CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) Marcus Paige scored 20 points in his season debut following a hand injury to help No. 9 North Carolina beat No. 2 Maryland 89-81 on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Brice Johnson added 16 points for the Tar Heels (6-1), who shot 53 percent and repeatedly capitalized on Terrapins miscues.
Melo Trimble finished with 23 points and 12 assists to lead Maryland (6-1).
This was the headlining matchup for the interconference series, pitting two Atlantic Coast Conference charter members with Final Four aspirations. Paige and Trimble basically took this one over for much of the second half, putting on a show of high-level guard play to make this matchup worthy of the rankings.
No. 4 KANSAS 94, LOYOLA 61
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Wayne Selden Jr. scored 18 points, Perry Ellis added 15 and Kansas used a big second-half run to rout Loyola in Cheick Diallo's much-anticipated debut with the Jayhawks.
Diallo, a five-star prospect from Mali, was the subject of an exhaustive investigation by the NCAA into his eligibility. He finally was approved to begin playing this week and had three highlight-worthy dunks, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 16 minutes.
The Jayhawks (5-1) led 40-36 at halftime before going on a 15-1 run to start the second half. Diallo finished the flurry by taking a behind-the-back pass from Selden, who was slicing down the lane, and flushing it over the Greyhounds (1-6).
No. 5 IOWA STATE 84, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 64
AMES, Iowa (AP) - Abdel Nader scored 21 points, Jameel McKay had 15 to go with a career-high 19 rebounds and Iowa State beat North Dakota State.
Monte Morris had 18 points and six assists for the Cyclones (6-0), who overcame a sluggish outing to post their fifth straight win by double digits.
Georges Niang, a preseason first-team All-American, had 15 for the Cyclones. He fell hard to the floor clutching his right leg in the first half, but soon returned from a charley horse.
A.J. Jacobson and Paul Miller each had 17 points to lead North Dakota State (4-2).
No. 8 VILLANOVA 86, SAINT JOSEPH'S 72
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart each scored 18 points and Villanova made 11 3-pointers to beat Saint Joseph's.
Ryan Arcidiacono added 17 points for Villanova (7-0). The Wildcats have won four in a row against the Hawks in the Philadelphia Big Five series.
DeAndre Bembry scored 17 points and Isaiah Miles contributed 14 for the Hawks (4-2).
No. 10 VIRGINIA 64, OHIO STATE 58
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Malcolm Brodgon scored 22 points for his third straight game with at least 20 points to lead Virginia over Ohio State.
The Cavaliers (6-1) won their fifth straight, but it was the first time in the streak they did not score at least 80.
Ohio State (2-4) lost its fourth in a row. Marc Loving had 19 points for the Buckeyes.
No. 11 PURDUE 72, PITTSBURGH 59
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A.J. Hammons scored a season-high 24 points off the bench and Ryan Cline made four 3-pointers in the second half to lead Purdue past Pittsburgh.
The Boilermakers improved to 7-0 even with center Isaac Haas limited to just six points and two rebounds due to foul trouble. Purdue survived behind Hammons - the 7-footer grabbed 12 rebounds while making 10 of 15 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers.
James Robinson led the Panthers (4-1) with 17 points and Michael Young added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
No. 21 MIAMI 77, NEBRASKA 72
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Davon Reed's 3-pointer gave Miami the lead in overtime and the Hurricanes made three free throws in the last 15 seconds to beat Nebraska.
Angel Rodriguez scored 15 points, Sheldon McClellan had 14 and Anthony Lawrence added 13 for the Hurricanes (6-1).
Shavon Shields scored a season-high 28 points for the Cornhuskers (5-3).
