Kansas Survives a Scare

Corey Simms’ three-point shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim, and No. 2-ranked Kansas beat Nebraska, 59-57, Wednesday night at Lawrence, Kan.

The Jayhawks (14-0, 4-0 Big 12 Conference) expected sharpshooting freshman Joe McCray to take the last shot for the Cornhuskers (8-6, 2-2), but he didn’t have an open look at the basket.

“It was designed to go to Joe or Wes [Wilkinson],” Coach Barry Collier said. “But we needed another screen, and that is my fault.”

Keith Langford made it 51-45 Kansas with two free throws with 4 minutes 40 seconds to go, but McCray scored the next eight points. He had 19 points, and Wilkinson had 16.

Langford and J.R. Giddens each scored nine for Kansas.

No. 4 Duke 92, Miami 83 -- Shelden Williams scored a career-high 30 points, and the Blue Devils (14-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) held Robert Hite, the leading scorer for the host Hurricanes (12-4, 3-2), to six points.

No. 6 North Carolina 77, Clemson 58 -- Rashad McCants scored 23 points, and the Tar Heels (15-2, 4-1 ACC), who are 50-0 against Clemson (10-7, 1-4) at home, posted only their second victory in the last five games on the Tigers’ court.

No. 8 Kentucky 53, Mississippi 50 -- The Wildcats (13-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) rallied at Oxford, Miss., where the Rebels (11-7, 2-3) let a 15-point lead slip away.

No. 9 Boston College 67, Villanova 66 -- Jared Dudley made two free throws with 5.5 seconds left, and the Eagles (15-0, 4-0 Big East) overcame a 66-60 deficit against the Wildcats (9-4, 2-3) with two minutes left at Boston.

No. 14 Louisville 92, East Carolina 41 -- Guard Brandon Jenkins scored a career-high 14 points at home for the Cardinals (15-3, 4-1 Conference USA), who forced the Pirates (5-12, 0-5) into 24 turnovers.

No. 20 Cincinnati 80, Charlotte 58 -- Nick Williams scored 19 of his career-high 22 points in the second half, and the host Bearcats (15-2, 4-1 C-USA) ended a nine-game winning streak by the 49ers (12-3, 3-1).

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Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry will sit out the remainder of the season because of a torn knee ligament suffered during practice this week. He is scheduled to have surgery next month.

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WOMEN

No. 1 Duke 99, Wake Forest 86 -- Mistie Williams had 22 points at Winston-Salem, N.C., to help the Blue Devils (18-1, 4-0 ACC) win their 16th game in a row. Cotelia Bond-Young scored 24 points for Wake Forest (12-5, 1-3).

No. 8 Michigan State 62, Illinois 42 -- Kelli Roehrig had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and the Spartans (16-2, 5-1 Big Ten) used a 17-6 run to start the second half to beat the host Illini (11-5, 3-3).

No. 10 Texas Tech 68, Nebraska 58 -- Chesley Dabbs scored 21 points for the Raiders (14-2, 5-0 Big 12), who handed the Cornhuskers (11-6, 3-2) their first home loss in 10 games.

No. 11 Notre Dame 74, Syracuse 61 -- Jacqueline Batteast scored 19 points for Notre Dame (15-3, 3-2 Big East). The host Orange is 10-6, 2-3 in conference.

No. 20 Kansas State 74, Texas A&M; 50 -- Claire Coggins and Shana Wheeler each scored 11 points for the Wildcats (13-3, 4-1 Big 12), who ran away from the Aggies (11-4, 2-3) with a 27-5 spurt in the second half.