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College basketball

'Canes shock UConn with 3 at buzzer

CORAL GABLES -- Darius Rice played brilliantly for 40 minutes and still managed to save his best for last.

The nephew of Raiders receiver Jerry Rice capped a 43-point performance by stealing an inbounds pass and sinking a 3-pointer at the final buzzer, and Miami stunned No. 11 Connecticut 77-76 Monday night.

UConn appeared to clinch a victory when Ben Gordon hit two free throws with 8.9 seconds left, giving him 32 points and the Huskies a 76-72 lead.

But Miami's Armondo Surratt drove for an uncontested layup with four seconds to go and Shamon Tooles' hurried inbounds was stolen in the corner by Rice, who swished a shot as time expired.

"The guy threw the ball in, and I just stuck my hand out," Rice said. "I said, "This is mine.' I shot it, and I had no doubt it was going in."

When it did, a jubilant Rice sprinted the length of the court with his fists in the air as Hurricanes fans poured onto the floor to celebrate.

The defeat left UConn players crying in their locker room. Coach Jim Calhoun said Taliek Brown, rather than Tooles, was supposed to inbound.

"I did the wrong thing by passing it," said Tooles, his eyes red. "I cost us the game."

NO. 7 OU, TEXAS TECH (OT): Hollis Price made a shot at the buzzer to force overtime, then scored five of the Sooners' nine in the extra period as Oklahoma won its 32nd straight at home.

Will Chavis got fouled by Price while driving to the basket and made a one-and-one for a 60-58 Red Raiders lead with 4.5 seconds left.

Oklahoma inbounded to Price, who dribbled the length of the floor and hit an off-balance jumper from about 15 feet.

NO. 10 CREIGHTON 95, ILLINOIS ST. 82: Larry House scored a career-high 23 and had eight rebounds for the host Bluejays. House, who went in averaging 9.1 points, picked up the scoring slack on a night when star forward Kyle Korver was held in check until the final 10 minutes as Creighton won its sixth straight.

NO. 21 MISSOURI: Junior guard Ricky Clemons, who served a one-game suspension last weekend after he was charged with choking a woman, was reinstated and is expected to play against Iowa State tonight.

State

UCF 72, JU 48: Dexter Lyons had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the host Golden Knights.

FAU 71, STETSON 64: Jeff Cowans scored 19, 15 in the second half, to lead the host Owls.

HAMPTON 74, B-CC 72: Barry Hairston had 18 points to lead the host Spartans.

FAMU 70, NORFOLK ST. 65: Terrence Woods scored 23 to lead the visiting Rattlers.

Nation

AP POLL: Arizona jumped back to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll after a four-week hiatus, and Creighton joined the Top 10 for the first time in school history. Auburn and California entered at Nos. 24 and 25, replacing LSU and Syracuse. Oklahoma State had the biggest jump, from 24th to No. 13. Illinois and Missouri had the biggest drops, the Illini from No. 8 to No. 18 and the Tigers from No. 11 to No. 21.

PROPS TO BULLS: South Florida's 75-74 win Saturday at Memphis was designated the "Shock of the Week" in college basketball by Dick Vitale on ESPN.com.

TEXAS A&M: Center Andy Slocum was free on bond after he was arrested Sunday morning for felony possession of steroids found in his truck.

Women

NO. 1 DUKE 78, NO. 8 UNC 67 (OT): Alana Beard scored seven of her 26 in overtime as the visiting Blue Devils protected their undefeated season.

The Tar Heels' Leah Metcalf sank an off-balance 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to tie it at 61. After a blocked shot by Candace Sutton, North Carolina went to the free-throw line with no time left. But after a review, officials ruled that Wynter Whitley's foul of Nikita Bell came after time had expired.

NO. 2 UCONN 72, NOTRE DAME 53: Barbara Turner's season-high 25 points led the visiting Huskies, who extended their record winning streak to 56 against the last team to beat them.

FSU 66, GA. TECH 47: Tasheika Morris scored 20 as the host Seminoles improved to 4-1 in the ACC for the first time.

VCU: Coach David Glass will resign after the season and be replaced by associate head coach Beth Cunningham, Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer.

-- Times staff writer Pete Young contributed to this report.

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