MEN'S TOP 25 BASKETBALL Wake spoils Williams' ACC debut

Wake Forest beat North Carolina 119-114 in three overtimes.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Eric Williams spoiled Roy Williams' ACC coaching debut, hitting a jumper in the lane with 36 seconds left in the third overtime to lift No. 14 Wake Forest to a 119-114 victory over fourth-ranked North Carolina.
In the Tar Heels' first three-overtime game since Williams was an assistant for Dean Smith in November 1982, the teams provided a thrilling start to the conference season.
"It's a very disappointing game for us to say the least, and it's got to be exhilarating for Wake Forest," said Roy Williams, who left Kansas to take over the Tar Heels after last season. "I'll remember this one for the rest of my life. The quality of the play at times was really amazing, shots they made and shots we made."
Wake Forest's depth proved to be key after Sean May fouled out with 3:41 to play in the third overtime. With May out, the 6-foot-9 Williams had his way inside.
No. 1 Connecticut 104, Iona 54
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor had just about everything covered for Connecticut.
Gordon recorded his first triple-double with 17 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Huskies (8-1) to a rout of Iona.
It was the first game for the Huskies since they reclaimed their top-ranking this week.
No. 3 Duke 89, No. 11 Texas 61
NEW YORK -- J.J. Redick had 20 points to lead six players in double figures and Duke beat Texas. The game was played before a pro-Blue Devils sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden that sounded as if it were at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils (8-1) won their fifth straight, and just like the previous four they did it with defense.
No. 6 Kansas 72, UC Santa Barbara 52
RENO, Nev. -- Keith Langford scored 19 points and Wayne Simien had 15 points and 16 rebounds for Kansas in the Wolf Pack Holiday Classic.
Freshman J.R. Giddens added 15 points, and Aaron Miles scored all 13 of his points in the second half for the Jayhawks (6-1).
No. 8 Oklahoma 68, Jackson State 46
NORMAN, Okla. -- Freshman Drew Lavender scored 23 points and had five assists to lead Oklahoma to a methodical win over Jackson State.
The 5-foot-7 point guard has led the Sooners (8-0) in scoring for three straight games, finally asserting control of Oklahoma's often-spotty offense. Lavender scored 14 points in the second half, helping the Sooners shake off the plucky Tigers down the stretch.
No. 9 Stanford 87, No. 13 Gonzaga 80
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Matt Lottich scored a career-high 34 points with six 3-pointers and Stanford remained unbeaten with a victory over Gonzaga in the Pete Newell Challenge.
Justin Davis added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Rob Little had 14 points and seven boards for Stanford (7-0).
No. 15 Florida 70, West Virginia 57
MIAMI -- Matt Walsh scored 17 points, David Lee added 15, and Florida rebounded from consecutive losses with a victory over West Virginia in the Orange Bowl Classic.
The Gators used a 20-1 run early in the second half to overcome a six-point halftime deficit and win for the fifth time in five years in the annual tournament.
No. 16 Cincinnati 89, Middle Tenn. St. 54
CINCINNATI -- Tony Bobbitt made all six of his shots for 15 points, and Cincinnati used its trapping defense to beat Middle Tennessee State.
Cincinnati (6-0) was at full strength Saturday with the addition of forward James White, who had to sit out one season after transferring from Florida.
No. 18 Pittsburgh 70, Murray State 49
PITTSBURGH -- Levon Kendall, barely used in Pitt's first nine games, led a decisive first-half surge that carried the Panthers past Murray State (8-1).
Carl Krauser scored 19 points and Kendall, a redshirt freshman who had scored only four points all season, helped fill in for the injured Chevy Troutman with 11 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists.
No. 19 Syracuse 74, Siena 61
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Hakim Warrick had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Craig Forth added a career-high 14 points to lead Syracuse over Siena.
It was the fifth straight victory for Syracuse (5-1) and the fifth straight loss for the Saints (3-5).
No. 20 Louisville 80, Austin Peay 63
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Francisco Garcia scored 21 and Luke Whitehead added 17 points and seven rebounds to lead Louisville to its fifth straight win.
Garcia also had eight assists, matching a career high, and went over 20 points for the fourth straight game as Louisville (5-1) won its 20th straight non-conference home game.
No. 24 Dayton 78, Prairie View 65
DAYTON -- Sean Finn scored a career-high 27 points to lead Dayton to victory over Prairie View A & amp;M.
Finn, a 7-foot center, shot 12-for-13 from the field and finished with 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double.