Duke Snaps Under The Pressure Of Being Top Dog

For the third week in a row, the No. 1 team in the country loses, but at least this time they lost to the previous No. 1. So I guess we'll never settle this thing.

Wake Forest nearly blew a 13-point lead at home to the No. 1 Blue Devils, but somehow managed to get an inbound play under the basket after missing two layups in the closing seconds. (Gerald Henderson—who had tied it seconds earlier—was called for traveling on the rebound.) Then the entire Duke squad got caught watching the paint dry, as James Johnson rolled to the basket and laid it in with 0.8 seconds left. Henderson had 20 and Kyle Singler scored 22, but the rest of the Devils combined to shoot 6-30, which last time I checked, was sub par. So much for that. [ Charlotte Observer]

Connecticut 71, DePaul 49: The next team to lose the No. 1 ranking will likely be UConn, who crushed the totally different Blue Demons, who unlike their Devil brethren, are terrible. Husky Jeff Adrien (is that a reference to his team or his size?) had 12 points and 13 rebounds, as if anyone cared. [ Hartford Courant]

Villanova 67, Pittsburgh 57: The Panthers failed to keep pace with UConn and Villanova managed to muster up some Philly pride in what I'm told was the last college hoops game ever at the Spectrum, although that seems impossible. Reggie Redding—who grew up in Philadelphia, but had never seen a game there—had a career high 18 points. Up yours, Western PA. [ Philly Inquirer + Daily News]

Cincinnati 65, Georgtown 57: Surprise! Georgetown stinks. The end. [ WaPo]

Providence 100, Syracuse 94: Again, the Big East makes no sense. The Friars made a mockery of the Syracuse zone, firing willy-nilly from all over the court and obviously making some. Six Providence players finished in double figures. [ Friar Blog]