CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Sean May and North Carolina can put the Kentucky loss behind them.
Four days after the disappointing defeat, May had 23 points and 16 rebounds to lead the 12th-ranked Tar Heels past Miami 89-64 on Wednesday night.
Jawad Williams, Rashad McCants and Jackie Manuel each scored 15 for the Tar Heels, who earned their 200th win in the 18-year history of the Smith Center. North Carolina improved to 93-11 against nonconference opponents in the building which opened in January 1986.
North Carolina was coming off a 61-56 loss to the Wildcats on Saturday, when Kentucky shot 55 percent in the second half. Roy Williams criticized his team's effort, saying he was as frustrated as he had been during his coaching career.
May and his teammates responded.
North Carolina turned in a better defensive effort, shot 50 percent and had a 52-32 rebounding edge.
May, McCants and Williams led that turnaround. After combining for 15 points on 6-for-23 shooting against Kentucky, the trio had 53 points and 26 rebounds against Miami.
"We were embarrassed watching the Kentucky film, and I think it showed out there tonight," May said.
Williams played solid defense on Darius Rice, holding Miami's leading scorer to seven points, 11 fewer than his average.
"Watching the Kentucky film, you realize things you could've done to have won that game," Jawad Williams said. "We've been waiting for this moment."
Robert Hite scored 27 to lead the Hurricanes, who fell to 1-7 against their future Atlantic Coast Conference rival. Miami leaves the Big East for the ACC next season.
The Hurricanes won last season's matchup 64-61 in overtime as North Carolina went without a field goal for the final 12 minutes. The Tar Heels had no such offensive troubles Wednesday, getting nine straight field goals from May to take control.
They increased their lead to 23 midway through the second half behind several transition baskets, many off turnovers.
"We wanted to force some turnovers and get our break going, and I think we did that," Roy Williams said. "We tried to mix it up and vary it so they wouldn't know exactly when it was coming."
NO. 10 LOUISVILLE 76, SO. MISS. 42: Nate Daniels scored 15 and Otis George tied a career high with 10 rebounds as the host Cardinals used dominating defense to beat the Golden Eagles.
Louisville, fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense, held Southern Mississippi scoreless for 12:52 bridging halftime in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Southern Miss missed 15 consecutive shots and committed 15 turnovers during the span. The Eagles finished 15-of-51 from the field (29 percent) and committed 21 turnovers, 12 on Louisville steals.
NO. 11 UC 71, TULANE 44: Reserve guard Tony Bobbitt scored 12 of his 18 in the second half for the visiting Bearcats in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Jason Maxiell and Field Williams scored 13 each for Cincinnati (10-0), off to its best start in five years.
Nick Williams added 10 points for Cincinnati. Maxiell had ll rebounds and Kareem Johnson 10 for the Bearcats, who finished with a 47-33 rebounding advantage.
NO. 17 SYRACUSE 65, ST. JOHN'S 59: Gerry McNamara scored 14 of his 23 over the final 11 minutes night to lead the host Orangemen in the Big East opener for both teams.
Syracuse won its 10th straight and handed the Red Storm its third loss in five games under interim coach Kevin Clark.
Hakim Warrick had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Billy Edelin 13 points and Josh Pace eight points and seven rebounds for the Orangemen.
NO. 19 ILLINOIS 85, OHIO ST. 63: Reserve Nick Smith scored a career-high 22 without missing a shot as the host Illini opened their Big Ten season.
Smith, a 7-foot-2 center, was 6-of-6 from the field, including one 3-pointer, and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. He added nine rebounds.
NO. 20 VANDY 59, AUBURN 53: Matt Freije scored 15 and Corey Smith 10 as the host Commodores rallied in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Vanderbilt (12-0), which blew a 17-point first-half lead, is off to the best start in school history. The Commodores also eclipsed last season's win total, when they went 11-18.
Freije's free throw made it 53-51 with 3:54 left. Neither team scored again until Freije returned to the line with just over a minute left.
Freije hit the first shot but missed the second. Scott Hundley saved the ball for Vanderbilt and found Russell Lakey, who hit a 3-pointer to give the Commodores a 55-53 lead with 1:04 left.
NO. 22 MISS. ST. 61, OLE MISS 54: The Bulldogs moved to 12-0 for the first time by overcoming a 10-point second-half deficit to beat the host Rebels in the SEC opener for both teams.
Mississippi State closed with a 22-5 run during which Timmy Bowers had clutch points.
NO. 23 MARQUETTE 65, HOUSTON 52: Travis Diener made 5 of 10 3-pointers and scored 22 to lead the visiting Golden Eagles.
Scott Merritt had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Marquette in the Conference USA opener for both teams. The Cougars lost to a ranked team for the 18th straight time since beating Memphis in 1996.
IOWA 71, NO. 24 PURDUE 61: Pierre Pierce scored 19 and Jared Reiner 14 to lead the host Hawkeyes in the Big Ten opener for both.
Iowa shot 78 percent from the free-throw line, a season best, and Pierce scored 13 on free throws. The Hawkeyes were shooting 63 percent from the line going in.
N.C. STATE 89, BYU 62: Julius Hodge scored 23 and Ilian Evtimov had 11 of his 13 in the first half for the host Wolfpack.
North Carolina State had four players score in double figures and forced 17 turnovers in winning its third straight and improving to 40-4 against nonconference opponents at the RBC Center.
Marcus Melvin had 15 points for the Wolfpack, becoming the 37th player in school history to score 1,000.
UT 89, UGA 65: Scooter McFadgon scored 31 and Brandon Crump 14 to lead the host Volunteers in the conference opener for both teams.
Tennessee led by as many as 19 points in the first half only to see the Bulldogs rally to cut it to six before halftime.
Tennessee put the game away by opening the second half with a 24-5 run that pushed its lead to 64-36 with 11:55 remaining.
C-USA
UAB 71, ECU 68: Gabe Kennedy led four players in double figures with 14 points to lift the visiting Blazers.
SAINT LOUIS 60, TCU 50: Josh Fisher had 13 points and seven assists to the visiting Billikens to a come-from-behind win.
Nation
NOTRE DAME 63, W.VA. 52: Torrian Jones had 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and Torin Francis added 17 points to lead the host Irish. Notre Dame held the Mountaineers to 38 percent shooting, their second-worst shooting game this season, and allowed its second-fewest points ever in a Big East game.
IOWA ST. 70, MISSOURI 65: Freshman Curtis Stinson hit a spinning shot in the lane to put the host Cyclones ahead with 38.5 seconds left. Stinson, who scored 16 of his 22 in the second half, helped Iowa State build a 12-point lead in the Big 12 opener, then led the Cyclones back after the Tigers went up by seven.
PENN ST. 75, MINNESOTA 72: Jan Jagla scored a career-high 28 and had 10 rebounds to help rally the host Nittany Lions to their first win in a Big Ten opener since 1996. Penn State is above .500 in league play for the first time since 2000.
MICHIGAN 78, NU 54: Lester Abram scored a career-high 27 to lead the host Wolverines in the Big Ten opener for both teams. The Wildcats have lost four in a row, the longest skid in coach Bill Carmody's four seasons.
LA SALLE 78, UMASS 64: Gary Neal scored 26, 23 in the second half, to lead the visiting Explorers in the Atlantic 10 opener for both.
GW 78, TEMPLE 60: T.J. Thompson scored 21, including five of the host Colonials' 14 3-pointers.
