DURHAM, N.C. — Gerald Henderson scored 21 points and No. 2 Duke pulled away late to beat North Carolina State 73-56 on Tuesday night.
Nolan Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers 30 seconds apart to start the decisive run for the Blue Devils (17-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who closed the game on a 27-5 run and shot 76 percent in the second half.
Kyle Singler had 14 of his 17 points in the second half and Smith finished with 13 for Duke.
Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley both scored 15 points for the Wolfpack (10-6, 1-3), who led for much of the game but hit just one field goal over the final 7:45. Duke won its 12th straight at Cameron Indoor Stadium over N.C. State.
No. 25 Illinois 67, Ohio St. 49
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Mike Tisdale scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half for Illinois, which won its first game this season with a national ranking.
On Monday, the Illini (16-3, 4-2 Big Ten) made their first appearance in The Associated Press’ Top 25 since the final poll of 2005-06. It was the Illini’s first win over the Buckeyes (13-4, 3-3) in six games.
Illinois took the lead for good in the opening 5 minutes and then sealed the win with a 22-9 run in the second half.
Demetri McCamey had 13 points for Illinois and Chester Frazier had 10.
B.J. Mullens had 14 points for the Buckeyes, who had won three straight and committed a season-high 19 turnovers.
Of note
Kansas recruiting violation?
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas officials are checking to see if basketball coach Bill Self’s brief encounter with a top recruit might constitute an NCAA infraction.
Self agrees he said hello to John Wall, a 6-foot-4 guard who had just played in a high school tournament in Springfield, Mo. It happened during an evaluation period last week when college coaches are not allowed contact with prospects other than to exchange greetings.
“We are aware of the report, and the administration is looking into it,” said Chris Theisen, a Kansas spokesman.
Wall is rated the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2009 by Rivals.com. The Springfield News-Leader said the exchange took place between Self and Wall outside Wall’s locker room after a game Thursday night.
“Basically, it’s accurate,” Self said after beating Texas A&M 73-53 Monday night. “I don’t know if the exact quote is accurate. After the game was over, like I always do, like every coach always does, I had to catch a plane. So I went back to tell the coaches, ‘Congratulations, good win.’ I was approached and shook a hand and said, ‘I can’t talk to you, but you played really well.”’
Kansas is in the final year of a three-year NCAA probation for violations in football and men’s basketball.
“If that exchange, which is all it was, is a problem, then our administration will deal with it,” Self said. “I certainly by no means am I going to deny that basically that happened. But the reason I was back in the back was to say hi to the coaches after the game.”
The question is whether the NCAA would consider Self and Wall’s exchange as contact.
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