4-1 Big East) pulled away late in a win over the Cardinals (13-5, 1-4).

(4) Memphis 85, Southern Mississippi 68: At Hattiesburg, Miss., Darius Washington Jr. scored 11 of his 20 points in the final eight minutes to help the Tigers (17-2, 3-0 Conference USA) beat the Golden Eagles (7-12, 1-3).

(5) Texas 66, Baylor 47: At Waco, Texas, Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 37 points with nine 3-pointers as the Longhorns (16-2, 4-0 Big 12) beat the Bears (0-4, 0-4). Baylor, which has lost 18 in a row, is banned from playing non-conference games.

(7) Illinois 58, Northwestern 47: At Evanston, Ill., Dee Brown broke out of his shooting slump with 18 points and had eight assists to lead the Illini (17-2, 3-2 Big Ten) past the Wildcats (9-8, 2-4).

(8) Villanova 80, (20) Syracuse 65: At Philadelphia, Allan Ray scored 22 points, Randy Foye had 20 and the Wildcats (13-2, 4-1 Big East) survived a second-half surge to beat the Orange (15-4, 3-2). Eric Devendorf led Syracuse with 21 points.

(11) Michigan State 85, (23) Iowa 55: At East Lansing, Mich., Maurice Ager scored 25 points and Paul Davis had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Spartans (15-4, 3-2 Big Ten) past the Hawkeyes (14-5, 3-2).

(13) Indiana 62, Purdue 49: At Bloomington, Ind., Marco Killingsworth scored 18 points as the Hoosiers (12-3, 4-1 Big Ten) beat the Boilermakers (7-10, 4-1). Purdue lost its 20th straight regular-season road game.

(14) N.C. State 92, Wake Forest 82: At Raleigh, N.C., Cameron Bennerman made all 12 free throws on his way to a career-high 26 points as the Wolfpack (15-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Demon Deacons (12-6, 1-4).

North Dakota State 62, (15) Wisconsin 55: At Madison, Wis., Ben Woodside scored 24 points and the Bison (11-9) snapped the Badgers’ (14-4) 27-game winning streak at home against non-conference opponents.

(16) George Washington 83, Charlotte 69: At Charlotte, N.C., Maureece Rice came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points and J.R. Pinnock scored 13 to lead the Colonials (14-1, 4-0 Atlantic 10) past the 49ers (11-7, 4-2).

(19) Ohio State 75, Penn State 64: At State College, Pa., Ron Lewis scored 15 points and Je’Kel Foster added 13 and nine rebounds as the Buckeyes (14-2, 4-2 Big Ten) beat the Nittany Lions (10-6, 2-3).

(21) Boston College 65, Miami 61: At Coral Gables, Fla., Craig Smith had 18 points and 14 rebounds to help the Eagles (14-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Hurricanes (11-7, 3-2).

(22) Maryland 81, Virginia Tech 72: At College Park, Md., Nik Caner-Medley scored a season-high 23 points and the Terrapins (13-4, 3-2 ACC) won their 14th straight game at home, beating the Hokies (10-8, 0-5).

(25) Oklahoma 60, Texas Tech 48: At Norman, Okla., Michael Neal scored 15 points and hit four 3-pointers in the final four minutes to help the Sooners (11-4, 2-2 Big 12) fend off the Red Raiders’ (10-9, 2-3) second-half rally.