College basketball

Top 25; Penn State stuns Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Rich McBride's 3-pointer came a split-second too late, and Penn State rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to upset No.6 Illinois 66-65 Saturday night, ending the Fighting Illini's home winning streak at 33.

Travis Parker's basket with 8.5 seconds left gave the Nittany Lions their first lead. Parker rebounded Mike Walker's missed 3-pointer and hit a jumper that finished Penn State's comeback.

Parker scored 21 and Geary Claxton added 20 to lead the Nittany Lions (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten), who snapped a four-game losing streak.

McBride's shot went up as the horn sounded, and officials spent several moments reviewing video replays to determine whether he got it off in time. All the while, the crowd chanted "I-L-L-I-N-I," but when referee Gene Crawford waived off the basket, the arena fell silent.

The last time the Illini (20-3, 6-3) lost at Assembly Hall was 58-54 to Purdue on Jan.10, 2004. This defeat dropped them out of a first-place tie with Iowa in the conference race.

NO.3 MEMPHIS 84, RICE 79: Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 and Darius Washington sank two free throws in the final seconds to help the visiting Tigers (21-2, 7-0) stay unbeaten in Conference USA. After leading by as many as 15, Memphis went the final eight minutes without a field goal. The Tigers kept the lead by going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.

NO.7 TEXAS 83, TEXAS A&M 70: P.J. Tucker scored 25 and the host Longhorns survived a 31-point effort by the Aggies' Joseph Jones to keep their Big 12 lead. Tucker grabbed 12 rebounds for his eighth double double. Jones scored 23 in the second half to spark a Texas A&M rally but fouled out with 3:46 to play. Kenton Paulino added 19 points and Daniel Gibson had 13 for the Longhorns (19-3, 7-1), who hit 33 of 39 free throws.

NO.12 MICH. ST. 77, N'WESTERN 66: Shannon Brown scored 22 and Maurice Ager added 21 for the visiting Spartans (17-5, 5-3 Big Ten). Brown got his 1,000th and 1,001st points when he hit two free throws with a minute left to become the 36th Michigan State player to reach the milestone. He hit nine of 14 shots and grabbed eight rebounds.

NO.14 UCLA 84, ARIZONA 73: Arron Afflalo scored a career-high 27 as the Bruins earned their first win at home against the Wildcats in four years. The victory was salve for a program that had been battered by huge losses to Arizona in recent years, including 35- and 36-point defeats in 2002-03, Steve Lavin's final season as coach. The Bruins (19-4, 9-2 Pac-10) lost by 25 and 24 in 2003-04, coach Ben Howland's first season. Last month, UCLA won in Tucson 85-79, its first win there in nine years. The Wildcats (13-9, 6-5) dropped their third straight conference game for the first time since February 1984, coach Lute Olson's first season in Tucson. Arizona fell to 1-5 against ranked opponents this season.

WASH. ST. 77, NO.16 WASH. 64: Aron Baynes scored 13 and had a career-high 12 rebounds as the host Cougars swept the Huskies for the first time in 12 years. Josh Akognon had 14 points for Washington State (10-9, 3-7 Pac-10), which overcame a 35-30 halftime deficit. Washington (16-5, 5-5) lost its third straight conference game despite a 21-point, nine-rebound effort by Brandon Roy. The Cougars upset then-No.10 Washington on Jan.7 in Seattle.

NO.20 OHIO ST. 67, MINN. 53: Je'Kel Foster made a career-high seven 3-pointers in eight attempts and scored 25 to lead the host Buckeyes (16-3, 5-3 Big Ten). Foster was 8-of-10 from the field, made both free throws and had three assists and two steals in 37 minutes. Ohio State finished 9-of-20 on 3-pointers and shot 59 percent from the field in the second half to pull away. Freshman Jamal Abu-Shamala had a career-best 16 points for the Gophers (10-9, 1-7).

NO.23 IOWA 94, NO. 21 MICH. 66: Adam Haluska scored 18 and the Hawkeyes remained undefeated at home. Greg Brunner added 17 points for Iowa (18-5, 7-2 Big Ten), which notched its highest point total of the season and handed the Wolverines their most lopsided loss. Daniel Horton had 19 points for Michigan (16-4, 6-3), which moved into in the Top 25 this week for the first time in eight years. Iowa shot a season-best 65.3 percent, including 13-of-19 on 3-pointers.

NO.25 N. IOWA 83, INDIANA ST. 56: Grant Stout had 17 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots and the Panthers won their first home game as a ranked team and secured their third straight 20-win seasons, a first for the school. Travis Brown added a career-high 16 points for Northern Iowa (20-4), which hit 16 of its first 22 shots - including six 3-pointers - and turned a 20-point first-half lead into its largest win of the season.

[Last modified February 5, 2006, 01:23:11]